First article on this is now online: Are credit agency's plans credible? - 29 Nov 2007 - IT Week Tim

Not really. This is purely about authentication, not a banking role. Tim

Because I'm not aware of any other CRA's planning this. I promise you it is nothing to do with "new product development for experian". Tim

Yes, I got this point wrong, apologies. Fortunately I am still at the researching stage. Tim

I've found out a bit more about this, and need to correct/clarify an important point. Experian says it will not intermingle the business of authentication (verifying you are who you say you are) with credit checking; and that the data protection act would not allow them to do that. Would that change your mind? Tim

Just to be clear, this is a new proposal, it is not what happens at the moment. I think you raise an interesting point though. Tim PS edited to remove reference to credit check.

Anyone got any thoughts on this? Tim

Hi I'm a journalist, writing an article about internet security, online shopping, banks etc. One future possibility is that Experian might offer a service as an intermediary between you and the site you want to do business with. In essence, you don't give your address or credit card details directly to the site, but instead give the site permission to get them from Experian on your behalf. It's more secure and convenient because you don't have to type in the details or transmit them yourself; and Experian wouldn't send the details to a fraudulent site. A possible downside is that Experian has an involvement in more transactions that it does at present. I'd love to get some comments from folk on what they think of the concept, whether it is one you would be glad to use etc. However, in order to use them in an article I'd need name, age and occupation. It is a chance to let people know what you think. If you can help, email me at tim(at)itwriting.com By all means discuss it here too; I'll read with interest, but won't be able to use quotes without the info mentioned above. Many thanks Tim