What Informative Research does

Informative Research is a U.S. mortgage technology provider that delivers credit reporting, income and employment verification, asset verification, risk/fraud screening, and property data through a single, API-accessible platform. Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Garden Grove, California, the company serves retail mortgage lenders, independent mortgage banks (IMBs), and banks offering mortgage products across the United States. The platform spans six core product lines — Credit Platform, Verification Platform, AccountChek (asset/income/employment verification), Risk Platform, Property Solutions, and Data Solutions (via the IRDS subsidiary) — plus add-on modules including Action Center, SoftQual, Txt2Qual, Prospect Insight, and The Work Number Report Indicator.

The platform is differentiated by deep native integrations with major loan origination systems (Encompass via the Partner Connect API, LendingQB, Floify, MortgageHippo) and by tri-bureau connectivity (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion), enabling embedded ordering, configurable waterfall logic, and consumer direct-sourced data flows. AccountChek aligns with Fannie Mae Day 1 Certainty and Freddie Mac AIM to deliver rep-and-warrant relief on automated VOIE. Supporting infrastructure includes monthly invoice reviews, SelfQual soft-pull prequalification, and the Work Number Report Indicator for earlier VOIE insight, with AI-augmented workflows (MAIA bot, Prospect Insight predictive alerts) layered onto the engagement layer.

Informative Research operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Stewart Information Services Corporation (NASDAQ: STC), which acquired the company in 2021; it monetizes through transaction fees on credit and verification orders plus subscription platform access for tools such as Action Center. The company distributes via direct enterprise sales, a partner success team led by an SVP role, and LOS-embedded integrations, with secondary channels including industry events, thought-leadership content, and PR. Pricing is quote-based and varies by lender volume, product mix, and contract terms, consistent with enterprise B2B SaaS/transaction norms in the mortgage technology market.

Name

Informative Research

Legal name

Informative Research

Website

https://informativeresearch.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Informative Research provides credit reporting, income and employment verification, and asset verification solutions for U.S. mortgage lenders through a unified platform integrated with major loan origination systems and credit bureaus, operating as a subsidiary of Stewart Information Services Corporation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mortgage Credit and Verification Technology

NAICS

Credit Bureaus (56145), Other Activities Related to Credit Intermediation (52239)

SIC

Services-Consumer Credit Reporting, Collection Agencies (7320)

akta.pro primary industry

Credit Bureaus & Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies (FSAKAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Income, Employment & Cash-Flow Verification (Consumer) (FSAKAKAE), Alternative Data & Credit Scoring (Cashflow, Telco, Utility, Open Banking) (FSAGAHAC), Fraud Detection, Identity & KYC/AML for Mortgages (FSALALAH), Quality Control (QC), Compliance & Audit Tools for Underwriting (FSALALAL)

Keywords

• Mortgage credit reporting
• Verification services
• Loan origination technology
• Credit data platform
• Mortgage verification

Headquarters

HQ city

Garden Grove

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Credit and Verification Services: Transaction-based fees for credit reports (soft pulls, hard pulls, tri-merge), income verification, employment verification, and asset verification services ordered through the platform.
2. Subscription Platform Access: Ongoing platform access fees for unified credit and verification platform including Action Center, dashboards, reporting, and platform reliability features.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Informative Research provides a unified data and verification platform for the U.S. mortgage industry, delivering credit reporting (soft pulls, hard pulls, tri-merge, FICO 10T, VantageScore 4.0), income/employment and asset verification through a customizable waterfall, consumer-direct asset and income verification via AccountChek, identity and fraud detection, property risk solutions, and analytics-driven borrower retention tools. Its offering integrates with all major credit bureaus and the leading loan origination systems so lenders can order, verify, monitor, and refresh borrower data through a single workflow rather than stitched-together point products.

Product overview

Informative Research offers a unified platform architecture that brings together credit, verification, and borrower data solutions for the mortgage lending industry. The platform is built around six core products: the Credit Platform (covering soft pulls, hard pulls, tri-merge, FICO 10T, VantageScore 4.0, and Mortgage/Account Refresh), the Verification Platform (with a customizable waterfall across instant databases, payroll providers, and manual options), AccountChek (direct-source asset/income/employment verification supporting Fannie Mae Day 1 Certainty and Freddie Mac AIM), Risk Solutions (identity and fraud detection), Property Solutions (valuation, flood, and title risk), and Data Solutions (a subsidiary providing big data analytics, borrower retention alerts, and AI-powered automation). These core products are complemented by add-on modules and services including Action Center (self-service workspace), SoftQual (soft-pull prequalification), The Work Number Report Indicator and Income Qualify (early VOIE clarity), Prospect Insight (advanced borrower alerts with MAIA AI automation), Credit Supplements and Rapid Rescore, Credit Assure, CreditXpert Wayfinder, Txt2Qual, and PreClose Monitoring.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AccountChek: Consumer direct sourced data collection from financial institutions for asset and income verification.
• SoftQual

