Credit Bureau Services Procurement Intelligence Report, 2023 - 2030 (Revenue Forecast, Supplier Ranking & Matrix, Emerging Technologies, Pricing Models, Cost Structure, Engagement & Operating Model, Competitive Landscape)

Credit Bureau Services Category Overview

The credit bureau services category is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.6% from 2023 to 2030. The market for credit bureaus is expected to grow in the next years due to the rising demand for credit cards.  Credit card benefits like unlimited reward points with usage, insurance protection, discounts, and cashback help to increase credit scores. Further, credit card issuers provide credit bureaus with details about cardholder activity that help them confirm each customer's credit ratings, which serve as the foundation for loan applications. For instance, the Federal Reserve Bank, a US-based bank, reports that from 2021 to 2022, the rate of credit card applications increased from 26.5% to 27.1% in November 2022. As a result, credit card usage rises, and the market for credit bureaus increases.

A credit bureau acquires and maintains track of a variety of credit-related insights on users and organizations such as loans taken, overdraft facilities, and credit card usage. Increasingly, credit bureaus are partnering or collaborating with fintech companies to provide custom data analytics due to increasing demand for credit from new-to-credit (NTC) consumers. For instance, since 2019, credit bureaus have observed a change in consumers' consumption patterns and discretionary expenditures. There has been a rapid increase in consumer durable loans as well as small personal loans. NTC customers now account for nearly 40% of consumer durables loans. Due to their increased formalization and financial inclusion, the number of NTC borrowers in the MSME segment increased rapidly since 2019.

The North American region accounts for the largest category share due to an increase in the number of people looking for credit products like loans and credit cards while rising consumer awareness of the importance of maintaining a good credit score and routinely checking credit reports.

Companies are concentrating their efforts on introducing cutting-edge technologies to strengthen their position in the industry. Blockchain technology enables instantaneous and transparent transaction initiation and execution amongst many parties. For instance:

• In March 2022, Equifax a US-based provider of consumer credit reports, acquired Data-Crédito, a Dominican Republic headquartered consumer-reporting company. Equifax with the help of this acquisition will provide additional information about clients' financial profiles as part of the lending process; financial institutions will be able to securely offer new mainstream financial service alternatives to underbanked consumers.

• In May 2021, U.S based consumer credit reporting company TransUnion announced the partnership with Spring Labs, a software company, to develop a blockchain platform for sharing data. The financial details of the investment made by TransUnion were not made public. The platform was expected to help credit bureaus forecast the creditworthiness of consumers or individuals not enrolled in the established credit bureau system by leveraging blockchain to create a rich network of data. This collaboration was expected to help lenders to exchange sensitive information i.e., providing credit rating information on blockchain while protecting customer identity.

The category is based on a subscription pricing model, where a full report can be generated with credit scores depending upon the subscription period. The subscription plan could be for one year, 6 months, monthly, or one time as per company requirement. For instance, TransUnion CIBIL, an India-based credit information company charges Rs 550 for credit report with a credit score. The element affecting the cost structure for credit bureau services is labor cost and software cost used in this category. Credit bureau services come with various features such as identity theft insurance, card activity alerts, etc. which require investment in software and acquiring labor. The market is moderately fragmented with intense competition among the top global players. The buyers have low bargaining power as there are large companies dominating the market. There is a high demand for credit information, regulatory pressure, and compliance requirements, while buyers have limited negotiating power both domestically and globally.

Countries such as the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, India, South Africa, and Australia are preferred business destinations for acquiring these services. People in these countries give significant importance to credit scores which determine their financial competency and self-esteem. One of the essential sourcing practices for this category will be engaging and negotiating with more than one supplier to acquire a holistic package of services. For instance, different credit bureau companies are providing a different set of services with credit report services. Experian can provide services such as credit scores and reports along with offering loans. Whereas CRIF High Mark can provide credit scores and reports along with analytics services such as the deduplication platform. Therefore, businesses are required to negotiate and source the appropriate suppliers to get a whole sum report at affordable prices. Other sourcing practices considered in the category are competitor pricing strategies evaluation, payment terms, etc.  

Credit Bureau Services Procurement Intelligence Report Scope