Press Release

RECESSION SPARKS 300% INCREASE IN BUSINESS MONITORING

Equifax reports huge rise in businesses tracking customer and supplier status

London, 19th August 2009 - Leading business information provider, Equifax, has seen the use of some of its business monitoring alerts increase threefold in the past year. Equifax believes this phenomenal rise demonstrates that businesses have really switched on to the importance of staying up to date with the status of customers and suppliers, in order to protect cash flow and safeguard against bad debt.

Clearly reflecting the current pressures affecting businesses of all sizes, Equifax has also seen an almost 200% increase in alerts for Gazette and Detrimental information. These are reports that indicate a court or other negative action against a business and are a good early warning sign of potential repayment problems for other creditors.

The other area where Equifax has seen a significant increase in reports taken is for credit information that provides a greater insight into the people behind non-limited businesses such as sole traders and partnerships. This has increased by over 100% in the last 12 months and suggests that many organisations are recognising the value of understanding the financial circumstances of the people running a business. This will be particularly relevant if it's a new start-up.

Equifax Portfolio Monitoring keeps a close watch on a wide range of events affecting an organisation - including new CCJs, change in registered address or company director and decrease or increase in credit limit. Email and SMS alerts inform users of the service of any changes as soon as they become available, allowing them to make intelligent business decisions and act quickly - a crucial ability in a recession.

Neil Munroe, External Affairs Director for Equifax comments, "It's very encouraging to see businesses taking positive steps to stay on top of the financial status of customers and suppliers with our monitoring tools. Rigorous credit checks are also crucial to help businesses protect cash flow and guard against bad debt. They are essential when taking on new customers.

"In times when new credit is difficult to come by and banks are reducing or even recalling debts, there may be a temptation to cut spending on basic processes and disciplines. But when times are tough cutting back on checks could be a false economy."

Following Equifax's report of an almost 40% year on year increase in business failures in Quarter 2, it is crucial for companies to remember that not all business is good business. Even in a stable economy it may only take one or two important customers going bust to jeopardise a company's own financial standing. Yet it only takes a few simple credit checks and ongoing monitoring of key customers to help a business protect itself against bad risk and secure a good financial future during and after the recession.

ENDS

About Equifax (www.equifax.com)
Equifax empowers businesses and consumers with information they can trust. A global leader in information solutions, we leverage one of the largest sources of consumer and commercial data, along with advanced analytics and proprietary technology, to create customized insights that enrich both the performance of businesses and the lives of consumers. With a strong heritage of innovation and leadership, Equifax continuously delivers innovative solutions with the highest integrity and reliability. Businesses - large and small - rely on us for consumer and business credit intelligence, portfolio management, fraud detection, decisioning technology, marketing tools, and much more. We empower individual consumers to manage their personal credit information, protect their identity, and maximize their financial well-being. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax Inc. operates in the U.S. and 14 other countries throughout North America, Latin America and Europe. Equifax is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500® Index. Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EFX.

For further press information please contact: Elinor Puzey, Louise Fowler, Cecile Stearn or Wendy Harrison at HSL on 020 8977 9132 / Fax: 020 8977 5200 or Email: elinor@harrisonsadler.com