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{{short description|American consumer credit reporting agency}}
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{{Infobox company
| name = TransUnion LLC
| logo = TransUnion_logo.svg
| trading_name = TransUnion
| former_name = TransUnion Holding Company, Inc.
| type = ]
| traded_as = {{ubl|class=nowrap|{{NYSE|TRU}}|] component}}
| industry = ]
| founded = {{Start date and age|1968|2|8}}
| location = ], U.S.
| area_served = Worldwide
| key_people = Christopher Cartwright (] & ])
| products = ]
| services = ]
| revenue = {{increase}} {{US$|3.831 billion|link=yes}} {{small|(2023)}}
| operating_income = {{increase}} US$655.8 million {{small|(2023)}}
| net_income = {{increase}} US$1.304 billion {{small|(2023)}}
| assets = {{increase}} US$14.3 billion {{small|(2023)}}
| equity = {{increase}} US$11.1 billion {{small|(2023)}}
| num_employees = 18,000 (2023)
| website = {{Official URL}}
| footnotes = <ref name=10K2017>{{cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1552033/000155203318000018/transunion-20171231x10k.htm |title=US SEC: Form 10-K TransUnion (Fiscal Year 2017) |publisher=] |date=February 13, 2018 |access-date=December 7, 2018}}</ref><ref name=8KNOV1420181>{{cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1552033/000119312518326080/d652710d8k.htm |title=US SEC: Form 8-K TransUnion – Departure of James M. Peck as CEO |publisher=] |date=November 14, 2018 |access-date=December 7, 2018}}</ref><ref name=10K2019>{{cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1552033/000155203320000014/transunion-20191231x10k.htm |title=US SEC: Form 10-K TransUnion (Fiscal Year 2019) |publisher=] |access-date=May 21, 2020}}</ref>
}}


'''TransUnion LLC''' is an American ]. TransUnion collects and aggregates information on over one billion individual consumers in over thirty countries including "200 million files profiling nearly every credit-active consumer in the United States".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.transunion.com/solution/customer-credit-check|title=Customer Credit Check {{!}} TransUnion|website=TransUnion|access-date=2017-09-23}}</ref> Its customers include over 65,000 businesses.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.transunion.com/global-presence|title=Global Presence {{!}} A Powerful, Global Force {{!}} TransUnion|website=TransUnion|access-date=2017-09-23}}</ref> Based in ], ], TransUnion's 2014 revenue was ]1.3 billion.<ref name="TransUnion SEC Filing (2014)">{{cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1552033/000119312515112386/d867590ds1.htm|title=TransUnion SEC Filing (2014)|website=SEC|access-date=13 May 2015}}</ref> It is the smallest of the three largest credit agencies, along with ] and ] (known as the "Big Three").<ref>{{cite news|title=How to protect yourself against the theft of your identity|url=https://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21728955-top-tip-keep-eye-your-bank-and-credit-card-statements-how-protect|access-date=15 September 2017|newspaper=]|date=14 September 2017}}</ref>
'''TransUnion''' (full name '''Trans Union LLC''') is a ], considered one of the 'big three' agencies in the ]. Like its main competitors, ] and ], it now markets its ]s directly to consumers, in addition to its core business of providing the reports to potential creditors.


TransUnion also markets ]s and other credit and fraud-protection products directly to consumers. Like all credit reporting agencies, the company is required by U.S. law to provide consumers with one free credit report every year.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0155-free-credit-reports|title=Free Credit Reports|date=2013-03-26|work=Consumer Information|access-date=2017-09-23}}</ref>
TransUnion was created in 1968 by ] as their holding company. Its credit business began with the purchase of Credit Bureau of ] (CBCC) in 1969. Today it operates 250 offices across the U.S. and in 24 countries worldwide. It is based in ], ].
Additionally a growing segment of TransUnion's business is its business offerings that use advanced ], particularly its deep AI-TLOxp product.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://digital.hbs.edu/platform-digit/submission/transunion-competing-with-data-giants/ | title=TransUnion - Competing with Data Giants }}</ref>


==History==
TransUnion was a subsidiary of ] until January 2005. It is now an independent, privately held company.
TransUnion was originally formed in 1968 as a holding company for ], making TransUnion a ] through Union Tank Car Company.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gupta|first=Rohit|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l7R9DwAAQBAJ&q=TransUnion+was+originally+formed+in+1968&pg=PT99|title=Reward and Donation Crowdfunding: A Complete Guide for Emerging Startups|date=2018-12-06|publisher=Notion Press|isbn=978-1-68466-089-6|language=en}}</ref> The following year, it acquired the Credit Bureau of Cook County, which possessed and maintained 3.6 million credit accounts.<ref>{{Cite web|last=O'Connell|first=Brian|title=What Are the Three Credit Bureaus and Why Do They Matter?|url=https://www.thestreet.com/personal-finance/education/three-credit-bureaus-14878504|access-date=2020-06-09|website=TheStreet|date=13 March 2019 |language=en-us}}</ref> In 1981, a Chicago-based holding company, The ], acquired TransUnion for approximately $688 million.<ref name="The Marmon Group Misplaced Pages Page">]</ref><ref name="Cunningham Book">{{cite book|last1=Cunningham|first1=Lawrence|title=Book: All One." Berkshire beyond Buffett: The Enduring Value of Values, .|date=21 October 2014|publisher=New York Columbia Business School|isbn=978-0231170048|ref=Search: Marmon}}</ref>


