Recent developments in Information
Technology has affected the way in which business transactions are conducted.
Loans, insurance services and credit transactions are becoming popular and
easier to manage.
Today, a customer does not really need to possess the
required amount of money to be able to purchase a certain good or service.
Funds can be made available by banks, retail shops, service providers etc. to
the customer for the transaction.
This fund comes in form of credit which has
to be repaid later. Loans can be borrowed from banks to finance a business,
build a house, buy a car etc. But before these funds – be it credit or loans –
can be made available, the customer’s credit status would have to be checked to
ascertain his/her creditworthiness.
Credit Rating is an estimate of
the ability of a person or organization to fulfill their financial commitments, based on previous dealings. How can a customer check his/her credit rating to
ascertain his/her creditworthiness and to also avoid possible embarrassment and
disappointment?
In Nigeria, Credit Registry, XDS CreditBureau and CRC are the three licensed Credit Bureau agencies. In 2015, ChamsPlc launched a verification portal – ConfirmMe – that provides credit status
confirmation services. Today, the ability of individuals and companies to view
their credit status as well as those of others has been made easy.
We rounded up top reasons why
you should track your credit status:
- With a good credit rating, an individual is more likely to not only obtain loans but to obtain it at lower rates. Inaccurate, derogatory information can lower credit rating and may indicate fraudulent activities.
- Information on credit status help creditors to better define consumers’ willingness and ability to pay. Also creditors can easily identify properties that have already been used to secure existing loans.
- Employers can also verify information on employee’s application to protect the organization’s reputation.
- Finally in the area of identity management, service providers can verify the true identity of potential customers in order to protect themselves and other customers from identity fraud.
In conclusion, with various avenues
for tracking credit status such as CONFIRMME, cases of fraud, loan
defaulting, bad business decisions etc are greatly reduced. As more people
embrace this, more business opportunities will arise, and surely the standard
of living will improve.
Written by Chukwudi Okoye
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