Terms
3rd Party Property Owner A type of User similar to a Property Owner. 3rd Party Property Owners are Users that the Applicant invites to view their reports. Unlike Property Owners and Applicants, 3rd Party Property Owners are not users of the Integrator’s platform. Therefore, CreditConnect provides all the UI needed for a 3rd Party applicant from the email invite to view the reports to the process for logging in and viewing the shared reports. When referring to Property Owners and 3rd Party Property Owners collectively, the the term “property owner” (lower case) will be used.
3rd Party Property Owner Portal This portal provides the screens for a 3rd Party Property Owner to login, register, and view both the shared Credit Report and Background Report after being invited by an Applicant. Since CreditConnect handles the UI for 3rd Party Property Owners, there is no way for access this portal via the API.
Access Control A portal provided by Experian where a Reseller can log in, issue ConnectAPI credentials, whitelist IP address, associate Experian subcodes, etc.
API Token A token issued to the Integrator by CreditConnect that is used to authenticate with the CreditConnect API. It is sent as the HTTP Basic Authentication username.
Applicant A type of User. They are the ones applying and ordering their own reports. Sometimes they are also referred to as the Report Subject. The Applicant is a user of the Integrator’s platform.
Applicant Portal The Applicant Portal steps the user through the KBA process and helps them order and view both their Credit Report and Background Report. Once they have viewed both reports, the applicant can then share their reports with property owners.
Background Report A report obtained through the Integrator that contains the results of additional background searches performed on the Applicant.
ConnectAPI A product provided by Experian that enables Applicants to order their own Credit Report and share it with property owners.
Credit Report CreditConnect formats the credit profile returned from Experian into a user-friendly report. Reports obtained from Experian via CreditConnect are abbreviated reports that utilize the VantageScore risk model.
EI3PA Experian’s Independent 3rd Party Assessment. It is based on PCI-DSS and is an annual assessment of a 3rd Party’s ability to protect Experian Data. CreditConnect isolates the Integrator from Experian Data so it bears the main burden of EI3PA compliance. Integrators still need to concern themselves with certain aspects of EI3PA which will be outlines in other sections.
Integrator The entity integrating CreditConnect into their platform. They are frequently a software provider though in some cases they could be a Reseller as well.
KBA Knowledge Based Authentication. In the case of CreditConnect, we are using the ConnectAPI which in turn uses PreciseID to verify a User’s identity using questions generated from their credit profile. Sometimes we will use KBA as a verb which will refer to the process of authenticating a User using KBA.
PreciseID A product provided by Experian that is used by ConnectAPI to authenticate Users using KBA.
Property Owner A type of User. In CreditConnect, when an Applicant applies, they are applying with a Property Owner. When the Applicant finishes ordering and view their Credit Report and Background Reports, they will be prompted to share their results with the Property Owner. A Property Owner is a user of the Integrator’s Platform. When referring to Property Owners and 3rd Party Property Owners collectively, the the term “property owner” (lower case) will be used.
Property Owner Portal Since Property Owners are users of the Integrator’s system, CreditConnect provides minimal UI for Property Owners. The portal consists of 2 screens: one to view the Credit Report and another to view the Background Report.
Reseller In many cases a CRA or Consumer Reporting Agency that is a client of the Integrator. A Reseller must become a client of Experian and obtain credentials for the ConnectAPI and PreciseID before they can use CreditConnect.
Share A Share represents an instance of the Applicant sharing their reports with a Property Owner or 3rd Party Property Owner. Shared are valid for a maximum of 30 days and can be revoked by the Applicant. Each time an Applicant shares their report with a new Property Owner a new Share is created. Each time a Share is created, a new Credit Report is ordered from Experian.
User A CreditConnect end-user. They could be either an applicant or property owner. Users can be created via the CreditConnect API.