(Toronto) Equifax launches a program allowing newcomers to transfer their foreign credit history to Canada.
Posted at 4:29 p.m.
Ian Bickis The Canadian Press
The credit reporting company said Thursday that the International Consumer Credit Report would make it easier for immigrants to access services such as loans and cell phone plans in Canada by providing additional data.
“It’s really important that newcomers have access to the financial services ecosystem, and without credit history, that’s very difficult to do,” said Sue Hutchison, President and CEO of Equifax Canada.
They’re usually looking to rent an apartment, get a cell phone, probably a credit card, and all of these things require a credit history. Not having one therefore makes it very difficult for newcomers.
Sue Hutchison, President and CEO of Equifax Canada
Equifax is not the first company to launch such a program in Canada. San Francisco-based Nova Credit, which launched in 2016 to provide access to credit scores globally, expanded to Canada last year in a partnership with Scotiabank.
The company has since grown through partnerships with RBC, BMO and Rogers Communications, among others.
Nova Credit partners with several credit bureaus, including Equifax, to provide data from over 20 countries. With Equifax becoming a competitor in this area, Hutchison said discussions are underway regarding access to data in the future.
Equifax, which has operations or investments in 24 countries, will have the advantage of being the direct provider of data to its foreign offices, Hutchison said.
“This data will come directly from us. So I think it’s very attractive for the lenders themselves to deal directly with the credit bureau. »
The program will initially provide data from India, but the plan is to expand it to Brazil, Argentina and Chile over the coming months. In the longer term, it is planned to include 18 countries in total.
Equifax will use data from both its own operations and those from other offices.
As countries have different ways of creating credit scores, Equifax plans to provide lenders with a Canadian score, a global score and a calibrated mix of the two.
The program comes as Canada has seen increased immigration in recent years, while Hutchison said Equifax’s now cloud-based platform also facilitates secure data sharing.
