Nigeria’s largest credit bureau, CreditRegistry, is offering lenders free usage of its premium credit reporting service to cushion the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses.
According to a statement issued by the firm, this offer, estimated at more than N25 million, is timed to come into effect with the commencement of the phased easing of the lockdown on May 4, 2020 in Lagos, FCT and Ogun as announced by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Lenders not yet subscribed to its platform are able to use CreditRegistry’s credit reporting service at no cost throughout the month of May.
This offer enables lenders, especially Fintechs, to process as many loans as desired, reduce operational costs and pass the savings to customers who urgently need help and financial support now as a result of the pandemic impact, the statement noted.
Commenting on the offer, CreditRegistry’s Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Jameelah Sharrieff-Ayedun, stated that, “Notwithstanding the current arduous circumstances, CreditRegistry remains committed to empowering and supporting our loyal members.”
“We all have a part to play so during this challenging time we are contributing to help businesses thrive so that more Nigerians can remain employed.
“CreditRegistry is offering new members access to our services at no cost in May 2020.
“We hope that our contribution will support lenders so they can extend critical lending support to more customers,” she added.
Concluding, Mrs Sharrieff–Ayedun noted that, “As Nigeria is set to reopen, regroup, rethink, reimagine, rebuild and recover, as a socially responsible brand, CreditRegistry aims to collaborate with lenders to empower individuals and businesses with faster access to affordable credit ‘one loan at a time’.”
In addition to the Free Offer Campaign to new members, CreditRegistry is championing more efficient and cost-saving models for its existing members to operate.
CreditRegistry’s AutoCred REST API provides the means for lenders to automate access to credit reports and its proprietary SMARTScore in order to facilitate split-second processing of large volumes of loan transactions at significant cost savings, while ensuring business continuity.
Existing members that implement the AutoCred REST API in May 2020 will also benefit from the Free Offer Campaign. Lenders can process more credit applications faster and more creditworthy Nigerians can benefit from loans at this critical time.
CreditRegistry’s Free Offer Campaign is highly supportive of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) loan facility made available to help Nigerian families and businesses during this crisis.
The apex bank has introduced several initiatives including the reduction of cost of lending on funds from the Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL MFB), the national microfinance bank which has commenced the disbursement of CBN’s N50 billion Targeted Credit Facility (TCF) to MSMEs affected by COVID-19.
CreditRegistry – the Voice of Credit in Nigeria – has over 20 products and services available to lenders and the general public, including its SMARTScore and CreditConnection.
Since pioneering private credit bureau services in 2003, CreditRegistry has been steadfastly serving leading financial and non-financial organisations.
Aduragbemi Omiyale 
Dipo Olowookere