Financial institutions authorized to access the Credit Information Corporation’s (CIC) database may now transfer their inventory of CIC Credit Reports to one another to help optimize their credit-decisioning activities.

The credits may be transferred among CIC’s accessing entities (AEs) and Special Accessing Entities (SAEs) or accredited credit bureaus.

In a letter memorandum dated 26 November 2021, the country’s public credit registry and repository of credit information announced the addition of the transferability feature on its Covered Entity (CE) Portal—a web-based application system where financial institutions register as submitting entities and access credit data.

The portal will also show the transaction history and current balances of AEs and SAEs.

“This feature is similar to mobile or online banking apps where you can transfer funds from your account to another. Now, our accessing entities and credit bureaus may sell or just transfer their credits to maximize the use of CIC Credit Reports,” CIC President and CEO Atty. Ben Joshua A. Baltazar shared.

The PCEO also explained how this can be cost-effective for financial institutions, especially the smaller lenders: “This enables AEs to pool their resources to do a group purchase. The designated purchasing AE can then transfer their credits to the contributing AEs accordingly. This allows them to avail of the wholesale price of P10 per credit report and lock it in before the current price validity expires on 31 January 2022.”

In August this year, the CIC issued a new pricing scheme allowing the said wholesale price which may be availed through a pre-purchase of a minimum of one million reports annually, while a retail price of P15 per credit report applies for all other cases of access to the CIC database.

“With the addition of this transferability feature, we are hoping to drive volume consumption of credit reports while also helping lenders manage risks amid this continuing crisis. This will also increase the interactivity among our AEs and SAEs, leading to a more dynamic credit ecosystem that will ultimately benefit the Filipino borrowers,” the CIC PCEO ended.

The Credit Information Corporation (CIC), a government-owned and controlled corporation, was created by Republic Act No. 9510, otherwise known as the Credit Information System Act (CISA). The primary mandate of CIC is to establish a comprehensive and centralized credit information system for the collection and dissemination of fair and accurate information relevant to, or arising from, credit and credit-related activities of all entities participating in the ecosystem.

Source:  Credit Information Corporation (CIC)