ATLANTA, Nov. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX), a global information solutions company, announced that Jeff Knott, assistant vice president of Product Management, received Mortgage Technology Magazine's 2014 "Steve Fraser Visionary" Award for his accomplishments as an outstanding mortgage technology innovator, visionary and evangelizer.

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"Since its inception in 2000, the Mortgage Technology Awards have recognized technology vendors, mortgage companies and individuals committed to promoting automation and cost savings, the innovative development of new technology and success in eliminating waste and delays in the mortgage process," said Austin Kilgore, editor in chief of National Mortgage News and the SourceMedia Mortgage Group. "We had an excellent slate of finalists for the 15th Annual MT Awards, and this year's winners are all well-deserving of the honor."

"Receiving the Steve Fraser Visionary Award and being celebrated as a mortgage technology innovator, visionary and evangelist is a tremendous honor and illustrates the progress that the mortgage industry has made - progress that would not be possible without the enthusiasm of many others who have dedicated themselves to the advancement of this space," said Knott. "This lifetime achievement award epitomizes the spirit of its namesake, Steve Fraser, and defines what it means to have a combined vision and passion. It also serves as a reminder of how we must always display the courage to challenge one another in building a better world and seek to embrace the unlimited potential that lies ahead."

Knott is known throughout the industry for his instrumental role in reforming Internal Revenue Service (IRS) policy, to allow the acceptance of electronic signatures on Form 4506-T, which is a required document in virtually all mortgage lending scenarios. In his role at Equifax, Knott has direct oversight of the company's IRS Income (4506-T tax transcript fulfillment) and SSN verification products. He is also part of the team responsible for The Work Number® database, along with other employment, income, identity and asset verification services.

In addition to his role at Equifax, Knott serves as vice chairman and is 2015 chairman-elect for the Electronic Signature and Records Association (ESRA), where he furthers the organization's efforts to optimize the understanding and encourage adoption of these practices that inherently promote compliance, efficiency and transparency benefits for the public, businesses and government alike. Knott advocates public policy and rallies ESRA's collective voice to provide best practices and insight on the adoption of these applications as well as the regulatory considerations for e-signature and record technology with companies across the globe; including his overall efforts to enable consumer-friendly functionality in pursuit of a truly paperless mortgage process.

The winners were announced on Oct. 19 at the 15(th) Annual Mortgage Technology Awards Ceremony, held in conjunction with the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Annual Convention and Expo in Las Vegas.

About Equifax, Inc.

Equifax is a global leader in consumer, commercial and workforce information solutions that provide businesses of all sizes and consumers with insight and information they can trust. Equifax organizes and assimilates data on more than 600 million consumers and 81 million businesses worldwide. The company's significant investments in differentiated data, its expertise in advanced analytics to explore and develop new multi-source data solutions, and its leading-edge proprietary technology enable it to create and deliver unparalleled customized insights that enrich both the performance of businesses and the lives of consumers.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Equifax operates or has investments in 19 countries and is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500® Index. Its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EFX. In 2013, Equifax was named a Bloomberg BusinessWeek Top 50 company, was #3 in Fortune's Most Admired list in its category, and was named to InfoWeek 500 as well as the FinTech 100. For more information, please visit www.equifax.com.

About ESRA

The Electronic Signature and Records Association (ESRA) is the premier trade association representing electronic signature and records industry adopters and providers. Founded in 2006, the organization's primary mission is to educate its members and the public on legal, public policy, regulatory and operational issues in relation to the use of electronic signatures and records across various industries. For more information, visit www.eSignRecords.org.

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SOURCE Equifax Inc.