The Ultimate #1 Guide to Credit Score in the Philippines

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What is a credit score?

Remember, banks and lenders lose money when their borrowers do not pay them back. Thus, they have to make sure that they’re lending money to dependable people.

That’s where your credit score comes in. Your credit score is a number representing how reliable you are as a borrower specifically how likely you are to pay off a certain loan. 

This is usually a three-digit number although that depends on the lender.

Think of your credit score as a grade. Using a set grading system, your credit bureau will assess and evaluate how often you pay your dues and more.

The resulting credit score is a lending institution’s basis for the approval and denial of your loans or even credit card applications.

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Where can you find your credit score?

One of the most reliable ways you can find out what your credit score is in the Philippines is through CIC or the Credit Information Corporation. CIC is government-owned and controlled.

CIC stores your credit report in their database and banks use these reports to assess your eligibility for the loan you’re applying for. It is a public credit registry but to you, it’ll be the best place to request your credit score in the Philippines.

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How do the credit reporting and scoring systems in the Philippines work?

The Philippines only has one centralized registry of credit data. This is none other than the CIC or the Credit Information Corporation.

The CIC collects, consolidates, and shares credit information with the financial institutions found within the country.

But wait, let’s back up. How does the CIC collect data? That’s where banks, cooperatives, insurance firms, and even telecom companies come in.

They submit your, the client’s, credit history to the CIC. The CIC will then collect and collate all this information and transform it into what is called a credit report, a detailed summary of your credit history.

Authorized lenders can then access these reports from the CIC.

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What is a credit bureau?

Another term you have to be familiar with is a credit bureau. This is different from the CIC which is a credit registry. A credit bureau is a credit reporting institution that is privately owned and operated whereas CIC is government-owned.

There are 4 accredited credit bureaus in the Philippines that compute credit scores. These are CIBI Information, Inc., Compuscan Philippines, CRIF Philippines, and TransUnion Philippines.

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Credit Score vs. Credit Report: What’s the Difference?

Before we show you how you can request your credit score, you’ll need to know what a credit report is because it will be mentioned quite a few times.

One thing to remember is that without credit reports, you wouldn’t have credit scores. If a credit score is your grade or a three-digit number that banks use to evaluate your ability to pay debts, a credit report is a more detailed look at said ability.

Read more: 10 Advantages of Credit Card 2021

It will provide banks with a detailed summary of your payment trends giving them a better look at what you’re like as a borrower. Credit scores are often referred to as “a snapshot of a credit report”.

Your credit report is also what credit bureaus – which is what CIBI, TransUnion, and the like are – use a basis to compute for your credit score.

It is important to remember that when you request your credit report, you will not automatically be given a credit score. You must pay a fee because credit scores are offered as a value-added service.

Let’s move on to what you’ve been waiting for: how to request your credit report with a credit score.

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Request for Your Credit Report with Credit Score in 4 Easy Steps

If you want to request your credit score in the Philippines, you’ll need to request your credit report. Don’t worry. You can get your credit score as a value-added service. You’ll pay a small fee and you’ll get both your credit report and credit score but before that, there are a few steps to follow. Here they are:

For mobile users, you can download the CIBIApp through the Google App Play Store.

Once you have downloaded the app or you’ve opened the link above in your web browser, it’s time for the next step.

Create an account. You’re going to hit the register button and enter your personal information as well as your contact information.

Once you’ve entered the needed data, you must create a username and password. It would be advisable that you take note of your username and password for easy access to the website later on.

            When you’re creating an account, you will also need a few documents. You will need one primary ID. Your primary ID can be your SSS, GSIS, Driver’s License, UMID, or TIN.

Next, you’ll need a secondary ID. This can be your passport, Voter’s ID, PRC ID, IBP ID, OWWA ID, Senior Citizen’s ID, and the like. The system will ask for you to upload these documents.

The registration form will look something like this:

Before your credit report and score can be released, you will need to schedule an appointment for character verification.

This will be simple as it will only be through a video call. Once you’ve registered into your account, you can schedule an appointment anytime from Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

You’ll be sent a confirmation email with guidelines regarding the verification process.