In 2010, ] and ] acquired it from ].<ref>{{cite web|title=Advent and Goldman to buy TransUnion in $3B Deal|url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/02/17/advent-and-goldman-to-buy-transunion-in-3-billion-deal/?_r=1|work=New York Times| date=17 February 2012 |access-date=13 May 2015}}</ref> In 2014, TransUnion acquired ]'s data company TLO.<ref>{{Cite web|title=TransUnion buys TLO - South Florida Business Journal<|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/print-edition/2013/11/29/transunion-buys-tlo.html|access-date=2020-06-09|website=www.bizjournals.com}}</ref> On June 25, 2015, TransUnion became a publicly traded company for the first time, trading under the symbol TRU.
==Early history: the first decade, 1968 to 1979==


TransUnion eventually began to offer products and services for both businesses and consumers. For businesses, TransUnion updated its traditional credit score offering to include trended data that helps predict consumer repayment and debt behavior. This product, referred to as CreditVision, launched in October 2013.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gupta|first=Rohit|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l7R9DwAAQBAJ&q=transunion+Credit+Vision%2C+launched+in+October+2013&pg=PT99|title=Reward and Donation Crowdfunding: A Complete Guide for Emerging Startups|date=2018-12-06|publisher=Notion Press|isbn=978-1-68466-089-6|language=en}}</ref>
In 1968, the Union Tank Car Company (UTC) a ] company, made a decision to enter the automated credit reporting industry because of its emerging "infant technology" status and the low purchase price of ]s in major US cities. This price anomaly was brought about by the appearance of automated credit reporting competitors like aerospace-minded ] (later to merge with the Chilton credit operation in Dallas and now called ]); the nascent operations in Houston (sponsored in part by the ] (ACB)); and traditional credit bureaus in Oregon managed by CBI West, Inc., a subsidiary of Retail Credit, Inc. (later to be called ]), which produced the atmosphere of radical change in the industry and a great deal of concern about the future of the traditional paper-based industry&mdash;with good reason.


Its SmartMove™ service facilitates credit and background checks for landlords. The service also provides credit and background checks for partner companies, such as RentSpree.
Union Tank Car had a target of opportunity to buy the Credit Bureau of Cook County (CBCC), owned and operated as a customer-owned cooperative, similar to most US Credit Bureaus. At the time, CBCC was installing a system provided by the ACB, who had developed this system at the Credit Bureau in Houston to provide a route to automation to save the local customer-owned credit bureau industry and was being installed in several cities under ACB license.
{{Citation needed|date=June 2020}}


In September 2013, the company acquired eScan Data Systems of ], to provide post-service eligibility determination support to hospitals and healthcare systems. The technology was integrated into TransUnion's ClearIQ platform, which tracks patients demographic and insurance related information to support benefit verification.<ref>{{Cite web|title = TransUnion acquires Austin's eScan Data Systems – Austin Business Journal|url = https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2013/09/24/transunion-acquires-austins-escan.html|website = Austin Business Journal|access-date = 2015-12-14}}</ref>
UTC brought two executives from Massachusetts: Bill Devers, formerly at ]'s computer marketing operation, and Arthur Lemay, formerly the technical director at Keydata, a pioneering on-line services company which was the first company in the world to use time-sharing technology for business services.


In November 2013, TransUnion acquired TLO LLC, a company that ] in support of its investigative and risk management tools. Its TLOxp technology aggregates data sets and uses a proprietary algorithm to uncover relationships between data. TLOxp also allows licensed investigators and law enforcement professionals to access personally identifiable information from ].<ref>{{Cite web|title = Court gives approval for TransUnion-TLO merger|url = http://www.vcpost.com/articles/18598/20131123/court-gives-approval-transunion-tlo-merger.htm|website = Venture Capital Post|date = 2013-11-23|access-date = 2015-12-14}}</ref>
UTC (renamed Trans Union Corporation) was a large company with substantial assets capable of acquiring and automating many of the credit bureaus available for sale in the US. This was a salient into the information technology business by a traditional manufacturing and financial services firm. The present Trans Union is an example of successful entrepreneurial activity undertaken by a large company to diversify into new industries with no prior knowledge of a new business. Business schools call this the "intraprenurial" model, but there are very few examples of success of this model in the real world. Trans Union is always described as a successful implementation of diversification made possible by using the technical skills of the acquiring company. But this is not true. There was no contribution of technical skills or know-how whatsoever&mdash;it was all provided by recruitment of new employees.


