ATLANTA — Equifax Inc.'s new Automated Income Check solution is designed to help dealers verify a car buyer's stated income and employment. It's powered by The Work Number, a database of employer-provided income and employment information from Equifax Workforce Solutions, a business unit of Equifax Inc.

In addition to confirming basic income and employment information, the company noted, dealers can its new verification technology to view an applicant's job tenure to gain additional insight into repayment risk beyond what a credit score alone can reveal. 

“Time is money for dealerships and it is difficult to ensure an efficient buying process when some shoppers do not accurately report their income on the loan application,” said Bill Thompson, senior vice president, automotive vertical leader and general manager at Equifax. “It’s critical to understand a buyer’s financial capacity early in the sale, and dealers can now instantly verify a customer’s income and employment data. This allows them to confidently offer financing options to their customer, and ultimately provide their lending partners with high quality financing opportunities.”

Recent Equifax research found that approximately 27% of applicants overstate their income by more than 15%, while about 15% overestimate it by 50% or more. Equifax also found that about 20% of applicants understate their income by 10% or more.