Products and services

• Credit Platform Full suite of credit solutions including soft pulls, hard pulls, tri-merge reports, FICO 10T, VantageScore 4.0, Mortgage Refresh, Account Refresh, and credit simulators, designed to cut costs and streamline credit workflows from prequal to close. Targeted at U.S. mortgage lenders and banks operating in mid-market and enterprise segments.
• Verification Platform Customizable verification waterfall across instant databases, payroll providers, and manual verification, integrating with The Work Number, Experian Verify, AccountChek, and more. Smart waterfall logic reduces VOE/I spend and speeds up turn times for U.S. mortgage lenders.
• AccountChek Collects consumer direct-sourced financial data from financial institutions to verify assets, income, and employment. Supports Fannie Mae Day 1 Certainty and Freddie Mac AIM, offering all-in-one reports covering assets, income, and employment for U.S. mortgage lenders.
• Risk Platform Identity and fraud detection tools that surface red flags earlier in the loan process, helping mortgage lenders mitigate risk and protect against fraudulent applications.
• Property Solutions Solutions to get ahead of valuation gaps, flood risks, and hidden title issues, supporting mortgage lenders through the property-related stages of loan origination, including Black Knight AVM integration.
• Data Solutions Big data analytics, modeling, and business intelligence subsidiary providing borrower alerts (rate watch, equity watch, early payoff, MLS, PMI removal), AI-powered automation (MAIA), and customer engagement tools to help mortgage lenders with portfolio monitoring and retention.
• Txt2Qual Mobile-based automated prequalification tool that generates leads for lenders by providing an applicant's prequalification status and contact information within 60 seconds using a soft pull of credit, serviced by Experian.
• Prospect Insight Advanced suite of borrower alert types including rate watch, early payoff warnings, equity watch, MLS alerts, and PMI removal alerts, integrated with the MAIA AI automation bot for outbound borrower outreach and proactive loan officer engagement.
• Verification Bundle Bundled offering allowing lenders to combine specific solutions and data partners — including credit reports, flood certifications, 4506Ts, and SSN verification — into one invoice with a more affordable, straightforward fee structure, delivering hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual disclosure fee savings.

Quantifiable outcome

• V.I.P. Mortgage cut verification costs by 75% on approximately 15% of its loans
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration17 records

AI capability4 records

Feature11 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• HalcyoncoreTechnology or Integration · 16 June 2026Partnership to automate income validation and add IRS tax transcript access, expanding verification capabilities within IR's unified platform. Part of five new integrations added in the past year.
• Thomas & CompanycoreTechnology or Integration · 16 June 2026Expanded verification options partnership adding additional verification capabilities to IR's platform ecosystem.
• EquifaxcoreTechnology or Integration · 16 June 2026Introduction of The Work Number Report Indicator from Equifax to IR's integrated suite, providing earlier insight into borrower employment status. Also includes The Work Number integration for VOIE services.
• Freddie MaccoreTechnology or IntegrationExpanded integration for Freddie Mac's Loan Product Advisor (LPA) asset and income modeler (AIM), increasing lenders' access to rep and warrant relief when using AccountChek for automated verification of income and employment.
• FloifycoreTechnology or IntegrationPoint-of-sale system integration with AccountChek embedding verification requests directly into the loan application process, enabling borrowers to link financial accounts easily.
• ICE Mortgage TechnologycoreTechnology or IntegrationLong-standing integration with Encompass LOS via Encompass Partner Connect (EPC) API enabling real-time data exchange and automated decisioning. Mark Jones joined from ICE Mortgage Technology as SVP Partner Success.
• Stewart Information Services CorporationflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent company that acquired Informative Research in 2021. Stewart is a leading title insurance and real estate services company.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• DataVerify: Mortgage credit and verification technology vendor providing similar credit ordering and workflow tools. Especially comparable given DataVerify alumnus Corey Hampton now leads IR's product organization.
• TransUnion: U.S. credit bureau supplying consumer credit data and PCM monitoring integrated into IR's platform. Competes with IR on credit ordering, tri-merge reporting and portfolio monitoring services.
• Equifax: One of the three major U.S. credit bureaus and a core integration partner for IR. Equifax provides The Work Number employment data and credit reports directly to lenders, competing with IR across credit reporting and verification.
• CBCInnovis: Provider of credit reporting, verification, and decisioning solutions to mortgage lenders. Direct overlap with IR's credit and verification offerings; also a prior employer of IR's VP of Product Management.
• Experian: Global credit bureau providing consumer credit reports and Experian Verify income/employment services used by IR's lenders. Directly competes with IR's Credit Platform and Verification Platform on tri-merge and VOI/E workflows.

Others

• Plaid: Open-banking data connectivity provider enabling consumer-permissioned bank account, income and asset data. Functionally overlaps with AccountChek's consumer direct-source data model as an enabling/complementary technology.

Emerging players

• MeridianLink: Provider of loan origination, account opening and data verification software to financial institutions. Competes with IR on credit decisioning and verification within consumer lending workflows.
• Veri-Tax: Tax transcript and verification provider integrated into IR's Verification Waterfall. Overlaps on income verification but is a partner as well; serves similar lender workflows.
• LoanBeam: Specialized provider of automated income calculation and verification for mortgage lenders. Competes with IR's AccountChek and Verification Platform on the asset/income/employment side of origination.

Broad incumbents

• ICE Mortgage Technology: Provider of the Encompass loan origination system, the dominant mortgage LOS, and IR's primary distribution partner. Competes more broadly across mortgage technology workflows than IR's narrower credit/verification focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/simplifyyoursuccess

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Informative Research