Illion, the data and analytics business, today announced they had completed loading the big four banks’ unsecured portfolios’ Comprehensive Data into their credit bureau.

The financial industry and illion have been lobbying the government to enable Comprehensive Reporting for over 20 years and it is finally here. During the month of September, all the major Australian banks will have completed providing positive credit information to the illion credit bureau. They will join several other credit providers who have already started participating in Comprehensive Reporting.

This information includes:

• The type of credit accounts a person holds and who is providing it;

• The date the account was opened and closed;

• Whether a person paid their account each month on time.

Comprehensive Reporting means financial institutions tell bureaus how quickly people pay their bills. The new system will start with credit cards and personal loans. Repayment information on mortgages will become available over the next 12 months.

This new data enables credit bureaus to determine a consumer’s credit score more accurately. This is revolutionary as it means illion infrastructure and analytics can help financial institutions price loans specific to a person. If a consumer is on top of their finances, they are well placed to get a better interest rate. Just as important, the new data will also help credit providers lend more responsibly, as it will assist in determining when not to lend.