Equifax Enhances Services to Prepare for Use of E-Signatures

Since the IRS will soon allow electronic signatures on Form 4506-T, ""Equifax"":http://www.equifax.com/home/en_us announced it has enhanced proprietary verifications services in anticipation of the change.

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Equifax is applying e-signature technology to improve its ""IRS Tax Transcript fulfillment service"":http://theworknumber.com/Verifiers/Products/4506T.asp.

Equifax explained Form 4506-T is important when applying for a loan or a mortgage modification since tax transcripts are required to validate income. When e-signatures are accepted on Form 4506-T, the application process should be faster and more efficient compared to the use of handwritten signatures.

On behalf of its clients, Equifax stated it's prepared to start processing 4506-T forms with e-signatures when the IRS service is live on January 7, 2013.

The company also acted as a key participant in the IRS' ""Send My Transcript"":http://news.equifax.com/2012-10-22-Equifax-Selected-by-Internal-Revenue-Service-as-One-of-First-eTranscript-Pilot-Vendors online application service pilot, which will allow taxpayers to request tax transcripts directly from the IRS online and have the transcripts delivered instantly to the customer's lender, bypassing the need for a 4506-T form.

If the pilot is adopted, the program could make the process of verifying income even more efficient.

""We are well-positioned to help both mortgage lenders and clients in auto lending, student lending, consumer finance and social services receive this data with a level of speed and efficiency consistent with their need for real-time decisioning,"" said Jeff Knott, senior director of product management at Equifax Verification Services. ""As an early advocate for the continuing acceptance and expansion of this technology, we're confident it will accelerate business while improving consumer satisfaction in a wide range of credit-decisioning scenarios.""

The credit bureau is headquartered in Atlanta and offers consumer and commercial information solutions. The company organizes and assimilates data on more than 500 million consumers and 81 million businesses worldwide.