EveryData Jamaica Limited has launched its online portal which will allow consumers to gain instant access to their credit report and credit score on their mobile phone.

The credit bureau recently introduced the beta version of its MyEveryData portal at jm.my.everydata.com,which allows any Jamaican consumer to sign up to get instant access to their credit information. Prior to the launch of the portal, Jamaican consumers would be able to access their annual credit report for free without a score or be charged $1,150 to receive their report with a credit score. This would involve completing a registration form and taking a selfie and a photo of the back and front of a Government-issued ID. That process would result in a report being generated within one to two business days and sent to the consumer’s e-mail.

“The Credit Reporting Act [2010] allows for individuals to have one free report annually granted to them by the credit bureau. Now we’ve gone a step further as a business at EveryData, because we believe that it’s important that you have access not only to the report and the details of it but your score first-hand every time, all the time. Once you log in, you will be able to see your score, see all the facilities and credit accounts and contracts that you have with all the institutions; you’re able to see, quite importantly, any inaccuracies that is being held by the credit bureau,” stated EveryData Jamaica Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Christopher Brown in an interview with the Jamaica Observer on Wednesday.

EveryData Jamaica is one of three credit bureau’s licensed by the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ), with the other two being CRIF Information Bureau Jamaica Limited and Credit Information Services Limited.

A credit bureau receives information from credit information providers such as deposit-taking institutions, credit unions, telecommunication and utility companies, hire purchase entities, and other non-traditional businesses that provide information to their customers who utilise credit-like arrangements or facilities. This information is fed into models that produce a credit score which indicates the riskiness of the individual or business and the probability of default.

That credit score influences the decision-making process of different lenders who might deny a consumer a credit facility or charge a higher or lower interest rate based on their riskiness. For EveryData Jamaica, the scores range from 250 (E3), which is very high risk, to 900 (A1), which is very low risk.

When asked by the Caribbean Business Report about the inclusion of additional features and potentially charging consumers again for access to the credit report and score, Brown responded, “This is far-reaching and the first of its kind in Jamaica. We believe that we are adding value to the [financial] industry, the consumer, and to the overall financial system. We don’t intend to change this [free] option for the foreseeable future. We will be adding additional features as we go along, and we will review those from time to time as we add them. There’s no definitive cut-off period once you log in and onboard yourself on the EveryData platform.”

CRIF Jamaica announced in December that it was partnering with InfoCert Digital to introduce a digital platform to reshape the financial landscape and streamline interactions between credit information providers and their customers. Currently, anyone seeking to receive his/her credit report and credit score from CRIF Jamaica has to either go into their physical office with the relevant consumer credit report request form or e-mail his/her documents. However, documents sent by e-mail must either include a selfie with one’s ID below their chin or those documents signed by an approved official like justice of the peace, medical practitioner, or bank manager.

EveryData Jamaica rebranded in December 2022 from CreditInfo Jamaica along with its fellow Caribbean subsidiaries with the focus to become a primary data analytics firm in the Caribbean. EveryData Jamaica’s largest shareholder is Creditinfo Group HF, a global credit bureau with operations in more than 33 countries. Its founder and chairman Reynir F Grétarsson along with Coalesce Credit Solutions Limited are the other shareholders of EveryData Jamaica.

With greater ambitions in data analytics, EveryData Jamaica will be working more with businesses to assist them in analysing their customer portfolio to improve their strategies around different elements, like receivables and risk management.

“We are now big on data analytics to support the commercial banks in their decisions, the financial and microcredit institutions in their risk management processes to make stronger decisions, and also to see opportunities within the portfolio that they’re currently managing and also to see opportunities out there in terms of accessing greater business,” Brown closed.