In 2014, a TransUnion analysis found that reporting rental payment information to credit bureaus can positively affect credit scores. As a result, TransUnion initiated a service called ResidentCredit, making it easy for property owners to report data about their tenants on a monthly basis. These reports include the amount each tenant pays, the timeliness of their last payment, and any remaining balance the tenant currently owes. As a result, some companies have started reporting rent payment information to TransUnion.
Trans Union today is a company made possible by the talents assembled by Jerome Van Gorkom, the former chairman of UTC, using lots and lots of capital, a correct and steadfast vision, very long range financial and technical planning, suspension of normal financial control procedures for nurturing a new venture, and good timing in entering the market.


In 2015, TransUnion acquired Trustev, a digital verification company specializing in online fraud for $21 million, minus debts.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Form 8-K|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1552033/000155203319000010/transunion-20181231x10k.htm|date=2015-12-09|website=www.sec.gov|language=en|access-date=2020-08-29}}</ref>
==Why CRONUS was developed==


In 2017, TransUnion acquired FactorTrust, a consumer reporting agency specializing in alternative credit data.<ref>{{Cite web|title=TransUnion acquires FactorTrust|url=https://www.autoremarketing.com/subprime/transunion-acquires-factortrust|date=2017-11-15|website=Auto Remarketing|language=en|access-date=2020-05-21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Document|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1552033/000155203319000010/transunion-20181231x10k.htm|website=www.sec.gov|access-date=2020-05-21}}</ref>
UTC bought CBCC in 1968, and work commenced immediately. The company quickly reassessed the financial model used by CBCC in justifying the ACB system and discovered that the system could never achieve profitability because of its limited technical conception and extremely high operating costs: both for computer services and for labor-intensive operations. Financial analysis revealed that only two models were viable: 1) A true national network with a very large computer resources located in the center of the US, and 2) A network of very small computers serving local markets, but managed centrally. Two preliminary designs were done, and Trans Union chose to use the first model.


In mid-April 2018, TransUnion announced it intended to buy UK-based CallCredit Information Group for $1.4 billion,<ref>{{Cite news|title = TransUnion to buy UK-based Callcredit for $1.4 billion|url = https://www.reuters.com/article/us-callcredit-m-a-transunion/transunion-to-buy-uk-based-callcredit-for-1-4-billion-idUSKBN1HR1MB|website = Reuters|date = 20 April 2018|access-date = 2018-04-20}}</ref> subject to regulatory approval.
In early 1969, UTC scrapped the entire computer operation at CBCC, and developed a brand new system aimed at the national computer center model. This was called the ] (CRONUS). CRONUS went on-line in late 1970, and initially served only the credit bureau in Chicago. The CRONUS system was developed by assembling a brand-new set of employees with on-line experience in computer time sharing and from Chicago-based universities, retail, and electric power and telephone utility companies.


In December 2021, TransUnion completed the acquisitions of ],<ref>{{cite press release | title=TransUnion and Neustar Announce Transaction Close | url=https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/12/01/2344146/0/en/TransUnion-and-Neustar-Announce-Transaction-Close.html | website=GlobeNewswire | date=2021-12-01 | accessdate=2023-04-15}}</ref> initially announced in September 2021 for $3.1 billion,<ref>{{cite web | title=TransUnion to buy Neustar for $3.1bn | url=https://www.pehub.com/transunion-to-buy-neustar-for-3-1bn/ | website=PE Hub | date=2021-09-13 | accessdate=2023-04-15}}</ref> and Sontiq which included ],<ref>{{cite press release | title=TransUnion Completes Acquisition of Sontiq | url=https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/12/01/2344558/0/en/TransUnion-Completes-Acquisition-of-Sontiq.html | website=GlobeNewswire | date=2021-12-01 | accessdate=2023-04-15}}</ref> initially announced in October 2021 for $638 million.<ref>{{cite web | title=TransUnion Acquires Identity Security Company Sontiq for $638 Million | url=https://www.securityweek.com/transunion-acquires-identity-security-company-sontiq-638-million/ | website=SecurityWeek | date=2021-10-27 | accessdate=2023-04-15}}</ref>
The first on-line implementation was done with an ] computer installed at the Credit Bureau of Cook County in 1969. This mainframe computer could drive 160 on-line IBM 2260 display tubes.


In February 2023, TransUnion announced it was rebranding its "thousands of existing B2B products into seven business lines."<ref>{{cite press release | title=TransUnion Announces Rebrand of its Business Solutions with Focus on Providing a Tru™ Picture of Consumers | url=https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2023/02/21/2612088/0/en/TransUnion-Announces-Rebrand-of-its-Business-Solutions-with-Focus-on-Providing-a-Tru-Picture-of-Consumers.html/ | website=GlobeNewswire | date=2022-02-21 | accessdate=2023-04-15}}</ref> These include: TruAudience, TruValidate, TruContact (all based on former offerings from Neustar), TruVision, TruIQ, TruEmpower, and TruLookup.<ref>{{cite web | title=TransUnion Rebrands Business Solutions | url=https://finovate.com/transunion-rebrands-business-solutions/ | website=Finovate | date=2022-02-21 | accessdate=2023-04-15}}</ref>
In 1969, Trans Union Systems also brought aboard Stanley Mularz, an experienced credit executive, to run the Chicago bureau and to manage the business aspects of providing credit bureau operations as well as knowledge and understanding of the industry to give the technical staff his credit-granting expertise to construct a technically optimal solution with high relevance to the business needs of its customers.


