Experian has followed Callcredit’s lead by launching its own realtime credit checking service, although it believes the scheme goes beyond the payday loans market.
According to Experian, its data will be live in the third quarter of this year and will be updated several times over a 24-hour period.
It will be available for companies signed up to its Credit Account Information Scheme (CAIS) – one of the largest sources of information about the credit commitments held by people in the UK.
Lenders will be able to access up-to-date details of the applicant’s creditworthiness and indebtedness before deciding whether it is fair and responsible to lend to them.
Paul Vescovi, managing director of Experian’s Credit Services in the UK and Ireland, said: “In order to ensure people are being treated fairly and are protected from increasing debt, all lenders in the UK need to be able to understand exactly what financial pressures a person in under elsewhere in their lives.
“This new realtime service will be the first to enable instant access to this level of information and has been welcomed by all types of credit providers.”
He added: “We are now working with a number of short term lenders to enable them to share their data in real time and we encourage all short term lenders to join the scheme.”
Callcredit revealed plans for its service in January; it will launch in April.
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