A credit score is a number that provides a comparative estimate of an individual's creditworthiness based on an analysis of their credit report. It is an inexpensive and main alternative to other forms of consumer loan underwriting.
TransUnion is an American consumer credit reporting agency. TransUnion collects and aggregates information on over one billion individual consumers in over thirty countries including "200 million files profiling nearly every credit-active consumer in the United States". Its customers include over 65,000 businesses. Based in Chicago, Illinois, TransUnion's 2014 revenue was US$1.3 billion. It is the smallest of the three largest credit agencies, along with Experian and Equifax.
Equifax Inc. is an American multinational consumer credit reporting agency headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and is one of the three largest consumer credit reporting agencies, along with Experian and TransUnion. Equifax collects and aggregates information on over 800 million individual consumers and more than 88 million businesses worldwide. In addition to credit and demographic data and services to business, Equifax sells credit monitoring and fraud prevention services directly to consumers.
A credit history is a record of a borrower's responsible repayment of debts. A credit report is a record of the borrower's credit history from a number of sources, including banks, credit card companies, collection agencies, and governments. A borrower's credit score is the result of a mathematical algorithm applied to a credit report and other sources of information to predict future delinquency.
An insurance score – also called an insurance credit score – is a numerical point system based on select credit report characteristics. There is no direct relationship to financial credit scores used in lending decisions, as insurance scores are not intended to measure creditworthiness, but rather to predict risk. Insurance companies use insurance scores for underwriting decisions, and to partially determine charges for premiums. Insurance scores are applied in personal product lines, namely homeowners and private passenger automobile insurance, and typically not elsewhere.
A credit bureau is a data collection agency that gathers account information from various creditors and provides that information to a consumer reporting agency in the United States, a credit reference agency in the United Kingdom, a credit reporting body in Australia, a credit information company (CIC) in India, Special Accessing Entity in the Philippines, and also to private lenders. It is not the same as a credit rating agency.
A credit score is a numerical expression based on a level analysis of a person's credit files, to represent the creditworthiness of an individual. A credit score is primarily based on a credit report, information typically sourced from credit bureaus.
VantageScore is a consumer credit-scoring system in the United States, created through a joint venture of the three major credit bureaus. The model is managed and maintained by an independent company, VantageScore Solutions, LLC, that was formed in 2006 and is jointly owned by the three bureaus.
A title loan is a type of secured loan where borrowers can use their vehicle title as collateral. Borrowers who get title loans must allow a lender to place a lien on their car title, and temporarily surrender the hard copy of their vehicle title, in exchange for a loan amount. When the loan is repaid, the lien is removed and the car title is returned to its owner. If the borrower defaults on their payments then the lender is liable to repossess the vehicle and sell it to repay the borrowers’ outstanding debt.
Roger D. Jones is an American physicist and entrepreneur. He currently is a Research Fellow at the European Centre for Living Technology at the University of Venice, Italy.
A seasoned tradeline is a line of credit that the borrower has held open in good standing for a long period of time, typically at least two years. The "seasoned" part implies that the account is aged or that it has an established history.
Connect, formerly PRBC, is a consumer credit reporting agency, more commonly referred to as a credit bureau in the United States. It is similar to the other four U.S. credit bureaus in that it is an FCRA compliant national data repository. Connect differs in that consumers are able to self-enroll and report their own non-debt payment history, and they can build a positive credit file based on alternative data, such as timely payments for bills including rent, utilities, cable, telephone, and insurance that are not automatically reported to the other bureaus.
LifeLock Inc. is American identity theft software, sold by Tempe, Arizona-based company Gen Digital Inc.. LifeLock's system monitors for identity theft, the use of personal information, and credit score changes.
Earl Judson Isaac founded Fair, Isaac and Company along with friend William R. "Bill" Fair in 1956. They began the operation in a small studio apartment on Lincoln Avenue in San Rafael, California.
CRIF High Mark Credit Information Services Pvt. Ltd. is an RBI-approved credit bureau in India. It serves retail, agriculture and rural, MSME, commercial and microfinance.
Moody's Analytics is a subsidiary of Moody's Corporation established in 2007 to focus on non-rating activities, separate from Moody's Investors Service. It provides economic research regarding risk, performance and financial modeling, as well as consulting, training and software services. Moody's Analytics is composed of divisions such as Moody's KMV, Moody's Economy.com, Moody's Wall Street Analytics, the Institute of Risk Standards and Qualifications, and Canadian Securities Institute Global Education Inc.
LendUp was an American online direct lender. It offered payday loans, installment loans, and credit cards to consumers with low credit scores using publicly available data to assess creditworthiness. The company referred to its customers as “the emerging middle class.” LendUp also issued credit cards in partnership with Tom Steyer's Beneficial State Bank.
Achieve is a lender that mainly focuses on underwriting loans to prime consumers. Achieve is the consumer brand of Freedom Financial Network, LLC, which is headquartered in San Mateo, California. Achieve developed a proprietary underwriting process that delivers low-cost loans to borrowers and low-risk access to consumer loan portfolios for accredited investors.
MicroBilt Corporation is a credit reporting company and alternative credit data provider. Since its founding in 1978, it has grown by acquisition to challenge its larger rivals. Its PRBC consumer credit subsidiary offers consumers the ability to self-report on the bill paying habits as a means of positively impacting their credit score. MicroBilt’s other subsidiaries focus on business credit and services to sub-prime lenders. Many of the company's products are designed to help businesses accurately assess risk on consumers who otherwise have thin traditional credit files. In doing so, credit can be extended to consumers where it couldn't before opening a new customer base to a company and new opportunities to a consumer.
Credit scoring systems in the United States have garnered considerable criticism from various media outlets, consumer law organizations, government officials, debtors unions, and academics. Racial bias, discrimination against prospective employees, discrimination against medical and student debt holders, poor risk predictability, manipulation of credit scoring algorithms, inaccurate reports, and overall immorality are some of the concerns raised regarding the system. Danielle Citron and Frank Pasquale list three major flaws in the current credit-scoring system:
- Disparate impacts: The algorithms systematize biases that have been measured externally and are known to impact disadvantaged groups such as racial minorities and women. Because the algorithms are proprietary, they cannot be tested for built-in human bias.
- Arbitrary: Research shows that there is substantial variation in scoring based on audits. Responsible financial behavior can be penalized.
- Opacity: credit score technology is not transparent so consumers are unable to know why their credit scores are affected.
US$1.295 billion (2020)