The integration mindset: The smart way to fight fraud and build trust

Businesses today are navigating a complex and fast-moving environment—defined by a hyper-connected economy, rapid technological evolution, shifting political landscapes, changing consumer behavior and a growing threat of sophisticated fraud and financial crime. This pace of transformation and change is not only relentless, it comes with a growing sense of uncertainty.

While this creates real challenges for businesses, it also opens up new opportunities for innovation and growth. As a result, businesses are rethinking how they operate—placing data, analytics, and technology at the core of their strategies. As Laurie Schnidman, Chief Product Officer for Platforms and Software at Experian UK&I, puts it: “Businesses are asking themselves all kinds of important questions. They’re asking, ‘What data do I have? Do I trust my data? Do I have the right technology? Should I be investing in the newest innovation or doubling down on what’s already delivering ROI?’ ”

Key priorities emerging from this shift in strategy include automation, cloud-based solutions and, increasingly, a focus on integrated platforms that can simplify complexity and drive value at scale. “Clients want connectivity and platform solutions they can easily leverage, combine and integrate into their own technical estates,” Schnidman adds.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the fight against fraud and financial crime. As threats grow more sophisticated, having everything on a single platform allows businesses to respond faster, make more accurate decisions and strengthen protections for both clients and consumers. In particular, the ability to bring together fraud and credit data is proving to be a game-changer.

Historically, fraud prevention and credit decisioning have operated in separate silos. But this separation creates blind spots for businesses—especially as fraudsters evolve their tactics using AI, deepfakes and synthetic identities. As David Bates, Managing Director of Credit and Verifications at Experian UK&I, explains: “Fraudsters are using the most modern tools and capabilities. And AI has really transformed the fraud landscape globally.”

To effectively combat the speed, scale and sophistication of modern fraud and financial crime, businesses need a complete view—not just of financial behavior, but also of risk signals, anomalies and behavioral patterns. This holistic perspective provides a shift toward real-time, data-driven fraud prevention, where advanced analytics can scan vast volumes of transactions and adapt instantly to emerging threats.

Experian’s Ascend platform is a strong example of how this can be achieved. By bringing together fraud, credit, identity and decisioning tools into a single environment, this platform helps businesses simplify processes, accelerate decision-making and improve outcomes.

Importantly, this platform-centric approach doesn’t just improve protection—it also transforms the customer experience. With faster onboarding, personalized journeys and seamless compliance, businesses can build trust while staying agile. “Minimizing fraud while ensuring the lowest friction journey possible is the battle and the balance every business faces daily,” Bates says.

However, unlocking the full potential of any platform or solution requires more than just technology—it demands a shift in mindset. “At the end of the day, tools, data and technology are critical, but it’s people that have to use them. Businesses need to think about culture and the mindset shift they are trying to drive internally,” Schnidman says.

Teams need to understand the value of data, feel confident using it and be empowered to experiment, collaborate and adapt. A culture of curiosity, trust and agility is what will turn platforms into real performance.

As businesses look ahead, one thing is clear. The future belongs to those that embrace integration—not just as a technology strategy, but as a mindset. One that brings together data, tools and teams to drive agility, intelligence and trust across every customer interaction. Fraud and financial crime prevention sits at the heart of this transformation. As threats evolve, businesses must ensure that every journey is not only seamless but secure.

“This is all about bringing together technology, bringing together data and bringing together internal and external information to make sure all of the customer journeys are as safe as possible and as low friction as possible,” Bates says.

For more on the power of platform-centric thinking as well as strategies to prevent fraud and financial crime, head to the Experian Exchange series.