The second to the last step is the online character verification. This is done to validate your identity. After all, credit reports are important documents. This will be done through the MeetMe feature of the CIBIApp.

Before the video call, make sure you’ve opened the app through your phone or your web browser. It would be best if you could prepare the IDs you’ve uploaded on the registration form.

If your character verification went successfully, congratulations! You’ve reached the final step. There’s one last thing you have to do to get your credit report and credit score in the Philippines.

You have to pay a fee. The fee costs Php 235 for a credit report with a credit score as a value-added service. Your credit report and credit score will then be sent to you through your email.

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How is your credit score computed?

Five factors are computed to get your credit score. These factors can either positively or negatively impact your credit score.

The first way a credit score is computed is through your payment history. Your payment history is a record of your loans and bills.

It shows credit score providers such as CIC what loans and bills you have and whether you’ve paid for these on time.

This is an important factor to remember because if you have a low credit score, taking a look at your payment history is the first step in improving it.

If you’re wondering what else you can do, we’ll show you a few tips and tricks down below. Payment history is around 30% of your credit score.

Another factor that affects your credit score is the length of history. This is around 15% of your credit score. This is a record showing how long it’s been since you’ve opened your accounts.

Although it is not as important as other factors, this is still something a credit bureau will take into account.

Next, we have the credit mix which is a report of the different types of credit and loans you have.

These types could be car loans, credit cards, small business loans, home-equity loans, and the like. Your credit mix is 10% of your credit score.

The second to the last factor that is used to compute your credit score is the credit utilization rate.

This shows how much of your credit limit you spend. Your credit utilization rate is a very important factor as it is 30% of your credit score.

Note that if you often max out your limit, your credit score will be negatively impacted.

New credit is credit or loans that you’ve applied for and did not have before. It’s exactly what you call it: new credit. It takes up 10% of the credit score.

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What is considered a good credit score?

A credit score is a three-digit number ranging from 300 to 850. A good credit score is a score above 650. If you have a credit score of 750 to 850, that is considered an excellent credit score.

If you check on your GCash App, there’s a credit store tab that you can check named GScore. This is their built-in credit score system since GCash has partnered with other bank institutions like CIMB that offers loan and savings account.

To increase your GScore you have to use your GCash for different online transactions. By using each mode of payment you build up your credit score and transaction history that you’re a good paying customer.

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What happens when you have a low credit score?

We’ve mentioned what a good credit score looks like. What about bad ones? Well, as mentioned above, a good credit score is a score above 650. So, anything below that is considered a low credit score.

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How do you improve your credit score?

Ok, you know a whole lot about credit scores. Now what? Now, you can work on improving and increasing your credit score. Here are a few ways you can do that.

Payment history takes up 30% of your credit score. Naturally, if you want to improve your credit score, paying your dues on time is something you have to do.

It will show banks that you can pay bank loans on time and that they are not losing money in approving your loan or credit card application.

Maxing out your credit card? That is a big no-no.

You will experience serious financial consequences including hurting your credit score and making you look like a risky investment to lenders especially if you’re maxing out your only credit card.

Try keeping your credit utilization ratio at 30% instead of 100%.

If you’re having a tough time spending within your credit limit, you can always raise it.

But, that’s not the only reason you’ll want to raise your limit. If, say, you have a 50% credit utilization ratio and you increase your limit, this ratio will decrease which, in turn, will improve your credit score. It’s a great strategy.

A lot of you are probably making the mistake of taking out loan after loan without thinking about how much you can actually payback.

So, if you’re applying for loans or thinking of getting a loan, do so strategically. Make sure you have the money to pay the loan back.

Finally, you have to keep track of your credit report. Studying this document can show you why your credit score is so low and how you can improve it.

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The Takeaway

Figuring out your credit score in the Philippines is as tough as you might think. Now that you know how to request it, you can improve your credit score in the Philippines and get rid of your financial struggles.

Credit scores are important because they can impact your financial transactions as well as your plans.

Do you want your bank to trust you? Keeping your credit score up and paying your dues is exactly how you can do that.

It’s the first step to fostering a good relationship with your bank but more importantly, it’s the first step towards financial freedom.