MAKATI CITY, 07 December 2023 – The Credit Information Corporation (CIC) urges financial institutions covered under the Republic Act No. 9510 or Credit Information System Act of 2008, to participate in its Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) through Accessing Entity (AE) program, to protect borrowers from identity theft and fraud and to further access to finance especially for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The D2C program enables AEs, financial institutions authorized by the CIC to access borrowers’ credit information from its database, to issue CIC Credit Reports to requesting individuals.
“Getting your CIC Credit Report serves as your credit health check. This allows borrowers to assess their overall credit profile and check if there is identity theft or fraud affecting their accounts. This is especially important now, that opportunistic scammers and bad actors take advantage of the shift to digital payments and online transactions,” CIC President and CEO Ben Joshua A. Baltazar said.
The PCEO emphasized that while accessing the CIC credit database is not mandated by law, the participation of financial institutions in mainstreaming the use of CIC Credit Reports is crucial, as leveraging credit information by both lenders and borrowers redound to the stability and sustainability of the Philippine financial ecosystem.
Issuance of CIC Credit Reports via the D2C through AE program
AEs by default are authorized to issue CIC Credit Reports to requesting data subjects, in compliance with CIC Circular No. 2023-03 and other relevant rules promulgated by the corporation. While the CIC Credit Report costs only PHP 30 per inquiry at retail, AEs may adjust their service fee to defray associated administrative costs.
“AEs may use the D2C program to reconnect and build rapport with their clients, to promote products and services that better fit client needs. Habituation of the use of the CIC Credit Report, especially to new-to-credit individuals and microentrepreneurs, inculcates them to responsible financial management and nurtures them as they start building their credit history. This helps all Filipinos to achieve their personal financial and business aspirations,” the PCEO said.
The PCEO also underscored how borrowers can use CIC Credit Reports as reputational collateral. This is particularly beneficial to small businesses and startups with no physical collateral, to facilitate access to larger loan amounts and more affordable interest rates – solely through showing they are creditworthy.
“As the country’s public credit registry, the CIC continues to promote financial inclusion of borrowers and MSMEs through access to much-needed credit and financial services. We do this by encouraging data-driven credit-decisioning and risk-based lending in the credit ecosystem, and pushing for greater financial literacy among Filipino borrowers,” the PCEO concluded.
Becoming an AE of the CIC
All registered Submitting Entities of the CIC may register as an AE provided that they maintain their regular and timely credit data submission under CISA and other guidelines established by the corporation.
Entities interested in registering as AEs may send an email to the CIC Access Team through email address access@creditinfo.gov.ph, furnishing a copy thereof to the CIC Compliance Team (compliance.monitoring@creditinfo.gov.ph).
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This press release was also featured in Journal Online, Manila Insight, and BusinessMirror.