London, 19 January 2023 - Sage, a global payroll technology leader, today announced a partnership with Equifax that will automate financial and employment checks for UK workers when they apply for everything from loans and mortgages to new jobs.

The service is made possible by a new integration between Sage payroll software and Verification Exchange™ from Equifax - the global data, analytics, and technology company.

With "life admin" tasks, or essential day-to-day activities, taking up to 13 days a year1 , UK consumers stand to benefit from this partnership that improves efficiency and reduce their administrative burdens.

For example, when applying for personal finance or jobs, consumers usually need to gather and provide documents that verify employment status and, in some cases, income level information as part of the application process. Equifax and its partnership with Sage help improve the process by automating the employment and income verifications that lenders and employers require, while reducing the administrative burden on the consumer.

Rudy Ploder, President, Equifax Workforce Solutions, said: "We're proud to partner with Sage to help UK consumers have a more seamless experience when it comes to important life events such as buying a home, leasing a car, or starting a new job. It's all part of our Equifax company purpose - to help people live their financial best."

Aaron Harris, CTO, Sage said: "At Sage, we're focussed on harnessing technology and data to make life easier for everyone by automating time-consuming processes, reducing admin, and speeding up decision-making.

"Today, more than 40% of UK private sector businesses pay their employees using our software. This, along with our deep experience and insights, means we can remove the friction in verification checks between consumers and third parties, providing more streamlined and accurate access to credit."

NOTES TO EDITOR

1 https://www.admiral.com/press-office/stressed-out-time-poor-brits-spend-13-days-a-year-on-life-admin-and-running-errands

How does the verification process work?
The process begins with the consumer's authorisation. When an individual applies for a loan, a new job or a service that requires a data check, they give their authorisation for a 'verifier' (such as the bank or the new employer) to make a request to the Equifax Verification Exchange to confirm their income and/or employment status. This information is only delivered to the verifier, and the Verification Exchange securely connects to an employee's payroll data via Sage, the application can be more quickly and accurately processed without the need for the applicant to provide copies of previous payslips.

What is Verification Exchange?
Verification Exchange is powered by the Equifax Cloud™, the result of the company's multi-year, $1.5 billion investment in creating a world class, enterprise-wide infrastructure tailored to highly regulated data workloads. Verification Exchange follows the principles of privacy by design as well as globally recognised best practices in data security management.

About Sage
Sage exists to knock down barriers so everyone can thrive, starting with the millions of small- and mid-sized businesses served by us, our partners, and accountants. Customers trust our finance, HR, and payroll software to make work and money flow. By digitising business processes and relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, banks and governments, our digital network connects SMBs, removing friction and delivering insights. Knocking down barriers also means we use our time, technology, and experience to tackle digital inequality, economic inequality, and the climate crisis. Learn more at www.sage.com

About Equifax
At Equifax (NYSE: EFX), we believe knowledge drives progress. As a global data, analytics, and technology company, we play an essential role in the global economy by helping financial institutions, companies, employers, and government agencies make critical decisions with greater confidence. Our unique blend of differentiated data, analytics, and cloud technology drives insights to power decisions to move people forward. Headquartered in Atlanta and supported by more than 14,000 employees worldwide, Equifax operates or has investments in 24 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region. For more information, visit Equifax.com.

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Sage Group plc published this content on 19 January 2023 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 20 January 2023 13:30:03 UTC.