Now in its ninth year, Credit Strategy has teamed up with Experian to launch the annual Credit Awareness Week campaign. Held during the week of 10th March 2025, the campaign aims to educate people and businesses on improving their financial health. 

To mark this year’s Credit Awareness Week, we commissioned new research to explore what British businesses perceive as today’s key market challenges and the strategies they are employing to address them.

The current market challenges and strategic priorities

Rising costs (61%) and economic uncertainty (58%) emerged as the two biggest concerns for British businesses striving for sustainable long-term growth. Additional barriers mentioned included consumer confidence, regulatory changes, and cybersecurity threats.

To combat these challenges, businesses are prioritising three key areas over the next five years:

• Enhancing customer experience and personalisation (49%)
• Implementing technology (48%)
• Establishing robust data governance (28%)

The right approach to data and data governance

Businesses are taking a clear approach to their data and technology strategies. The research found 65% of businesses are consolidating data into a single, central location, with 70% already utilising a diverse range of trusted data. Using a broad and diverse set of data is vital because it enables better decisions which leads to more resilient business practices. 
 
Robust data governance is the foundation for managing data effectively. Previous research by Experian found that 8 in 10 (83%) British businesses acknowledged that data governance should no longer be an afterthought, and 73% believed it is the cornerstone of better AI. What robust data governance requires is the right technological investments, a dedicated team, and a well-defined framework.

Driving growth and financial inclusion

Nearly three-quarters (73%) in the research recognise the importance of integrating data with the right technology platforms to drive not just growth but financial inclusion as well. The U.K. Government's recent commitment to creating a National Financial Inclusion Strategy underscores the crucial role businesses play in integrating more people into mainstream financial services.

Addressing fraud, improving verifications, and consolidating debt

The research also identified areas where focusing on data and technology can improve the customer experience and drive growth:

• Debt consolidation: One in four of those working in financial services want to resolve the issue of double-counting*, which impacts affordability, during the debt consolidation process.
• Verification assessments: Businesses want better accuracy, increased automation and faster turnaround times in verifying income and employment details for mortgage applications, credit assessments and pre-employment processes.
• Fraud and financial crime compliance: Only 23% of businesses feel confident in addressing threats posed by GenAI and deep fakes, closely followed by tackling synthetic ID fraud and biometric fraud.

Reliable, comprehensive data plays a central role in all these areas. For example, preventing fraud and financial crime can be as simple as checking if the phone numbers and email addresses used on applications are legitimately associated with the customer. At the other end of the scale, behavioural biometrics, such as device orientation, copy-pasting, or typing speed analysis, can also flag fraudulent activity.

Ultimately, the research highlights the critical role strategic data and technology initiatives play in navigating market challenges and fostering sustainable, long-term growth – a key element of improving financial health. In addition, for the financial services industry, comprehensive data insights combined with cutting-edge technology will allow lenders to better understand customers, making financial services more inclusive, accessible and tailored to their needs.

*This is when consumers apply for a debt consolidation loan and there is a risk of ‘double counting’ as their original debts are considered part of the affordability assessment along with the new consolidation loan.