Experian expands Power Profile Plus to cut early mortgage costs

what happened

BusinessWire reported that Experian has enhanced its Power Profile Plus for Mortgage solution. The product gives lenders a complete Experian credit profile and VantageScore 4.0 through a soft inquiry, supplying an initial score without requiring a hard inquiry at the start of the mortgage process.

Under the revised workflow, lenders can make unlimited eligible follow-up soft inquiries during the application and qualification period without paying another Experian credit-profile charge. They may also add other scores at their discretion. If a lender requests FICO Score 2, the applicable score fee still applies, while Experian does not charge again for the credit profile underlying that score.

Once both parties are prepared to continue, the lender can replace the soft inquiry with a hard inquiry and proceed toward underwriting. Standard pricing for hard-pull credit reports and scores remains applicable. The announcement follows the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s decision to make VantageScore 4.0 available to all approved Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lenders.

Experian said its research found that one-third of consumers would look for a different lender if their current provider used legacy scoring models that exclude rent and utility payments. Another 52% said they would be more interested in homeownership if additional positive payment history were considered. VantageScore 4.0 is offered as a standalone mortgage-origination score for $0.99; in 2026, it is available at no cost through the Experian Score Choice Bundle when a FICO Score 2 is obtained.

why it matters

The changes support broader lender testing of modern mortgage-scoring models while reducing repeated profile costs during qualification. That could strengthen demand for Experian’s mortgage data and scoring products as lenders receive more flexibility in choosing scores.

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