==Legal and regulatory issues==
Later in this time frame, Trans Union Systems consulted informally with the ] (UCBPR) to implement a version of the small computer networked model for credit reporting, which operated on Digital Equipment (]) Mini-Computers, and served the island for some time before the bureau was sold to Trans Union Systems, which converted the UCBPR-developed Spanish name lookup system to CRONUS. UCB is now on-line with CRONUS.


In 2003, Judy Thomas of ], was awarded $5.3 million in a successful lawsuit against TransUnion. The award was made on the grounds that it took her six years to get TransUnion to remove incorrect information in her credit report.<ref>Block, Sandra. , ''USA Today'', 2005-08-27.</ref>
==Names of the companies==


In 2006, after spending two years trying to correct erroneous credit information that resulted from being a victim of identity theft, a fraud victim named Sloan filed suit against all three of the US's largest credit agencies. TransUnion and ] settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. In Sloan v. ], a jury awarded Sloan $351,000. "She wrote letters. She called them. They saw the problem. They just didn't fix it," said her attorney, A. Hugo Blankingship III.<ref>Baldas, Tresa. , ''The National Law Journal'', 2006-08-16.</ref>
This operation was a subsidiary of Trans Union Corporation and was named Trans Union Systems, Inc., and comprised the technical operations for CRONUS, the owned bureaus (all under a holding company called Trans Union Credit Information Corporation(TUCIC)), and all of the corporate Information Technology functions of the parent company.


TransUnion has also been criticized for concealing charges. Many users complained of not being aware of a $17.95/month charge for holding a TransUnion account.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.consumeraffairs.com/privacy/transunion.html|title=Top 604 Reviews and Complaints about TransUnion|website=ConsumerAffairs|access-date=13 October 2017}}</ref>
==Business realities steering technology==


In March 2015, following a settlement with the New York Attorney-General, TransUnion, along with other credit reporting companies, ] and ], agreed to help consumers with errors and red flags on credit reports. Under the new settlement, credit-reporting firms are required to use trained employees to respond when a consumer flags a mistake on their file. These employees are responsible for communicating with the lender and resolving the dispute.<ref>{{cite web|title=Agencies have to address credit report complaints|url=https://money.cnn.com/2015/03/09/pf/credit-reporting-agencies-settlement/|access-date=13 May 2015|website=CNN Money|date=9 March 2015|publisher=CNN}}</ref>
Trans Union Systems used a "]"-style operation to do manual conversions of the paper records with contract employees in ] in the free port zone using ] equipment, in the ] with key to disk equipment, on an Indian reservation in ] also using key to disk equipment, and in an on-line center in ], connected over telecommunications facilities. This center used the non-graphical 480 by 240 character IBM 2260 terminal. Its objective was to achieve the most accurate transcription of paper to automated records in the most cost-effective way. There were 1,800 people working on these conversions simultaneously, and the Indian reservation proved to be the most cost-effective.


In January 2017, TransUnion was fined $5.5 million and ordered to pay $17.6 million in restitution, along with ], by the ]. The federal agency fined the companies "for deceiving consumers about the usefulness and actual cost of credit scores they sold to consumers". The CFPB also said the companies "lured consumers into costly recurring payments for credit-related products with false promises".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-orders-transunion-and-equifax-pay-deceiving-consumers-marketing-credit-scores-and-credit-products/|title=CFPB Orders TransUnion and Equifax to Pay for Deceiving Consumers in Marketing Credit Scores and Credit Products|date=3 January 2017 }}</ref> Credit bureaus had the most complaints of all companies filed with the CFPB by consumers in 2018, with 34% of all complaints directed at TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian that year.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/credit-bureaus-draw-the-most-consumer-complaints-to-the-cfpb/ |title = Credit bureaus draw the most consumer complaints to the CFPB - CBS News|website = ]| date=9 May 2019 }}</ref>
Then Trans Union saw the early efforts of its competitors in collecting accounts receivables data by establishing a credit bureau reporting tape format. This required each company to write, test, and operate a special reporting system for updating on-line credit files. In addition, the company saw early attempts to deliver credit reports over teletype terminals using computer codes not familiar to the users, and requiring manual intervention for virtually every report. Trans Union did two things:


