The Positive Credit Register is a new register that collects information on private individuals' credit and income in one place. It is administered by the Finnish Tax Administration's Incomes Register Unit.
Creditors report information to the register, for example, on consumer credit, credit cards, housing and car loans, student loans and hire-purchase agreements of private individuals, who are resident in Finland and have a Finnish personal identification number at the time of granting credit. The register also contains information on repayments made and the date on which the credit was repaid. The Income data are sourced from the income register and therefore contain data on wages, social benefits and pensions paid, but not on capital income or business income.
The register is positive in the sense that it does not show so-called negative credit history entries, such as payment defaults or enforcement entries. However, delays in the payment of credit instalments are recorded in the register if the payment has been delayed for more than 60 days. The lender will remove the information on the delayed amount if the consumer agrees with the lender on a new payment plan regarding the delayed amount The lender will also remove the information on the delayed amount after the pay off the instalment in full.
The Consumer Protection Act requires that when granting a credit to private individuals, creditors must assess the consumer's creditworthiness based on sufficient information. As part of this assessment, from 1 April 2024, creditors are obliged to check the consumer's credit and income from the positive credit information register. In the credit register extract obtained from the register, the creditor receives information on the consumer's monthly income for the 12 calendar months preceding the time of the order.
Consumers can also view their own data in the e-service of the Positive Credit Register, giving them an overall picture of their own credits. Additionally, consumers can notify the register of a voluntary credit ban, either for a fixed period or an indefinite period.
The objective of the Positive Credit Register is also to provide authorities with information describing credit markets and new means of monitoring and controlling financial stability and credit market
According to the Positive Credit Register's press release on 14 May 2024, the demand for extracts from the register has been brisk since the register was opened, and lenders have requested extracts from the Positive Credit Register about half a million times in April. On average, about 20,000 extracts were requested per day, and about 130,000 per week.
Originally published 11 June 2024
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