There has been an active debate over the existance of a credit scoring system in Ghana
XDS Data, Ghana's leading credit bureau, has denied widely publicised claims that it has been providing credit scores.
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia recently announced that beginning next year, Ghana will introduce a personalised credit-scoring system, which will be anchored by the Ghana Card, the national biometric identity card.
However, two senior officials of policy think tank Imani Africa, Franklin Cudjoe and Bright Simons, claimed personalised credit scoring system exists in Ghana.
The two maintained their position despite a Bank of Ghana’s 2022 Credit Reporting Activity report, that said credit scoring was yet to be introduced in Ghana.
In a statement that vindicates Bawumia, XDS Data, the agency referenced by Franklin and Simons as producing credit scores in Ghana, has denied the claims.
In a statement issued on Tuesday December 5, 2023, XDS Data said, inspite of its "capabilities", it has not been able to produce scores due to the absence of a unique identifier like the Ghana Card.
"XDS Data Ghana Limited, Ghana’s leading Credit Bureau wishes to inform the public about the bureau’s capability of producing individual credit scores as stated in the document Credit Reporting Activity, Annual Report 2022 published by the Bank of Ghana,' the statement said.
It added: "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. However, XDS Data Ghana Limited produces credit information just like any International Credit Bureau, adequate for lenders to be able to make informed credit decisions.
Read the full release by XDS Data below:
PRESS RELEASE
STATUS OF CREDIT SCORES IN GHANA
5th December 2023
XDSData Ghana Limited, Ghana’s leading Credit Bureau wishes to inform the public about the bureau’s capability 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. However, XDSData Ghana Limited produces credit information just like any International Credit Bureau, adequate for lenders to be able to make informed credit decisions.
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. Credit scoring models require unique identifiers to fully map information. 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, we anticipate 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 endeavor to make credit scoring a reality in Ghana and trusted abroad.
GA/SARA
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