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Having a healthy credit history is important as it affects your ability to borrow money.
Whenever you apply for a loan, hire purchase, credit card, store card or line of credit you’ll have a credit check run on you by the organisation you’re asking to lend you money.
They’ll have to ask your permission before carrying out a credit check, which will be carried out by a credit bureau or agency.
A credit check will generate a report that shows your history of paying bills and repaying debt, to give credit providers an idea of how likely you are to repay money they might lend you.
It’s important to realise that information from companies like your power, gas or phone providers will be feeding into your credit report, so it’s important to pay your bills on time.
As well as late bill payments, things like defaulting on a loan or credit card are also likely to show up on your credit report.
It can include details about your:
Your personal and financial information is still covered by the Privacy Act. For more information, check out the Privacy Commissioner’s website.
Your credit report doesn’t just keep track of your financial hard times or missteps, it can also show your history of making payments on time, or even early repayments or overpayments.
Kiwibank participates in positive credit reporting. This means we report on the type and amount of credit you’ve received and how your repayments are going.
Including positive reporting rather than just negative provides a clearer picture of your finances, and shows if you've recovered from credit difficulties in the past.
If you’ve made a few money mistakes in the past and are worried that this has impacted your credit rating, there are ways to get it back on track.
You can get a free copy of your credit report from any of New Zealand’s three credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Centrix, or illion.
Please note, this is intended as general information only. It does not take into account your financial situation and goals and is not personal advice. For advice about your particular circumstances please see a financial adviser.
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