Experian has launched Cashflow Attributes for commercial lenders, using technology from Slope to turn business bank data into credit insights.
The product is intended to give financial institutions a clearer view of the financial health of the small and mid-sized businesses they lend to. The offering extends Experian's existing cash flow and small-business lending capabilities. It adds banking-derived signals to the commercial credit data the company already supplies.
The product draws on two types of data. The first is first-party transaction data, such as records from a lender's existing business checking account relationships. The second is permissioned commercial bank account data. From these, it produces predictive analytics on liquidity, revenue trends, operating expenses, debt exposure, and repayment capacity. Experian has made more than 500 attributes available. They are designed to complement its commercial credit data and can be applied across underwriting, portfolio management, and model development.
Adressing gaps in small-business credit assessmentd
The launch comes against the backdrop of persistent financing gaps for small businesses in the US. According to the Federal Reserve Banks' 2026 Report on Employer Firms, 60% of small businesses sought financing in the preceding 12 months. The most common reasons were covering operating expenses (56%) and pursuing expansion or new opportunities (46%). However, only 42% of applicants obtained all the financing they requested, 36% received some, and 22% received none.
For lenders, the difficulty often lies in assessing businesses with limited commercial credit histories, where traditional bureau data may give an incomplete view of risk. Cash flow data offers an additional, more current perspective on how a business operates. Experian's preliminary analysis indicates that, for businesses with thin credit files, combining the new attributes with traditional commercial credit data can improve predictive performance by up to 24%.
Jerry Silva, Vice President at IDC Financial Insights, noted that decision-making, particularly AI-driven decisioning, is becoming a competitive differentiator for financial institutions. In the official’s view, modern decision platforms need access to multiple alternative data sources, and institutions that use commercial transaction data stand to gain an advantage.
Slope technology and Experian's cash flow strategy
The product is built on technology from Slope, a company specialising in business decisioning and commercial bank account data. Experian selected Slope to speed up the delivery of commercial cash flow capabilities to its clients. Lawrence Lin Murata, co-founder and CEO of Slope, noted that small businesses generate useful financial signals through daily banking activity.
The launch is part of Experian's ongoing investment in cash flow analytics across both consumer and commercial markets. It reflects a broader shift among credit bureaus and lenders towards blending bank transaction data with conventional credit files. This shift is particularly relevant for underserved small-business segments.
