A credit reporting agency gathers consumer- and business-credit information from various sources and provides that information to businesses and consumers. This information is used to determine a credit score, which can affect a consumer in many ways: from interest rates on loans to getting a job.
Credit Reporting Agencies in the United States
There are four credit-reporting agencies in the United States: Experian, TransUnion, Equifax and Innovis. These agencies compile data on consumers based on public records and the consumers' payment histories to lenders and utilities.
Experian
Experian is a global credit-reporting agency that operates in the United States. Founded in the United Kingdom in 1980 as CCS Systems, Experian expanded into the United States in 1986 by acquiring Management Decision Systems. The agency has credit information regarding 215 million Americans.
Equifax
Founded in 1899 as Retail Credit Company, Equifax is the oldest of the credit reporting agencies. In addition to traditional credit-reporting products, Equifax also offers monitoring services meant to help prevent identity theft.
TransUnion
TransUnion was created in 1968 and entered into credit reporting in 1969 with the acquisition of Credit Bureau of Cook County. TransUnion is the third-largest credit-reporting agency in the United States.
Innovis
A much smaller credit reporting agency, Innovis started business under the name ACB Services in 1970. Many information sources do not report data to Innovis.
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