In June 2017, a California jury ruled against TransUnion with a $60 million verdict in the largest ] (FCRA) verdict in history.<ref>{{cite news|title=TransUnion hit with $60 million jury verdict over blacklist alerts|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/transunion-verdict-idUSL1N1JI1ZA|website=Reuters|date=21 June 2017}}</ref>
Firstly, Trans Union Systems made agreements with major credit grantors all over the US to accept raw copies of accounts receivables tapes with a translating engine system requiring virtually no effort on their part to provide special reporting. This translator made it possible to gain access to many tapes otherwise unavailable, and did not require programming because it used a ] Trans Union-developed data conversion language. This volume tape input system permitted Trans Union Systems to avoid the labor-intensive function of trade checking used in manual systems which used paper documents sent out to merchants and processed by hand to update the reports in the old paper systems, and were also needed in cases when the numbers of tape-updated accounts were insufficient.
The San Francisco federal court jury awarded $60 million in damages to consumers who were falsely reported on a government list of terrorists and other security threats. The plaintiffs' team of attorneys at Francis & Mailman, P.C. partnered with another California-based firm in the class action.
Following up on this, in April 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said TransUnion is "incapable of operating its businesses lawfully".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/40072/cfpb-says-transunion-incapable-of-operating-its-businesses-lawfully | title=CFPB says TransUnion "incapable of operating its businesses lawfully" | date=13 April 2022 }}</ref>


==Security issues==
Secondly, the ] system had great promise, but instead of expecting credit grantors to learn new tricks and to man slow terminals, Trans Union developed new ]s which did not require human decision-making, and worked with the ACB to develop a standard format to print credit reports which were virtually identical to the more expensive written reports at a price like the simpler telephone report. So, in one step, the credit grantor's employees could prepare a batch input tape, connect once to the computer to retrieve batches of easily understood reports which could use them for loan documentation replacing handwritten notes written in conversations with credit reporters, and they were able to free up many hours of time on telephone calls, since the machines could run unattended for many hours at a time.
On 13 October 2017, the website for TransUnion's Central American division was reported to have been redirecting visitors to websites that attempted ]s of malware disguised as ] updates.<ref name="ars-hack">{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.co.uk/information-technology/2017/10/equifax-rival-transunion-also-sends-site-visitors-to-malicious-pages/|title=Equifax rival TransUnion also sends site visitors to malicious pages|website=arstechnica.co.uk|date=12 October 2017|access-date=15 April 2018}}</ref><ref name="cnet-hack">{{cite web|date=12 October 2017|title=Equifax website showed you ads full of malware, expert finds|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/equifax-website-ads-served-adware-malware-expert-finds/|access-date=15 April 2018|website=cnet.com}}</ref> The attack had been performed by hijacking third-party ] ] from ] brand FireClick.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.securityweek.com/malicious-redirects-equifax-transunion-sites-caused-third-party-script|title=Malicious Redirects on Equifax, TransUnion Sites Caused by Third-Party Script – SecurityWeek.Com|website=www.securityweek.com|date=13 October 2017 |access-date=15 April 2018}}</ref><ref name="ars-hack"/>


On 17 March 2022, TransUnion South Africa disclosed that hackers breached one of their servers and allegedly stole data of 54 million customers, demanding a ransom to not release it, the group N4ughtysecTU claims responsibility.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hackers-claim-to-breach-transunion-south-africa-with-password-password/|title=Hackers claim to breach TransUnion South Africa with 'Password' password|website=bleepingcomputer.com|access-date=18 March 2022}}</ref>
==The network phase==


==See also==
The Chicago operation went on-line in 1971, and shortly thereafter (1972), the owned bureaus in ], ], ], and (under a service agreement) ] all went on-line.
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]


==References==
In 1972, Trans Union Systems became ] Telecommunication's first customer in implementing Trans Union Systems' Network technology with tariffs unique to that company's services. Initially, St. Louis went on-line followed by Philadelphia and other cities. This was a subject for much controversy at the time since no one else in the industry had used its volume buying advantage to negotiate special tariffs as is commonly done (quite legally) for the press for ]s, security services companies, airlines, and many others. Trans Union also negotiated similar agreements for large volume call distribution equipment which optimized manual telephone systems before equipment of this type became common in ]s(PBX).
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
In 1973 Trans Union Systems modernized this system with a network of satellite computers located in each Credit Bureau which provided operators with displays, local users with slow teletype printers, and local high speed ]s with network services. The network of ] to credit office computers was centrally managed in a single to multi-point network with alternate routing paths. Trans Union developed its own communications and network protocols to make this possible which required substantial R&D expense, but permitted much more economical and reliable network operations. The network was managed centrally and did not require programmers to make changes to the mainframe software and suffer outages and interruptions which were formerly the case. All this equipment was procured from airline industry suppliers who had the expertise to handle the custom engineering and installations of this major system. This reduced networking costs by 80% and made Trans Union Systems' operating costs dramatically lower than other industry competitors. This was made possible by the elimination of separate phone circuits for each of these functions, and because higher speed modems were being introduced but could not otherwise be provisioned in the network. This permitted economical low-cost deployment for thousands of low-speed devices in credit grantors' offices, and a more robust and flexible operation.
*{{official}}
* {{Finance links|name = TransUnion|symbol = TRU|sec_cik = TRU|yahoo = TRU|google = TRU|bloomberg = TRU:US}}


