MicroBilt Corporation Offers Simple Solutions for Risk-Based Pricing, Red Flags, FCRA Training, OFAC
MicroBilt Corporation, a leader in risk management information for small and medium-sized businesses and leading provider of alternative data for non-traditional lenders has introduced its built-in Risk-Based Pricing solution across all its customer accounts, expanding its comprehensive set of compliance tools for businesses that use data governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The Risk-Based Pricing Rule under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) under the FCRA became effective January 1, 2011 and requires companies that use a credit report or score in connection with a credit decision to provide a risk-based pricing notice to a consumer when the company grants credit on material terms that are not the most favorable terms offered to a substantial proportion of consumers. Risk-based pricing is the practice of setting the interest rate or other terms of credit to a consumer based on the consumer’s credit report or score. The Risk-Based Pricing Rule provides companies with two compliance options: the Risk-Based Pricing Notice or a Credit Score Disclosure Exception Notice. MicroBilt offers the Credit Score Disclosure Exception Notice as a standard service for all customer data contracts. Red Flag Rules Also Effective January 1, 2011 The Red Flag Rules of the FACTA under the FCRA also became effective January 1, 2011 after several extensions. The Red Flag Rules require credit providers to define their processes for detecting Red Flags in identity verification, such as discrepancies in address histories, fraud alerts on consumer reports, suspicious use of Social Security numbers, inactive accounts that suddenly become active, credit-freeze notifications, credit reports showing unusual patterns of activity, notices from victims of identity theft or law enforcement agencies and discrepancies between applications and third party information. MicroBilt offers Red Shield, MicroBilt's FACTA Red Flags solution, which is designed to eliminate some of the most difficult front-end steps in the Red Flag process. It analyzes the likelihood of identity fraud and provides a "Pass" or "Fail" grade. If a transaction passes, it is automatically guaranteed against fraud for up to $25,000. The consumer is also protected against identity-theft losses for another $25,000. If a "fail" response is returned, the client is given a range of manual options that can be used to reduce the risk of identity theft or fraud in the transaction. MicroBilt offers a low cost, on-demand FACTA Red Flags Training course designed to meet the Red Flags training requirements and to make understanding the Red Flag Rules fun, fast and easy. An online, real-time FACTA Red Flags hotline -- that responds to Red Flag questions within 24 hours is available. MicroBilt also offers an on-demand training of Fair Credit Reporting Act which requires users of consumer reports to follow specific rules and guidelines when using private consumer data. FCRA compliance regulation responsibilities can be complex and any business that deals with consumer data must understand the basic concepts and provisions of the FCRA to ensure it adheres to the FCRA compliance regulations. OFAC Compliance MicroBilt also offers OFAC compliance by providing access to extensive anti-terrorist "watch list" searches as part of its standard credit and identity reporting. MicroBilt screens more than 60 critical "watch lists" including those maintained and mandated by the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). "For smaller businesses in particular, keeping up with federal regulations and their compliance with those regulations such as Risk-Based Pricing, Red Flags, FCRA, OFAC etc. is a major challenge," said Walt Wojciechowski, CEO of MicroBilt. "Along with the obvious business risks of non-compliance, the legal penalties associated with violations of these regulations can be devastating to the small business. With our simple compliance tools, we're trying to help customers do more business with less risk and less confusion without having to become experts on federal regulations." About MicroBiltMicroBilt is the leader in serving small businesses with data and tools that they need to manage business risk, value private businesses, make informed lending and hiring decisions. MicroBilt offers the small business owner simple, cost-effective solutions for fraud prevention, consumer financing, debt collection, skip tracing and background screening. MicroBilt provides access to over 3 billion debit account records, nearly 30 billion pieces of demographic and public record data and over 100 million unique consumer records to prevent identity fraud, evaluate credit risk and retain customer relationships. With its PRBC® Consumer Report with the FICO® Expansion® Score and its unique, proprietary non-traditional lending data, MicroBilt is the leading provider of alternative credit data to businesses that want to offer credit and other financial services to the over 100 million underserved consumers in the United States.