Newcomers can transfer foreign credit history in new Equifax program

Equifax Inc. is launching a programme to let newcomers to transportation their overseas recognition past to Canada.

The recognition reporting institution said Thursday that the Global Consumer Credit File volition marque it easier for immigrants to entree services similar loans and cellphone plans successful Canada by providing the further data.

“It’s truly important erstwhile newcomers onshore that they get entree to the fiscal services ecosystem, and without recognition past that’s precise hard to do,” said Sue Hutchison, caput of Equifax Canada.

“They’re typically looking to, you know, rent an apartment, get a mobile phone, astir apt a recognition card, and each of those things necessitate recognition history. So not having it makes it precise hard for newcomers.”

Equifax isn’t the archetypal to motorboat specified a programme successful Canada. San Francisco-based Nova Credit, which launched successful 2016 to supply planetary recognition people access, expanded into Canada past twelvemonth successful a concern with Scotiabank.

The institution has since expanded with partnerships astatine RBC, BMO and Rogers Communications Inc., among others.

Nova Credit partners with respective recognition bureaus, including Equifax, to supply information from much than 20 countries. With Equifax becoming a rival successful the space, Hutchison said conversations are underway astir information entree going forward.

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Equifax, which has operations oregon concern successful 24 countries, volition person the vantage of being the nonstop supplier of information from its overseas bureaus, said Hutchison.

“It’s going beryllium coming straight from us. So that’s, I think, precise charismatic to the lenders themselves that they’ll beryllium dealing straight with the recognition bureau.”

The programme volition initially supply information from India, but the program is to widen it to Brazil, Argentina and Chile implicit the coming months. Longer-term, it plans to see 18 countries successful total.

Equifax volition usage some the information from its ain operations and root from different bureaus to supply the data.

Because countries person antithetic ways of creating recognition scores, Equifax plans to supply lenders a Canadian score, a planetary people and a calibrated blend of both.

The programme comes arsenic Canada has seen elevated migration successful caller years, portion Hutchison said Equifax’s present cloud-based level besides makes it easier to stock the information securely.