{{Illinois Corporations}}
==Technical descriptions==

In the early 1970s Trans Union Systems used IBM mainframes with the ] operating system and a specialized multi-] operating system adjunct to provide on-line concurrent operation (not common then), and a number of removable ]s and magnetic strip data storage units called "Data Cells." These units each held only 10 cells of 40 million ]s each, and each took about 40 square feet of space. The first mainframe used had only 512 kilobytes of memory, and the "Data Cells" were so slow that Trans Union Systems developed its own software to be able to use this difficult and error-prone device. A random seek took about 3/4 of a second. 80% of all computer cycles were spent updating the files from the dual sources of manual updates, inquiries, and maintenance which were indicated as new information on the reports, but not posted to the actual records. The second source was the accounts receivables update stream. These two sources were broken into 24 cycles monthly and were run concurrently with the on-line operations. This strategy was needed because the CRONUS system was designed to be able to restore damaged sections of the data base "on the fly" while not interrupting the on-line system. Since it was impractical to back up and restore such large files on a timely basis, this scheme permitted data cell restorals from tape and made possible read-only operations on-line with data-cells in a two-level store concept. This device was permanently withdrawn by IBM in 1975 and there were never any newer generations.

In addition CRONUS was designed to run "on-the-pin." (Some computers in this day had a meter showing the % utilization of the processor, and when it was 100% the meter rested on a pin. The 360/50 did not have such a meter.) Running on-the-pin means that the computational load always exceeded all other loads by design. Trans Union did this because the encoding and decoding of the data compressed into formatted a record into a data envelope is very computationally intensive. This is because each record may have a different organization depending on what kind of data is contained, and how many repetitions there are in each data set. So, since each record contains a meta-description of the data, the processing is anything but straightforward. Trans Union staff always tried to keep CRONUS able to run on-the-pin by adding as much channel and Input/Output facilities to ensure that there would not be other bottlenecks. At the time, data storage and channels and Input/Output costs were the dominant cost determinators, and as technology changed many attempts were made to change this trade-off to a less onerous system. But, at the time, Trans Union found that the ability to run on-the-pin had the serendipitous result that when a newer processor was installed, having, for example, 200% more power, everything ran 200% faster too. This is not usually the case in commercial applications when non-computational bottlenecks exist. However, when they actually ran on-the-pin, they knew it was time to upgrade the processors. In addition, this scheme permitted the use of multiple batch update mainframes who could be running concurrent updates to different cycles&mdash;and when the maintenance cycle finished Trans Union could "hot-switch" the logically updated cycle on line without shutting down the on-line system.

But, even after all the data cells were retired, the two-level store was maintained because Trans Union thought the same fundamental factors of cheaper and slower memories would coexist with faster and more expensive memories and Trans Union would just jump up to new technologies at higher level of processing volumes with the newer generations of two-level stores suitable for very large databases with low levels of volatility.

==Diversification==

By 1979 Trans Union Systems had acquired Medical Computer Systems, Inc., in Dallas and World Computers in Michigan to build businesses in clinic processing and the Credit Union processing business. These were never integrated into the Credit operation.

==1980 onward==

Trans Union was built from acquisitions of major city credit bureaus, with service agreements with local owners of bureaus which were not for sale, by using the technology and skills inherent in the CRONUS system to deliver an economic service to credit grantors in a complex competitive environment. In addition, Trans Union acquired and converted a major West Coast automated Credit Bureau to become a national company.

Subsequently, of course, Trans Union Systems acquired more credit bureaus and modernized every aspect of the technical operation in tune with more modern technology, and added many other credit-related services.

When Trans Union (the Fortune 500 parent company) was purchased by the ] in Chicago in 1981, the credit operations were renamed "Trans Union", and the other operating entities of the parent reverted to their historical names, like Union Tank Car Company specializing in leasing rail car equipment for agricultural and chemical industries, and the other information technology businesses of Trans Union Systems.




== See also ==
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== External links ==
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* TransUnion's consumer facing property


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Latest revision as of 09:44, 30 December 2024

American consumer credit reporting agency
TransUnion LLC
[REDACTED]
Trade nameTransUnion
FormerlyTransUnion Holding Company, Inc.
Company typePublic
Traded as
IndustryInformation technology
FoundedFebruary 8, 1968; 56 years ago (1968-02-08)
HeadquartersChicago, Illinois, U.S.
Area servedWorldwide
Key peopleChristopher Cartwright (president & CEO)
ProductsCredit reports
ServicesCredit information
RevenueIncrease US$3.831 billion (2023)
Operating incomeIncrease US$655.8 million (2023)
Net incomeIncrease US$1.304 billion (2023)
Total assetsIncrease US$14.3 billion (2023)
Total equityIncrease US$11.1 billion (2023)
Number of employees18,000 (2023)
Websitewww.transunion.com Edit this at Wikidata
Footnotes / references

TransUnion LLC is an American consumer credit reporting agency. TransUnion collects and aggregates information on over one billion individual consumers in over thirty countries including "200 million files profiling nearly every credit-active consumer in the United States". Its customers include over 65,000 businesses. Based in Chicago, Illinois, TransUnion's 2014 revenue was US$1.3 billion. It is the smallest of the three largest credit agencies, along with Experian and Equifax (known as the "Big Three").

