Equifax’s Chief Data and Analytics Officer Kari Mastropasqua explains to Finance Editor Gemma Acton in the new season of Game Changers how data analytics has become the heart of most organisations.

When Equifax’s Chief Data and Analytics Officer Kari Mastropasqua talks about data analytics, it’s clear what she’s passionate about.

“I get told a lot that ‘data analytics is dry,” says Kari. “Actually, it’s quite the opposite. It’s a good time to be in data analytics. I’ve been in the industry now for 20 years and so much has changed. Data analytic communities are becoming the heartbeat and life of an organisation. They are also the starting point of innovation.”

Once a teacher of statistics at university, Kari now uses her numeracy skills to head up Data and Analytics at Equifax where she’s helping Australians reach their financial goals. She and her team are experimenting with new technologies that put consumers in the driving seat of their finances through understanding their credit scores.

“The score itself is a number which measures your credit worthiness,” Kari explains.

“We use the credit information that’s available and we apply predictive analytics to create that score. What’s interesting about this however,is if you’ve got a strong credit history or credit information you will get a score. Yet there are 2.5 million Australians that have limited information. I strongly believe that it’s important to have a complete view of a consumer and innovate to help people improve their credit position.”

In her role at Equifax, she and her team are making positive strides ahead in improving financial inclusion which benefits people in so many ways such as providing them financial services that can improve their lives by giving them the ability to finance their first car, home or even their business.

“Recently, with some of the work that we’ve been doing, we’re improving financial inclusion by 4 to 12% of the population who currently can’t obtain credit because they don’t have the strong amount of credit data on their file,” adds Kari.

Kari’s Equifax team this year won a technology innovation award for Equifax’s product called ‘One Score.’  Combining neuro decision technology and AI, it helps the people who are least able to access financial services.

“At Equifax we have been experimenting in these new techniques and how we can optimise them for lending processes – that’s where neuro decision technology is born. We embedded that into our new score, increasing the transparency, so that lenders can have a really engaging conversation with consumers about the financial decisions that are being made about them.”

“Everything we do is about empowering consumers to take control of their finances and understand their credit,” says Kari.

Read our story with Melanie Cochrane, Equifax ANZ MD here.

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