COVID-19 Update
Dear Clients,
To keep everyone safe, from March 18th, 2021 we will be operating from behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our office will have a skeleton staff with all customer-facing staff working from home. I am sure you understand our caution and we ask for your co-operation and understanding during this time of lockdown. This means that our regular walk-in customers will have to access us through our “digital doors” to enable us to serve you better. This is coming at a time where we have just launched our first-ever online application flow for customers requesting a credit report, that incorporates the use of our EKYC tool which validates a customer’s identity. We anticipate more clients using this platform in the coming days as it has been successful so far.
As the situation evolves, our teams will continue to keep you informed of our latest analysis, as well as any additional operational changes. Our mission is to provide you with reliable information and solutions to help you in your decision-making.
You may still contact us via phone +876 633 7023, and email (info@creditinfojamaica.com) for any assistance that you might require.
Stay calm and be safe.
As part of the credit ecosystem, Creditinfo Jamaica is committed to supporting individuals and SMEs
Jamaica’s economy is being hit hard by the global coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. The public health emergency that has been called across many countries is posing temporary difficulties for people and businesses to keep up with their loan repayments or with their utility bills (phone, electricity, water, etc.).
Public authorities are working with banks and other services providers to facilitate that individuals, sole traders, and SMEs experiencing hardship, can avail of a moratorium on those repayments or be placed into forbearance programs.
Creditinfo Jamaica has been and remains ready to assist people and businesses by reducing the impact of their financial distress on their credit history.
In that regard, we would like to state that:
- Individuals and businesses with concerns about their financial situation should first and foremost contact their lenders and creditors, to let them know that there is a problem and to discuss their options. The Credit Bureau does not provide credit and cannot, therefore, suspend repayments.
- The Credit Bureau holds information on past credit and current payment behavior of individuals, sole traders, and SMEs. It is crucial for creditors, consumers, and the economy at large that the information held in our databases is as accurate as possible. The potential suppression of reporting data or the deletion of data from credit histories will hurt consumers and the credit system as a whole, which relies on accurate, current information.
- In order to avoid that credit to individuals, sole traders, or SMEs is not treated negatively as a result of inadequate or outdated information, Creditinfo Jamaica is working with lenders and creditors to ensure that decisions on deferral of payments or forbearance are properly reported and recorded on the file of each borrower. Different technical reporting solutions e.g. special credit reporting codes or conventions are being put in place to properly recognize these situations. Creditinfo Jamaica is in permanent contact with banks and creditors, to alert them on any regulatory provisions that have been adopted and to inform them about any necessary changes to the reporting templates.
- Where agreements are made with lenders, provided that forbearance and deferred payment scenarios are properly reported by lenders and creditors in accordance with the pre-established technical reporting solutions, general credit scores of individuals and SMEs should not in most cases be negatively impacted as a result of coronavirus COVID-19.
- In order to facilitate that individuals, sole traders, and SMEs stay up to date on their credit reports and can verify the accuracy of their credit histories, Creditinfo Jamaica is also working directly with those stakeholders. They have customarily the right to ask for a free copy of their credit report from any Credit Bureau that holds information.
- Regulators and governments understand that the long-term financial wealth fare of the economy is dependent on a strong and reliable credit reporting infrastructure, Creditinfo Jamaica will also be informing the relevant bodies of this plan to accommodate the repercussions of the outbreak of COVID-19 and its effects on businesses and individuals.
Creditinfo Jamaica continues monitoring the outbreak of COVID-19 and its effects on businesses and individuals. We continue working with creditors, lenders, and consumers to minimize the effects on individuals, sole traders’, or SMEs’ credit standing and may complement the above measures should the need arise.
For more information, please contact us at +876 633 7023 or info@creditinfojamaica.com.
