Credit Reference Bureau(CRB) is a company licensed to collect, manage and disseminate customer credit information.CRB collects the customer credit information from all lenders including commercial banks, deposit taking microfinances and most recently Saccos.
CRB will then manage the collected information by regularly updating customers' credit scores per their transactions with the various financial institutions. When a lender wants to know a borrower's credit status, CRB will disseminate the report to help in lender's decision making towards the borrower.Now you understand.
In kenya, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) licensed three Credit Reference Bureaus to collect, manage and disseminate Kenyans credit information.These include;metropol,Creditinfo and Credit Reference Bureau Africa[CRB Africa] also known as Transunion Africa.
According to the law, each customer is entitled to one free credit report a year after registration with one of the three CRBs licensed in kenya.
CRB in Kenya Video on Loans vLog YouTube Channel.
You can proceed to watch the video version of CRB in Kenya on YouTube or proceed below to get more information on how to get a CRB clearance certificate;
UPDATE:You can still register and get credit reports from Transunion by sending you name to 21272.It costs ksh50.
It's easy to obtain a clearance certificate though. All the three licensed CRBs required a processing fee of ksh2200.Because you are already a registered customer with one CRB, you can easily request for your clearance certificate from the crb website.The certificate can then be printed out after preparation.
Sometimes you may be blacklisted wrongly! The next step will be visiting that lender concerned.Resolve the issues with the lender by either clearing the loan arrears or make them know you never borrowed from them.They'll then issue you with a clearance letter.
Now scan the clearance and email it to the crb you registered with.That crb will communicate with the lender to confirm that clearance letter was valid after which your credit information will be updated positively.
It will still take long(7years) to have your credit score high. If you can't resolve your issues with the lender you remain blacklisted for more than seven years.
Read also Loans to blacklisted Kenyans .
You might sometimes need to dispute the CRBs and or the lenders who you feel are distorting your creditworthiness intentionally or wrongly but you can't afford the fees associated with seeking legal actions.The CIS formed a constitutionally recognised help center for such situations named Tatua Center where you can seek free services.
Register with CRB
If you wish to receive your annual credit information,one can register with one of the three CRBs.You can choose to register with all but you'll receive the same report still.Metropol CRB
You can register with metropol by visiting their website metropol.co.ke or metropolcorporation.com or by dialling *433# on your mobile phone for Safaricom customers only.You'll pay a registration fee of ksh100.You'll receive a code in form of SMS.Use the code to access your report on their website.Transunion CRB
If you wish to get your credit information from transunion,please visit crbafrica.com or transunionafrica.com.Fill in the forms and send them back.That's all.UPDATE:You can still register and get credit reports from Transunion by sending you name to 21272.It costs ksh50.
Creditinfo CRB
You can still register with creditinfo to get your credit information yearly.Simply visit creditinfo.co.ke to register.You'll then receive your credit report on your email address.Obtaining a Clearance certificate
Some jobs or some other circumstances may require a clearance certificate to prove your credit trustworthiness before handling instances beforehand.It's easy to obtain a clearance certificate though. All the three licensed CRBs required a processing fee of ksh2200.Because you are already a registered customer with one CRB, you can easily request for your clearance certificate from the crb website.The certificate can then be printed out after preparation.
Clearing your name
When your credit report is not good, you might need to clear your name with crb.You will have to ask for the lender who sent your bad reports to crb(the lender who you never paid after borrowing).This may attract a fee of ksh50.Sometimes you may be blacklisted wrongly! The next step will be visiting that lender concerned.Resolve the issues with the lender by either clearing the loan arrears or make them know you never borrowed from them.They'll then issue you with a clearance letter.
Now scan the clearance and email it to the crb you registered with.That crb will communicate with the lender to confirm that clearance letter was valid after which your credit information will be updated positively.
It will still take long(7years) to have your credit score high. If you can't resolve your issues with the lender you remain blacklisted for more than seven years.
Read also Loans to blacklisted Kenyans .
Borrower's Right
The law requires that a lender may alert a customer before blacklisting. Sometimes this doesn't happen though. Due to these inconveniences,there's a new body called Credit Information Sharing [CIS] kenya which will look deep into these unfavourable situations in the lending circle.You might sometimes need to dispute the CRBs and or the lenders who you feel are distorting your creditworthiness intentionally or wrongly but you can't afford the fees associated with seeking legal actions.The CIS formed a constitutionally recognised help center for such situations named Tatua Center where you can seek free services.
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How do I request for a certificate of clearance from CRB?
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