IN order to increase transparency and information-sharing to improve the credit environment, credit information on someone can only be shared with their consent as Creditinfo (Guyana) Inc. aims to promote responsible borrowing which brings stability to the financial sector.

This is according to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CREDITINFO Guyana, Judy Semple-Joseph, during a presentation on Wednesday at a Guyana Press Association Lunchtime Lecture on Credit Info at Moray House, Georgetown.

She explained that good quality data is an integral part of Creditinfo (Guyana) Inc. and this has been an issue in Guyana since the information was not set up in a way that allowed for better decision making.

“Data is key, data is critical, data is like the cash flow of our institution,” she said.
The CEO explained that data must be protected by high quality security systems for the database, something which Creditinfo (Guyana) Inc. has upgraded recently.
She said data providers must operate under certain guidelines in order for credibility to be maintained.

“We operate under a legal framework with the Credit Reporting legislation that is regulated by the central bank and sometime in the future, with the right legislation in CARICOM, there will be cross border sharing of information,” she explained.

“All lenders are mandated by law to share all credit data that they have in their database with the Credit Bureau, otherwise we will not be able to function,” she said. However, “a lender cannot pull your credit report without your consent and this is one of the key things we want to assure persons.”

She explained that no lender will have access to the system if there is no signed agreement.

Adding that the key to Creditinfo (Guyana) Inc. is to promote responsible borrowing; she said this brings stability to the financial sector.

“The only way we will know you is if you present yourself to Creditinfo or present yourself to a lender and give them permission with your ID, saying I would like a loan from you and I have no objection to you pulling my credit report and of course that is signed to,” the CEO explained.

She also noted persons can visit the Creditinfo office requesting the information on their credit report; the first one would be free.

The CEO explained that the agency is an information and decision solutions company that helps lenders and businesses make better informed decisions in the entire credit life cycle for individuals and companies, and with financial inclusion as a vision.

Creditinfo (Guyana) Inc. is the second regional presence of an Icelandic conglomerate [now headquartered in Barcelona, Spain].

Operating under the Credit Report Act of 2010 and Credit Reporting [Amendment] Act of 2016, the company was established in 2013 to provide credit reporting services through Guyana’s first credit bureau. The credit bureau is an independent organisation that collects, stores and organises credit information about consumers and businesses.

This information is sourced and collected from lenders such as banks, credit unions and microfinance organisations, as well as providers of various alternative types of credit such as hire purchase companies, telecommunication companies and utility companies such as Guyana Water Inc. and Guyana Power and Light Company. The data is subjected to a rigorous process of matching, cross checking, merging and analysing before it is used to create credit reports.

In addition to credit reports, Creditinfo now offers a range of intelligent information, software and analytic solutions to facilitate access to finance.