Banks have access to your credit payment history. They use the information to assess your creditworthiness - whether you are able to repay your loans or clear your monthly card balance.
You can also obtain your own report electronically, as reported in Sunday Times today.
First, a quick note on the
Credit Bureau Singapore (CBS). It maintains credit data (credit payment records) of bank customers in Singapore. Such data is submitted by
participating financial institutions to the CBS, which include all the major retail banks here - ABN AMRO, American Express, Bank of China, CitiBank, DBS, HSBC, MayBank,
OCBC, RHB Bank, Standard Chartered, and
UOB.
And these participating banks can request for your credit data from CBS.
You, too, can obtain your own credit report. It costs you $5 +
GST. Here's how:
Quote:
- Go to this page in CBS' website.
- Click on the "Click here!" button on that page.
- You will be directed to the SingPass login page. (If you do not yet have a SingPass, you can make an online request for it. With SingPass, you can access CPF and IRAS information electronically, among others.)
- Login with your SingPass ID and password.
- Fill up your personal details. Include an email address if you wish to receive a copy of your credit report via email as well.
- Click on the "I Agree" radio button and click "Submit".
- Follow on-screen instructions to pay the fee via eNets. (Currently, you can only pay by credit card.)
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After your report is displayed on page, you can choose to print it or save it (in PDF format). If you have given an email address earlier, a PDF copy will also be sent to that email address.
There is also a link directing you to a PDF page on "Understanding your credit report". Make sure you save a copy of this as well.
Information on your credit report includes:
- Account status history. This shows all the credit card and loan accounts that you have, along with a rolling 12-month status history. To understand the codes used in the history, refer to the "Understanding your credit report" document. For example, the code "A" indicates that your payment for that month was ok (up to 29 days past due).
- Previous enquiries. This section tells you who else have obtained your credit report. These are typically banks which have dealings with you.
- Default payments. If you have defaulted on any payment (i.e. you have not paid up), it will be recorded here for 6 years.
- Bankruptcy proceedings. All public bankruptcy records, if any, will be displayed here, until 6 years from the date of bankruptcy discharge.
If you have maintained good credit history (paid up everything on time), you have nothing to worry about.
http://www.salary.sg/2007/check-your-credit-history/