UTILITY companies and money-lending agencies are recognising the benefits of Guyana’s Credit Bureau, Credit Info, in settling debts with delinquent customers and accessing customers’ credit history.

The bureau utilises the credit reports of all borrowers from various types of credit entities in the country to provide information to lending agencies on the creditworthiness of an individual or business.

At a recent programme hosted by the bureau, representatives from the Guyana Power and Light (GPL); Guyana Water Inc. (GWI); the Guyana Association of Bankers and the Institute of Private Enterprise Development (IPED) shared their experiences thus far.
According to GPL’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) (ag) Renford Homer, Credit Info is now aiding the company in locating delinquent customers.

“Where that information has been useful to us is, that because of the other companies and entities that have found relationship with Credit Info and they’ve shared updated information. There have been cases where we’ve been able to access their database, provide certain key information and we’ve been able to locate some defaulters who may have moved from the addresses that were established at the time,” Homer said.
He added that in many cases an amicable arrangement is reached with the customer beneficial to both parties.

“As our customers begin to understand and recognise that we are sharing information of delinquents’ accounts with Credit Info and the fact that this information is going into a central agency that is going to be accessed by other companies who they may approach for financing…they’ll begin to translate a lot of that into the importance of wanting to settle their accounts in a very timely fashion,” he stated.

Speaking, too, was GWI Executive Director of Customer Services, Marlon Daniels who said:
“We are mandated by law to share our customer information, our data with the credit bureau and this allows us the opportunity to leverage the services the credit bureau offers, to be able to, like our sister utility GPL, to go after customers that may be delinquent.”
He later relayed that while GWI prefers to have its customers’ voluntary pay for their services, in some cases customers need to be reminded of their obligations.

“Not honouring any outstanding debts, be it a debt to GWI or GPL, it ultimately affects the credit score and that perhaps disallows you from accessing the credit you want. When that happens, a trigger is normally sent to us and the customer voluntarily comes into the utility company to honour their debt. That is a direct spin off from the relationship with the credit bureau,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Guyana Association of Bankers representative Mario Farinha stated, that the association which comprises of six different banks in Guyana, depends greatly on the credit history of customers to best issue loans.

In this regard, Credit Info’s wide database now assists with risk assessment as Farinha explained: “Prior to [Credit Info], banks would only get information on customers’ history and their past performance through contact by correspondence. Now, with Credit Info in place, by the touch of a button on the computer on the website, we access information immediately and this is very important to us.”

At the same time, IPED representative Robert Williams said that the bureau has opened the pathway for institutions like his, to find new scopes of lending.

He further stated that Credit Info ought not to be viewed as a “spy” but rather as an agency which customers can also seek to benefit from.

“Because I know of the impact on my credit history and the fact that I may need information in the future, I ensure that I honour all my obligations as far as possible on time,” Williams said speaking of his personal experience.

He then urged: “Because Guyana is evolving and is becoming a global player, we must understand the impact of credit and our credit history.”

Credit Info offers scores between the range of 250 to 900, with the average positive score lying above 625/650 although the final decision on a good credit score is determined by the lender.

Credit Info’s Manager of Sales and Business Development David Falconer, revealed then that the score has a ‘predictor’ component which is very useful to lenders.

“What the predictor does, essentially, is based on information present in your credit profile is make a prediction that should you acquire credit today, that you will default [based on previous patterns] within the next 12 months. So, if you’re sitting before a lender, at any point, that predictor gives them a little more insight into what is likely to happen in the future,” he explained.

Meanwhile, Credit Info’s CEO Judy Semple-Joseph stressed the importance of customers knowing their credit score, even as the bureau’s ‘Know before you go’ campaign is seeking to address the same.

“By law, every individual is entitled to one free report in every 12-month period and therefore there is the scope, the opportunity for everyone to come at least once per year to get a free credit report,” she said.