TransUnion also markets credit reports and other credit and fraud-protection products directly to consumers. Like all credit reporting agencies, the company is required by U.S. law to provide consumers with one free credit report every year. Additionally a growing segment of TransUnion's business is its business offerings that use advanced big data, particularly its deep AI-TLOxp product.

History

TransUnion was originally formed in 1968 as a holding company for Union Tank Car Company, making TransUnion a descendant of Standard Oil through Union Tank Car Company. The following year, it acquired the Credit Bureau of Cook County, which possessed and maintained 3.6 million credit accounts. In 1981, a Chicago-based holding company, The Marmon Group, acquired TransUnion for approximately $688 million.

In 2010, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and Advent International acquired it from Madison Dearborn Partners. In 2014, TransUnion acquired Hank Asher's data company TLO. On June 25, 2015, TransUnion became a publicly traded company for the first time, trading under the symbol TRU.

TransUnion eventually began to offer products and services for both businesses and consumers. For businesses, TransUnion updated its traditional credit score offering to include trended data that helps predict consumer repayment and debt behavior. This product, referred to as CreditVision, launched in October 2013.

Its SmartMove™ service facilitates credit and background checks for landlords. The service also provides credit and background checks for partner companies, such as RentSpree.

In September 2013, the company acquired eScan Data Systems of Austin, Texas, to provide post-service eligibility determination support to hospitals and healthcare systems. The technology was integrated into TransUnion's ClearIQ platform, which tracks patients demographic and insurance related information to support benefit verification.

In November 2013, TransUnion acquired TLO LLC, a company that leverages data in support of its investigative and risk management tools. Its TLOxp technology aggregates data sets and uses a proprietary algorithm to uncover relationships between data. TLOxp also allows licensed investigators and law enforcement professionals to access personally identifiable information from credit header data.

In 2014, a TransUnion analysis found that reporting rental payment information to credit bureaus can positively affect credit scores. As a result, TransUnion initiated a service called ResidentCredit, making it easy for property owners to report data about their tenants on a monthly basis. These reports include the amount each tenant pays, the timeliness of their last payment, and any remaining balance the tenant currently owes. As a result, some companies have started reporting rent payment information to TransUnion.

In 2015, TransUnion acquired Trustev, a digital verification company specializing in online fraud for $21 million, minus debts.

In 2017, TransUnion acquired FactorTrust, a consumer reporting agency specializing in alternative credit data.

In mid-April 2018, TransUnion announced it intended to buy UK-based CallCredit Information Group for $1.4 billion, subject to regulatory approval.

In December 2021, TransUnion completed the acquisitions of Neustar, initially announced in September 2021 for $3.1 billion, and Sontiq which included IdentityForce, initially announced in October 2021 for $638 million.

In February 2023, TransUnion announced it was rebranding its "thousands of existing B2B products into seven business lines." These include: TruAudience, TruValidate, TruContact (all based on former offerings from Neustar), TruVision, TruIQ, TruEmpower, and TruLookup.

Legal and regulatory issues

In 2003, Judy Thomas of Klamath Falls, Oregon, was awarded $5.3 million in a successful lawsuit against TransUnion. The award was made on the grounds that it took her six years to get TransUnion to remove incorrect information in her credit report.

In 2006, after spending two years trying to correct erroneous credit information that resulted from being a victim of identity theft, a fraud victim named Sloan filed suit against all three of the US's largest credit agencies. TransUnion and Experian settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. In Sloan v. Equifax, a jury awarded Sloan $351,000. "She wrote letters. She called them. They saw the problem. They just didn't fix it," said her attorney, A. Hugo Blankingship III.

TransUnion has also been criticized for concealing charges. Many users complained of not being aware of a $17.95/month charge for holding a TransUnion account.

In March 2015, following a settlement with the New York Attorney-General, TransUnion, along with other credit reporting companies, Experian and Equifax, agreed to help consumers with errors and red flags on credit reports. Under the new settlement, credit-reporting firms are required to use trained employees to respond when a consumer flags a mistake on their file. These employees are responsible for communicating with the lender and resolving the dispute.

In January 2017, TransUnion was fined $5.5 million and ordered to pay $17.6 million in restitution, along with Equifax, by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The federal agency fined the companies "for deceiving consumers about the usefulness and actual cost of credit scores they sold to consumers". The CFPB also said the companies "lured consumers into costly recurring payments for credit-related products with false promises". Credit bureaus had the most complaints of all companies filed with the CFPB by consumers in 2018, with 34% of all complaints directed at TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian that year.

