@Anonymous wrote:I thought I had read on the forums what the cost is for a creditor to report to the CRA. A search here and online revealed nothing. I know some creditors update on all reports monthly. Also, some creditors do not update CO/Collections every month on all of the reports. Has anyone any information on the cost? It would make sense that there are price breaks.
I haven't seen the contracts but basically nothing.
It's somewhat the reverse: to pull a dataset from Experian you basically must report to Experian. End of the day Experian wins with more / better data so it doesn't make sense to charge people to report.
So when we're really talking modern infrastructures where everything is done electronically for reporting, it's negligible.
@Anonymous wrote:I thought I had read on the forums what the cost is for a creditor to report to the CRA. ... Has anyone any information on the cost? ...
Its only cost would presumably be the time and effort required to submit it in whatever format the CRA wants. Data about us is what the CRA deal in, so I would be surprised if it cost anything to submit info. Where they make money is on supplying a dataset large enough to be meaningful, ie. a report on you or a group of people with some predetermined advertising-marketable quality.
@CreditInspired wrote:
@Glen_M wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:I thought I had read on the forums what the cost is for a creditor to report to the CRA. ... Has anyone any information on the cost? ...
Its only cost would presumably be the time and effort required to submit it in whatever format the CRA wants. Data about us is what the CRA deal in, so I would be surprised if it cost anything to submit info. Where they make money is on supplying a dataset large enough to be meaningful, ie. a report on you or a group of people with some predetermined advertising-marketable quality.
I found the below on Google, but not how much lenders pay. I also learned something new about why all 3 scores can be so different.
“Creditors such as banks and credit card companies must pay to report information to any of the three major credit-reporting agencies, which are Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Because a cost is involved, some creditors choose to use only one service instead of all three. This can adversely affect even a responsible borrower's credit score because not all bureaus receive the same positive information about the consumer's payment history, for example, when an individual pays off a long-term debt such as a mortgage.”
I'm not sure I would take an Investopedia article without any sourcing or author as particularly factual. This seems like a more legitimate reasoning:
"You need the right kind of computer systems and secured data access,” said Rod Griffin, director of public education at Experian. “We often audit the organizations that report to us on site to make sure their systems are secure. The cost of doing so is prohibitive for an individual.”
https://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/who-furnish-payment-info-credit-bureaus.php
Earlier in that article they say that a mere 10 companies provide data on 57% of tradelines, and the top 50 companies provide 72% of CRA data. If your top 10 customers were also the ones providing you with raw material, there's a good chance one of those transactions is just a 'credit' toward the other one.
This article explains that relationship a little better, as a type of "subscription" to a service. Which makes sense, because what the subscriber business probably wants to get out of this is credit reports on potential customers, and might be earning some 'credit' toward that from the CRA by submitting some info:
"If you do choose to report your business's consumer credit information to a credit bureau, such as for non-payment of a debt, the business first must become a customer of each credit bureau. According to Experian, a business must become a subscriber to its credit reporting services. Otherwise, the bureau will have no way of including that creditor's accounts within its database. This service isn't free, and each bureau has its own services that it sells to subscriber businesses. Also, any small business owner who wishes to report consumer credit data to a credit bureau must adhere to and abide by all federal laws regarding such consumer reporting, like the Fair Credit Reporting Act."
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/can-small-business-report-nonpay-credit-agencies-59675.html
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