Press Release

SMALL UPLIFT IN ELECTORAL ROLL REGISTRATIONS REPORTED AS EQUIFAX UPLOADS 2009 DATA

London - 22nd December 2009 - Leading credit and business information specialist, Equifax, is currently collecting the 2009 electoral roll data from all the UK's local councils to upload to its consumer credit database on January 1st 2010.

Crucial for identity verification purposes, the data is accessed by a wide variety of lenders and businesses extending credit to consumers, as well as organisations that need to be able to verify the identity of customers, including for online transactions and anti-money laundering checks.

"Early analysis of the data received so far suggests a small uplift in numbers registered this year compared to 2008" confirmed Neil Munroe, External Affairs Director, Equifax. "This could well be in anticipation of next year's General Election. But we also believe that the changing economic landscape this year has meant consumers have a better understanding of the significance of the electoral roll for providing vital identity verification in order to be able to conduct much of day to day life - from accessing credit to making online purchases. And that could be another reason for the uplift."

Early analysis of the number of individuals who have opted out of their data being included in the Edited Electoral Roll - which is available to commercial organisations for purposes other than credit checking - suggests that there has been around a 2.3% increase in opt outs this year. "This data is used by many online businesses to verify customers' identities before despatching goods so we hope that consumers who have chosen to opt-out realise the potential implications of this decision" concluded Neil Munroe.

ENDS

For further press information please contact: Wendy Harrison, Jenny Staniforth, Cecile Stearn or Margot Tomkinson at HSL on 020 8977 9132 / Fax: 020 8977 5200 or Email: wendy@harrisonsadler.com