In addition to identifying the right prospects, Equifax's TIP Scores provides predictive analytics that allows card issuers the ability to better tailor their marketing campaigns and more precisely target customers, which will enable them to grow account acquisition.

Equifax's TIP Scores™ provide card issuers with unprecedented levels of marketing intelligence to more effectively prescreen consumers for pre-approved offers. By leveraging Equifax' wealth of credit file information, TIP Scores™ allow lenders to better market to consumers using pre-determined identifiers which measure borrowing propensity and delinquency likelihood at any given time. These markers assign consumers a digitized score, with a higher number indicating a borrower's increased likelihood to both accept an offer and open an account.

TIP Scores™ represent a powerful tool for issuers seeking greater return on their marketing investments while increasing the volume and quality of their overall card portfolio. Utilizing Equifax' industry-leading database of consumer information, card issuers can deploy highly targeted card marketing materials through customizable features -- making offers timely, relevant, and more appealing to consumers at the time that they are most likely to open a new account. The latest card data from Equifax's National Consumer Credit Trends Report indicates 9.2 million new bankcards were originated from January-March 2012, representing an increase of 27% over January-March 2010 totals. This data suggests sustained growth in both new card originations and credit limit over the past 12-24 months, supporting the assertion that card issuers are actively growing their portfolios:

"As the economy continues to recover and U.S. consumers' debt position improves, card issuers are now beginning to ramp up their direct marketing efforts," said Scott Waid, Equifax's Senior Vice President of Product Innovation & Management, "However, issuers are monitoring the return on investment of their marketing budgets much more closely than they had pre-recession. TIP Scores provide the most direct route to help card issuers achieve their marketing goals by more clearly identifying and targeting those select consumers with the highest true propensity to accept their offer."