XDSData Ghana Limited, the foremost Credit Bureau in Ghana, has announced that it can produce credit information just like any international Credit Bureau, adequate for lenders to be able to make informed credit decisions.
According to the bureau, despite these capabilities, it has not produced scores because of the lack of a unique identifier.
The Managing Director of XDSData Ghana Limited, George K. Ahiafor, in a statement announced, however, that the bureau intends to begin producing individual credit scores to address challenges outlined in the Credit Reporting Activity, Annual Report 2022 published by the Bank of Ghana.
He stressed the complexities arising from the diverse forms of identification used by individuals to access financial facilities.
This diversity, he said, has made it challenging for the bureau to ensure a comprehensive assessment of a credit subject’s total exposure.
“While we can produce individual credit scores, the absence of a unique identifier poses a significant challenge. Our commitment to accuracy and completeness necessitates the incorporation of the Ghana Card as a crucial element in our credit scoring models.”
“The mandatory use of the Ghana Card for financial transactions, implemented on July 1, 2022, has led to increased submission of Ghana Card Information by Data Providers to the bureau. However, the penetration rate of this information stands at 35 percent as of the end of the last quarter of 2023, based on 11,067,161 unique active loan customers.”
“We are actively collaborating with the Bank of Ghana to track the Ghana Card penetration rate. Our goal is to release individual credit scores when this rate reaches the 90th percentile, hopefully before the end of 2024. This will enhance the accuracy and reliability of credit scoring models,” he emphasized.
Mr. Ahiafor acknowledged the crucial role of continuous research into alternative information sources for credit score models.
The bureau, he said, remains committed to pioneering credit referencing in Ghana and aims to establish credit scoring as a reality both domestically and internationally.
He emphasized the importance of obtaining adequate data on Ghana Cards from Data Providers to ensure the comprehensive inclusion of all aspects of the credit ecosystem in scoring calculations.