As a merchant, you’re well aware of the importance of your credit score, aren’t you? Credit bureaus are the very agencies that calculate your score. This article will tell about these agencies and help you get a merchant cash advance with ease.
Credit Reporting Agencies & Merchant Cash Advance
Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax, and Experian are the 3 most popular credit reporting agencies (CRAs) or bureaus. They determine credit scores and ratings based on the info they gather on your business. The agencies resell this info to other businesses in the form of a credit report.
The federal government’s legislation called “The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)” regulates the operation of these and other credit agencies. The Federal Trade Commission and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency are responsible for their monitoring.
Don’t think that these 3 bureaus are the only credit reporting agencies. There’re also other agencies such as:
- Ansonia
- ChexSystems
- ClientChecker
- Credit.net
- Cortera
- Creditsafe
- Factual Data FDInsight
- Global Credit Services
- Lexis-Nexix | Accurint
- Lumbermen Credit Reporting Group
- LexisNexis Accurint
- National Association of Credit Management (NACM)
- Paynet
- Seafax
- Tarnell
What about FICO (Fair Isaac Corporation), originally Fair, Isaac and Company? Well, it’s a California-based data analytics company focused on credit scoring services. FICO scores are highly popular and serve as a measure of consumer credit risk.
FICO LiquidCredit Small Business Scoring Service (FICO SBSS) puts together your personal and business credit files and determines one score of 0-300. The higher you have, the better.
What about you? Are you a low or high risk merchant? Even if you’re a bad credit merchant, you can still work with a reputable high risk alternative online lender of business funding provider to get the necessary working capital for your business.
With a true funding expert, you can enjoy the best terms and the cheapest rates for any type of merchant financing, including a merchant cash advance.
Most Popular Credit Reporting Agencies
Now, let’s focus on the most well-known credit bureaus:
- Dun & Bradstreet (D&B)
D&B’s is interested in the timeliness of how you pay vendors and suppliers to determine the Dun & Bradstreet PAYDEX score. D&B collects info on credit extended and payment histories from suppliers and creditors, as well as from public records and interviews with company principals.
The Paydex score is D&B’s main score. Ranging from 1 to 100, it determines how well your business paid its bills in the prior year. Other D&B scores include the Financial Stress Score or the Delinquency Predictor Score.
- Experian
Experian gathers info from public and private sources, e.g., legal filings, credit obligations, and marketing databases. The bureau calculates only 1 business credit score ranging 0 to 100. Experian evaluates a business credit score based on the Intelliscore Plus model.
- Equifax
Equifax is interested in the banking and leasing info from the Small Business Finance Exchange (SBFE) and the Equifax Small Business Enterprise database to determine 3 Equifax business risk scores:
- Business Delinquency Score: 101-662
- Business Credit Risk Score: 101-992
- Business Failure Risk Score: 1.000-1.880
For business owners, it’s too important to view credit reports on a regular basis so to avoid any errors or fraudulent activities on them. You can get your free report from the 3 major agencies once a year by just visiting AnnualCreditReport.com.
Author Bio: As the FAM account executive, Michael Hollis has funded millions by using merchant cash advance solutions. His experience and extensive knowledge of the industry has made him finance expert at First American Merchant.