Live From New Orleans: PerformanceData to Cut Products in Response to New Regs
PerformanceData, a subsidiary of Trans Union, will change its product offerings in response to pending legislative restrictions on use of consumer data, according to newly appointed general manager Jeff Hellinga.
The Chicago-based company will stop taking orders for its MasterFile and MasterFile Solo products, which offer individual and household-level information, on Nov. 12. All orders for these two products will ship before the end of November.
These changes will put it in compliance with the Federal Trade Commission’s final interpretation of the Financial Services Modernization Act (FSMA).
PerformanceData will continue to offer its cluster-base products, including Sum-it and Sum-it Plus, through July 2001, the final deadline for compliance with the FSMA.
These products offer spending behavior information on blocks of five to nine households.
Two products used by mailers making firm offers of credit will not be affected. They are the New Issuers database of credit card recipients, and Stratum, which clusters consumers based on their credit behavior.
The New Movers file, which had been used for soft offers of credit, will be replaced by one geared for hard offers in January.
Chicago-based PerformanceData has joined Orange, CA-based Experian and the Individual Reference Services Group in filing for a stay of implementation of the FTC’s interpretation.
“There is no question that [the FSMA] will have a financial impact,” said Hellinga. ” We have seen this coming and are repositioning ourselves in the market, expanding our products and services.”
PerformanceData also will be packaging and releasing analytic offerings in mid-2001. As these are in development, the company is not ready to release additional information on them.
