🇳🇬 List Of Credit Bureaus In Nigeria & Their Functions [2023]

Credit bureaus are institutions that gather information on a borrower’s credit profile from multiple sources and aggregate them for consumption upon request to lenders or authorized users.

Responsibilities Of Credit Bureaus In Nigeria

1. Implementation of strict quality measures aimed at ensuring service continuity through high maintenance of its database quality.

2. Utilization of the collected information should be restricted solely for informative purposes to the relevant consumers.

3. Ensure collected data is authentic, legitimate, reliable, accurate and reflects the financial standing of its subject.

4. Ensure inaccurate data is promptly amended to restore its accuracy.

5. Provide the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) unrestricted access to its database for supervision purposes.

6. Observe confidentiality on collected data stored in its database.

7. Limit database accessibility only to authorized persons such as the Central bank of Nigeria or its nominated recipients.

8. Ensure service fee charges are approved by the Central bank of Nigeria

9. Ensure submission of its detailed activities to CBN on a monthly basis.

10. Ensure timely submission of its audited accounts for approval by CBN before publication

11. Maintain a historical database of not less than five years for purposes of provision of detailed credit information and preserve said database for a period not exceeding ten years upon which it shall be archived.

12. Ensure database is regularly updated on an on-going basis.

Primary Functions Of Credit Bureaus In Nigeria

1. Data collection

As part of their mandate, credit bureaus are authorized to collect information pertaining to the credit history of borrowers in the determination of their creditworthiness.

Sources of such information may range from;

a) Operational banks in Nigeria
b) Credit risk management systems
c) Mortgage finance companies
d) Leasing companies
e) Insurance companies
f) Microfinance institutions
g) Asset management companies
h) Buy Now, Pay later service providers

2. Data Aggregation

Data aggregation refers to the gathering of unprocessed data and compiling it to a more comprehensive product.

Credit bureaus in Nigeria are tasked with the generation of credit reports that should contain personal and credit data relating to a borrower’s;

a) Personal information such as name, nationality, date of birth etc
b) Credit data such as loan value, credit limits, outstanding balances etc
c) Payment habits such as positive listings (non-default accounts) and negative listings (default accounts)
d) Public records such as civil, commercial, real estate, court registries etc
e) Credit inquiries related to the user’s name, business and inquiry date.

3. Data Resolution

Data resolution refers to the processing of settling conflicts between different parties. Credit bureaus in Nigeria provide dispute resolution services in the event of inaccurate credit reports due to a variety of causes such as;

a) Inaccurate information
b) Duplicate accounts
c) Incorrect account status
d) Fraudulent accounts
e) Wrong credit balances/limits

Any identified inaccuracies are addressed in a promptly manner whereby the information is tagged as under dispute until resolution is reached.

Furthermore, any costs arising from the inaccurate data is usually borne by the data provider.

List Of Credit Bureaus In Nigeria

Currently, there are three licensed credit bureaus in Nigeria and they include;

1. CreditRegistry Nigeria

CreditRegistry Nigeria commenced its operations in 2001 and has over the years served consumers, businesses and lenders with a variety of product solutions.

Products catered to businesses offer protection from indulgence in uninformed credit decisions that may negatively impact cash flows.

On the other hand, products targeting individuals promote financial accountability by creating awareness towards financial standing that may improve their quality of life.

Some of the products offered by CreditRegistry include; Credit Reports, AutoCred API, BVN Discovery, Dudcheque API, SMARTscore, Portfolio monitoring reports, Credit correction, GetPaidFaster and Campaign Reports

CreditRegistry Contact Details

Tel: (+234) 1 454 8700
Email: hello@creditregistry.ng

2. CRC Credit Bureau

CRC Credit Bureau was founded in 2009 and works as part of a group structure that includes the credit bureau company and its subsidiary, CRC Data and Analytics Ltd.

Through its large database on credit profiles of both individuals and businesses, CRC Credit bureau assists lenders make informed lending decisions regarding customer acquisition, credit analysis and monitoring, skip tracing and recovery.

Some of the products/services offered by CRC Credit bureau include; CRC Score (Individual/Corporate), CRC Self inquiry (Consumer/Corporate), CRC I-CON, CRC Monitors & Alerts

Others include; CRC Credit Information Reports, CRC Batch Processing, CRC Prospecta & Skip tracing, CRC CON Plus, CRC DIVS, CRC Portfolio monitoring Review and CRC Returnex

CRC Credit Bureau Contact Details

26, McCarthy Street,
Onikan, Lagos Island
102273, Lagos Nigeria
Tel: (+234) 807 209 0622
Email: contactus@crccreditbureau.com

3. FirstCentral Credit Bureau

FirstCentral Credit bureau began its operations in 2009 as Nigeria’s sole independent credit bureau without shareholding from any financial institutions.

FirstCentral Credit caters to both individuals and businesses through provision of services listed below;

a) Personal related services such as; DudCheque reports, Consumer trace reports, Snapcheck, X-Score consumer detailed report, Consumer basic/detailed report.

b) Business related services such as; Commercial basic/detailed reports, Dudcheque report, Quarterly portfolio report, Batch report and Directorship detailed report.

FirstCentral Credit Contact Details

37 Raymond Njoku Street, Ikoyi
106104, Lagos Nigeria
Tel: (+234) 817 837 7643
Email: info@firstcentralcreditbureau.com