What is Credit Scoring?

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Author: John Mussi

Article source: http://www.ftc.gov/. Used with author's permission.

Have you ever wondered what is credit scoring? Credit scoring is a system creditors use to help determine whether or not to give you credit.

How does a creditor decide whether or not to grant you credit? Creditors use credit scoring systems to determine if you'd be a good risk for credit cards and auto loans. More recently, credit scoring has been used to help creditors evaluate your ability to repay home mortgage loans.

Information about you and your credit experiences, such as your bill-paying history, the number and type of accounts you have, late payments, collection actions, outstanding debt, and the age of your accounts, is collected from your credit application and your credit report.

Using a statistical program, creditors compare this information to the credit performance of consumers with similar profiles. A credit scoring system awards points for each factor that helps predict who is most likely to repay a debt. A total number of points (a credit score) helps predict how creditworthy you are, that is, how likely it is that you will repay a loan and make the payments when due.

Credit scoring is used because it is based on real data and statistics, so it usually is more reliable than subjective or judgmental methods. It treats all applicants objectively. Judgmental methods typically rely on criteria that are not systematically tested and can vary when applied by different individuals. Although you may think such a system is arbitrary or impersonal, it can help make decisions faster, more accurately, and more impartially than individuals when it is properly designed.

A significant factor in determining your credit score is your payment history. It is likely that your score will be affected negatively if you have paid bills late, had an account referred to collections, or declared bankruptcy, if that history is reflected on your credit report.

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