“IF YOU’RE a good payer, your name will not appear on the database.”
That was the verdict of Areeba’s Deputy Managing Director Bassel Jamaleddine who was speaking about the credit rating system used by the telecoms giant. He reassured the public that it does not infringe on their privacy.
A credit rating assesses the credit worthiness of an individual, corporation, or even a country. Credit ratings are calculated from financial history and current assets and liabilities and give a lender or investor an indication of the ability of the subject to pay back a loan.
A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan, and thus leads to high interest rates.
The companyAreeba consults credit rating agency CreditInfo Cyprus, before providing potential customers with services. The agency is not only used by Areeba, but and also by many other institutions on the island.
“We enter a person’s ID number into the system and it will tell us whether he or she has any outstanding utility bills, has had cheques bounce in the past and general credit card information,” Jamaleddine said.
CreditInfo’s Business Information Executive, Nicos Ioannou told the Mail that the company has been operating on the island since 2001.
“We provide services for banks, accountants, lawyers and many other businesses,” he said. “By using our system, these businesses can establish a person’s financial records and see whether they have any outstanding invoices and cheques.
“Our aim is to help our clients reduce the uncertainty of doing business by providing a complete, differentiated and high-quality package of credit risk and cash flow management services. Our services can help clients make informed business decisions and supply them with critical information on the companies and businesses they are dealing with.”
When asked to comment on the issue of privacy, Ioannou said: “We have been granted an operating licensce by the Office for the Personal Data Commissioner and everything we do is by the book.”
The role of the Personal Data Commissioner is to protect the rights of individuals and to regulate the processing of personal data.
Maria Michaelidou, who works at the Commissioner’s office, explained that CreditInfo “must notify us of all of their filing systems and we control who they are entitled to transfer data to and their processing.
“If we consider something not to be lawful, we have the power to intervene.”
She also made it clear that CreditInfo gets its information from its clients and public records, for example official bankruptcy publications.
“Under Cyprus law, processing of personal data is lawful without the consent of the person, especially in cases such as police investigations or emergency hospital treatment.”
A credit rating assesses the credit worthiness of an individual, corporation, or even a country. Credit ratings are calculated from financial history and current assets and liabilities and tell a lender or invester the ability of the subject to pay back a loan.
A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan, and thus leads to high interest rates.
The general concepts regarding credit rating may include:
Payment record -– a record of bills being paid over due will negatively affect the credit rating.
Control of debt -– Llenders want to see that clients are not living beyond their means. Experts estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15 percent of your after -tax income.
Signs of responsibility and stability -– Llenders perceive things such as longevity in clients, owning your own home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability. Having a respected profession can improve a credit rating.
