Expand: date=April 2007

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a person's credit files, to represent the creditworthiness of that person. A credit score is primarily based on credit report information, typically sourced from credit bureaus.

Lenders, such as banks and credit card companies, use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt. Lenders use credit scores to determine who qualifies for a loan, at what interest rate, and what credit limits. The use of credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a trusted system.

Credit scoring is not limited to banks. Other organizations, such as mobile phone companies, insurance companies, employers, and government departments employ the same techniques. Credit scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining, which uses many similar techniques.

Australia

In Australia, credit scoring is widely accepted as the primary way applicant creditability is assessed. Credit scoring is not only used to determine whether credit should be approved to an applicant, but credit scoring is also used in the setting of credit limits on credit cards/store cards, in behavioral modeling such as collections scoring, and also in the pre-approval of additional credit to a company's existing client base.

Although logistic (or non-linear) probability modelling is still the most popular means by which to develop scorecards, various other methods offer extremely powerful alternatives, including MARS, C&RT, CHAID, and Random Forests.

Canada

The system of credit reports and scores in Canada is very similar to that in the United States, with the same three reporting agencies active in the country: Equifax, TransUnion, and North Credit Bureaus (an Experian company). There are, however, some key differences. One such difference is that, unlike the United States, where a consumer is allowed only one free copy of their credit report a year, in Canada, the consumer may order a free copy of their credit report any number of times in a year, as long as the request is made in writing, and as long as the consumer asks for a printed copy to be delivered by mail. This request by the consumer is noted in the credit report, but it has no effect on their credit score. According to Equifax's ScorePower Report, FICO scores range between 300 and 900.

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and Credit Score. This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents, with explanations of the notations and codes that are used. It also contains general information on how to build or improve credit history, and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred. The publication is available online at the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada.