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Fingerhut Direct Marketing, Inc. Selects Equifax InterConnect(TM) for Business Automation

Solution Enables Real-Time Account Openings at Point of Sale

ATLANTA, May 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX) today announced that Fingerhut has selected Equifax InterConnect to help enable business automation and real-time account openings at the point of sale. With InterConnect, Fingerhut, a retailer that distributes a broad range of consumer products and services, can make more informed credit applicant decisions and process new accounts within seconds. InterConnect puts key information into the hands of decision makers, giving them increased control over strategy management.

Designed as a web-based application processing and decisioning platform, InterConnect simplifies and automates key credit and lending processes. Its features enable businesses to simultaneously process applications, integrate customer intelligence, make credit-granting decisions and open new accounts -- all on a single platform. "Equifax played an integral role in helping us relaunch our business by providing a framework that enables improved business process automation and real-time account openings," said Don Lynch, EVP Credit, Fingerhut.

"Fingerhut's aggressive growth plans require the ability to respond immediately to changes in the marketplace and its customer base. With InterConnect, we have greater flexibility in routing applications, advanced change control, enhanced decision making and greatly improved service for our customers."

For Fingerhut, InterConnect created a single point of access to its
internal and external data sources. By integrating Fingerhut's array of systems and processes, InterConnect helped transform this company support one-to-one credit management and achieve enhanced operational efficiency.

"With InterConnect, companies gain access to superior analytics and decisioning capabilities that enable them to streamline business processes and make smarter account acquisition decisions," said Dann Adams, Group Executive, North American Information Services, Equifax. "By integrating its disparate systems and automating business processes, InterConnect helped Fingerhut transform its business to manage transaction lifecycles and achieve cost savings." As part of the solution, Fingerhut is also using Equifax eIDcompare, a fraud detection and ID validation solution. With minimal consumer information,

eIDcompare can validate the legitimacy of an identity and determine if an identity is associated with potential fraudulent activities. With the flexibility of InterConnect, companies can integrate tools such as eIDcompare at any point in the workflow. For Fingerhut, this flexibility was a key consideration due to its card-not-present business model in which validating identities upon receipt of consumer data is critical.

Fingerhut also integrated Rules Editor(TM), another key feature of the InterConnect solution that puts change control capabilities at the fingertips of business users. Rules Editor allows users to quickly change existing business rules and decision tables. With Rules Editor, businesses no longer need to fund or wait for IT resources to roll changes into production. For more information about InterConnect, visit http://www.equifax.com .

About Equifax
Equifax Inc. is a global leader in turning information into intelligence. For businesses, Equifax provides faster and easier ways to find, approve and market to the appropriate customers. For consumers, Equifax offers easier, instantaneous ways to buy products or services and better insight into and management of their personal credit. Equifax. Information that Empowers.

About Fingerhut
Fingerhut is a dominant merchandise direct mail and web retailer
delivering brand name values on everything from housewares to consumer electronics and apparel. Key elements contributing to Fingerhut's triumphs include promotional marketing, building lifetime customer value, managing customer credit, and data collection and application.

Contact Information:
David Rubinger
Vice President, Communications
(404) 885-8555
david.rubinger@equifax.com

SOURCE Equifax Inc.
Web Site: http://www.equifax.com