Ghana’s leading Credit Bureau, XDSData Ghana Limited, has put paid to what appears to be the confusing about whether or not the bureau is capable of producing individual credit scores, as stated in the document Credit Reporting Activity, Annual Report 2022 published by the Bank of Ghana.
“Despite our capabilities, the bureau has not produced scores. This is because of the
lack of a unique identifier. Currently, facilities are accessed by individuals using
different kinds of identification which makes it difficult for the bureau to be 100
percent sure of capturing a credit subject’s total exposure,” XDSData Ghana stated in press release yesterday.
The release, dated 5 December, 2023, and signed by the managing director of XDSData Ghana, George K. Ahiafor stated, however that, XDSData Ghana Limited produces credit information just like any international credit bureau, adequate for lenders to be able to make informed credit decisions.
The company said the mandatory use of the Ghana card from the 1st of July, 2022 for all financial transactions has seen Data Providers submitting Ghana Card Information to the
Bureau, and that “Credit scoring models require unique identifiers to fully map information.”
It added that “The penetration of the Ghana Card information supplied to the bureau is
progressing at a slow pace. In collaboration with the Bank of Ghana, we have been
tracking the Ghana Card penetration which stands at 35 percent as at the end of
the last quarter of 2023. This is based on 11,067,161 unique active loan customers
submitted by Data Providers.”
In addition to continuous research into the use of alternative information within the
credit score models, XDSData disclosed it anticipates releasing the individual credit scores when the Ghana Card penetration rate reaches the 90th percentile; hopefully before the end
of year 2024.
“The continued active participation and support from Bank of Ghana, ensuring credit bureaus get adequate data on Ghana Cards from Data Providers is paramount. This will ensure that all aspects of the credit ecosystem are included in scoring calculations.
XDSData Ghana Limited has pioneered credit referencing over the years and thus
will endeavour to make credit scoring a reality in Ghana and trusted abroad,” the company said.
