Access to Credit Scores Empowers Consumers, Strengthens the Lending Ecosystem

This report examines the role that consumers’ access to credit scores and credit data plays in the promotion of financial inclusion, responsible borrowing habits, and more transparent and accurate lending practices.

In this report, we examine three key findings:

1. Access to credit information benefits consumers, businesses, and the economy.
   Increased fraud detection, improved data integrity, and improved consumer creditworthiness are all far-reaching benefits of a robust credit data ecosystem.
2. Increased access to credit data leads to more financially aware and empowered consumers.
   71% of consumers who check their scores at least once a month perceive that they have control over their day-to-day finances, compared with the roughly 54% of consumers who never check their score.
3. Credit information is readily available and generally free.
   More than half of U.S. consumers view their credit score at least monthly, with 87% receiving updates for free.