Experian Hikes Data Prices for Lenders
Experian has imposed another price increase on mortgage lenders for its credit data. The move adds to the cost pressures facing underwriting departments, which rely on such data for risk assessment. This trend increases the demand for efficiency and automation in data workflows to offset rising costs.
This latest move marks the fourth consecutive year of rising credit data costs for the mortgage industry. Since 2022, the price of mandatory tri-merge credit reports has surged by as much as 400%, significantly outpacing inflation and adding substantial expense to the loan origination process. The increase is part of a wider trend expected to raise overall credit report costs for lenders by up to 50% in 2026. While this specific Experian hike adds about $3 to a report, the cumulative effect is significant; a report that cost a lender around $50 five years ago can now exceed $100, with some joint reports costing over $348. In response to the rising fees, a blame game has erupted. Experian states it is not increasing its core report price for 2026 but is adjusting fees for data used in scoring. The company points to FICO doubling its royalty fee from $4.95 to $10 per score as a primary driver of the overall cost increase passed on to lenders. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) contends that both credit bureaus and FICO share responsibility for the escalating prices. In an effort to curb these expenses, the MBA has formally requested that the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) allow the use of a single-bureau credit report instead of the current tri-merge requirement for certain borrowers. As a countermeasure to FICO's dominance and pricing, Experian is promoting the adoption of VantageScore 4.0. The company is offering the score to lenders for free for a limited time and has committed to pricing it at least 50% lower than FICO's score in the future. These price hikes are occurring as Experian's B2B sector shows strong performance. In the first half of its 2025 fiscal year, the company's B2B organic revenue grew by 8%, with its mortgage data and analytics services highlighted as key drivers of that growth. The rising costs are increasingly being passed from lenders to homebuyers. Lenders also face significant losses from these fees, absorbing an estimated $100 million to $250 million annually for the 1.9 million mortgage applications that are started but do not close.
