Dateline: Experian, product update, 12 October 2026

Experian said on 12 October 2026 that mortgage lenders using its Power Profile Plus product can now request unlimited eligible follow-up soft inquiries during the application and qualification period, and add further scores, without another Experian credit-profile charge. Power Profile Plus delivers a full Experian credit profile with VantageScore 4.0 through a soft inquiry, so lenders can assess a borrower before running a hard pull, according to Experian’s release on BusinessWire.

Change: Unlimited eligible follow-up soft inquiries with no extra Experian credit-profile charge

Pricing: VantageScore 4.0 standalone mortgage origination score at $0.99

How Power Profile Plus changes the mortgage credit workflow

Under the updated Power Profile Plus workflow, a lender starts with Experian’s full credit file and a VantageScore 4.0 through a soft inquiry. The lender can revisit the file as often as needed during qualification without paying Experian again for the profile. If the lender also wants a FICO Score, the score charge applies, but Experian says it will not charge a second time for the underlying credit profile. Once the borrower and lender are ready to go ahead, the lender moves to a hard inquiry and continues toward underwriting, where standard hard-pull pricing applies.

The distinction between the two inquiry types matters to borrowers. A soft inquiry does not count against a consumer’s score the way a hard inquiry can, so a borrower can be assessed early, and more than once, without a mark on the file. Loan officers often need to recheck a file while a borrower pays down a card or corrects an error, and under the old pricing each recheck could mean another charge.

Experian is pairing the change with sharp score pricing. VantageScore 4.0 is available as a standalone mortgage origination score for $0.99, and through Experian’s Score Choice Bundle, lenders who buy a FICO Score in 2026 get VantageScore 4.0 at no cost.

The regulatory push behind VantageScore

Experian ties the update to a decision by the Federal Housing Finance Agency to make VantageScore 4.0 available to all approved Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lenders. The government side has moved too. Fintechbits covered VantageScore 4.0 winning FHA acceptance from 2027, along with FICO’s own FHA approval announced the same day.

Michele Bodda, Experian’s group president for housing, verification solutions and employer services, said the company’s focus was “on making that transition cost-effective and easy to implement.” The transition she means is the industry’s shift from a single FICO-based model to a choice of scores, and Experian wants that shift to cost lenders as little as possible.

Fintechbits analysis

Fintechbits analysis

Why Power Profile Plus is a move in the score war with FICO

Experian has dressed a pricing decision as a workflow update. Lenders have complained for years about the cost of mortgage credit reports and FICO’s rising per-score fees. The three bureaus jointly own VantageScore, so they have every reason to move the industry toward it.

By making the soft-pull profile reusable and putting VantageScore 4.0 first, Experian makes VantageScore the first score a loan officer sees. FICO stays available, but as an add-on the lender has to choose. The order matters, because lenders tend to stick with the score they started with, and a near-free VantageScore on every file lowers the cost of switching.

Consumers gain something as well. Soft inquiries let borrowers test their eligibility early without a hard pull on their file. Experian’s own survey, run by Atomik Research among 2,000 US adults in July 2026, found 52% would be more interested in buying a home if lenders counted additional positive payment history, and one-third would look for a new lender if theirs used legacy models that ignore rent and utility payments. Experian commissioned those numbers, so treat them as directional.

The savings stop at underwriting. Power Profile Plus cuts costs at prequalification, but much of a loan’s credit cost still sits in the hard-pull report, where standard pricing applies. Lenders with high fallout rates, who pay for many files that never close, will see meaningful savings. Lenders that convert most applicants will see modest ones.

What the change means for Equifax and TransUnion

Rival bureaus will feel pressure to match. Mortgage underwriting has long relied on reports from all three bureaus, so a cheaper Experian soft pull only lowers a lender’s total cost if Equifax and TransUnion follow, or if the number of required reports falls. The FHFA has previously signalled openness to fewer bureau reports per loan, and any move in that direction would make front-end pricing such as Power Profile Plus far more important to each bureau’s share of mortgage volume.

My guess is that at least one rival matches the offer before FHA’s 2027 switch, because the cost of losing first position in the prequalification file is higher than the revenue from repeat soft pulls.

Frequently asked questions

What is Experian Power Profile Plus?

A mortgage credit product that gives lenders a full Experian credit profile with VantageScore 4.0 through a soft inquiry, before any hard pull.

Does Power Profile Plus include a FICO Score?

Lenders can add a FICO Score if they choose. The score charge applies, but Experian says it does not charge again for the underlying credit profile.

Does a soft inquiry affect a borrower’s credit score?

No. Soft inquiries are visible only to the consumer and do not affect the score, while a hard inquiry at underwriting can, which is why lenders use the soft pull for early assessment.

What to Watch Next on Power Profile Plus

Watch whether Equifax and TransUnion respond with free follow-up soft inquiries of their own, and whether large mortgage originators publicly move prequalification to VantageScore 4.0 because of Power Profile Plus pricing. FHA’s acceptance of VantageScore in 2027 is the next fixed deadline, and it will force lenders to decide which score sits at the front of the file.

Why this matters

Experian has made its mortgage soft-pull profile reusable at no extra profile charge and put VantageScore 4.0 at the front of the file, with the score priced at $0.99 standalone. That gives lenders cheaper prequalification and nudges them toward VantageScore before FHA starts accepting it in 2027. Savings are largest for lenders with many applications that never close. Equifax and TransUnion now face pressure to match, because lenders still pull all three bureaus at underwriting.

Primary sources

Business Wire | PRESS RELEASE | https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261012015934/en/Experian-Introduces-Power-Profile-Plus-Enhancements-to-Cut-Early-Stage-Mortgage-Credit-Costs-and-Expand-Score-Choice

fhfa.gov | REGULATOR | https://www.fhfa.gov/