In June 2017, a California jury ruled against TransUnion with a $60 million verdict in the largest Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) verdict in history. The San Francisco federal court jury awarded $60 million in damages to consumers who were falsely reported on a government list of terrorists and other security threats. The plaintiffs' team of attorneys at Francis & Mailman, P.C. partnered with another California-based firm in the class action. Following up on this, in April 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said TransUnion is "incapable of operating its businesses lawfully".

Security issues

On 13 October 2017, the website for TransUnion's Central American division was reported to have been redirecting visitors to websites that attempted drive-by downloads of malware disguised as Adobe Flash updates. The attack had been performed by hijacking third-party analytics JavaScript from Digital River brand FireClick.

On 17 March 2022, TransUnion South Africa disclosed that hackers breached one of their servers and allegedly stole data of 54 million customers, demanding a ransom to not release it, the group N4ughtysecTU claims responsibility.

See also

References

  1. "US SEC: Form 10-K TransUnion (Fiscal Year 2017)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 13, 2018. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  2. "US SEC: Form 8-K TransUnion – Departure of James M. Peck as CEO". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. November 14, 2018. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  3. "US SEC: Form 10-K TransUnion (Fiscal Year 2019)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  4. "Customer Credit Check | TransUnion". TransUnion. Retrieved 2017-09-23.
  5. "Global Presence | A Powerful, Global Force | TransUnion". TransUnion. Retrieved 2017-09-23.
  6. "TransUnion SEC Filing (2014)". SEC. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  7. "How to protect yourself against the theft of your identity". The Economist. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  8. "Free Credit Reports". Consumer Information. 2013-03-26. Retrieved 2017-09-23.
  9. "TransUnion - Competing with Data Giants".
  10. Gupta, Rohit (2018-12-06). Reward and Donation Crowdfunding: A Complete Guide for Emerging Startups. Notion Press. ISBN 978-1-68466-089-6.
  11. O'Connell, Brian (13 March 2019). "What Are the Three Credit Bureaus and Why Do They Matter?". TheStreet. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  12. Marmon Group
  13. Cunningham, Lawrence (21 October 2014). Book: All One." Berkshire beyond Buffett: The Enduring Value of Values, . New York Columbia Business School. ISBN 978-0231170048.
  14. "Advent and Goldman to buy TransUnion in $3B Deal". New York Times. 17 February 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  15. "TransUnion buys TLO - South Florida Business Journal<". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  16. Gupta, Rohit (2018-12-06). Reward and Donation Crowdfunding: A Complete Guide for Emerging Startups. Notion Press. ISBN 978-1-68466-089-6.
  17. "TransUnion acquires Austin's eScan Data Systems – Austin Business Journal". Austin Business Journal. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  18. "Court gives approval for TransUnion-TLO merger". Venture Capital Post. 2013-11-23. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  19. "Form 8-K". www.sec.gov. 2015-12-09. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  20. "TransUnion acquires FactorTrust". Auto Remarketing. 2017-11-15. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
  21. "Document". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
  22. "TransUnion to buy UK-based Callcredit for $1.4 billion". Reuters. 20 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-20.
  23. "TransUnion and Neustar Announce Transaction Close". GlobeNewswire (Press release). 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  24. "TransUnion to buy Neustar for $3.1bn". PE Hub. 2021-09-13. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  25. "TransUnion Completes Acquisition of Sontiq". GlobeNewswire (Press release). 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  26. "TransUnion Acquires Identity Security Company Sontiq for $638 Million". SecurityWeek. 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  27. "TransUnion Announces Rebrand of its Business Solutions with Focus on Providing a Tru™ Picture of Consumers". GlobeNewswire (Press release). 2022-02-21. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  28. "TransUnion Rebrands Business Solutions". Finovate. 2022-02-21. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  29. Block, Sandra. "Fixing errors in credit report is no small task", USA Today, 2005-08-27.
  30. Baldas, Tresa. "Consumer Lawsuits Against Credit Bureaus Are Multiplying", The National Law Journal, 2006-08-16.
  31. "Top 604 Reviews and Complaints about TransUnion". ConsumerAffairs. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  32. "Agencies have to address credit report complaints". CNN Money. CNN. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  33. "CFPB Orders TransUnion and Equifax to Pay for Deceiving Consumers in Marketing Credit Scores and Credit Products". 3 January 2017.
  34. "Credit bureaus draw the most consumer complaints to the CFPB - CBS News". CBS News. 9 May 2019.
  35. "TransUnion hit with $60 million jury verdict over blacklist alerts". Reuters. 21 June 2017.
  36. "CFPB says TransUnion "incapable of operating its businesses lawfully"". 13 April 2022.
  37. ^ "Equifax rival TransUnion also sends site visitors to malicious pages". arstechnica.co.uk. 12 October 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  38. "Equifax website showed you ads full of malware, expert finds". cnet.com. 12 October 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  39. "Malicious Redirects on Equifax, TransUnion Sites Caused by Third-Party Script – SecurityWeek.Com". www.securityweek.com. 13 October 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  40. "Hackers claim to breach TransUnion South Africa with 'Password' password". bleepingcomputer.com. Retrieved 18 March 2022.

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