A CRB (Credit Reference Bureau) is a company that collects data on loans issued by lending institutions, and consequently creates reports (known as credit reports) on a borrowers current and past loans. With this information, a CRB is able to draw out the repayment patterns of each borrower. Lenders will obtain your credit report and use this repayment information to determine if they will issue you with a loan.
In Kenya, we have three CRB’s which are licensed for operation and regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya:
- TransUnion CRB
- Metropol CRB
- Credit Info
Accessing your Credit Report
The law entitles each borrower to access a free copy of their credit report once a year. Additional reports within the year will be purchased from the Credit Reference Bureau. Borrowers are encouraged to frequently check the status of their credit report to ensure that the information in the report is correct and up to date. To access your credit report:
- TransUnion CRB – You can access you credit report by downloading the Transunion Nipashe App from Google Playstore or you can sms your name to 21272 to check your credit status. You can also contact them directly using the contacts listed in the contacts page.
- Metropol CRB – You can access your Metropol credit report by downloading the Metropol App from Google Playstore or by dialing the Metropol USSD Short Code *433#. You can also contact them directly using the contacts listed in the contacts page.
- Credit Info – You can get in touch with Credit Info CRB using the contacts listed on the contacts page.