CRB STATUS IMPORTANCE AND FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

CRB-CREDIT REFERENCE BUREAU

17th Nov. 2021 by Dennis Mwangi

How to check your CRB status in Kenya.
The law in Kenya entitles borrowers to get a free CRB report once a year. If you want to go for an additional report within that same year, you have to pay for it. Let us explore CRB status and how to check your status in Kenya.

1. What is CRB?

CRB stands for Credit Reference Bureau. It is an organization licensed by the central bank of Kenya to collect and analyze data on loans from lenders and financial institutions. They check and monitors the attitude of borrowers to enable lenders to reduce the potential of loan default. They also use it to tackle and follow-up non-performing loans issues. They also control and maintain stability, effectiveness and access to financial services.

• What is CRB status?

It is the state of your loan repayment and history as it concerns taming non-performing loans. The status displays if you have defaulted or paid off all outstanding loans. The status also displays your eligibility to go for another loan. In addition, if you do not pay off the previous loan, you will get blacklisted and not liable to go for another loan from some big lenders.

• How do I check my CRB status?

There are three CRBs licenced by the central bank of Kenya to control, collect, manage and share financial information. They are:

• Metropol Corporation
• TransUnion (CRB Africa)
• CreditInfo

Metropol Corporation

To use this CRB agency to check your status, go to their website. You can also download their Crystobol app or dial *433#. To check your score, follow the process below:

• You have to pay Kshs. 50 as the registration fee with the paybill number 220388
• Make use of your national ID number as the account number
• Then you will receive an SMS with your unique PIN details, a reference number, and a special link.

For credit score
Pay Kshs. 150 to get your score per year. They will award marks between 200- 900. If your mark falls below 400, it means “Low rating” showing that you defaulted. Rating near 800-900 means you have a high score and don’t have a loan default.

For credit report

You will pay Kshs. 250 to get full detailed information on how financial firms have listed you.

For credit clearance

After clearing your outstanding loans and you are no longer owing, they will issue you a clearance certificate at Kshs 2200 if you need it.

TransUnion CRB Kenya

To check your score, follow the procedure:

• Send your full personal name to 21272
• Input your ID Number
• Select credit status
• Receive your CRB status

For credit report

Pay Kshs. 650 in order to view or see your credit report and institutions that have listed you

Clearance certificate

For your clearance certificate, you will pay Kshs. 2,200 and make sure you have paid off all your outstanding loans

Note: you can access TransUnion Nipashe app on Google Playstore

Credit info CRB Kenya

To register under this CRB in order to get your credit score and other necessary information. Visit their site, after registration, you will receive your credit report in your email address. Everything they do is sent to their customers’ email address.

• What is CRB clearance certificate?

It is a document that shows that a customer has no non-performing account. It is a certificate given to an individual or citizens of Kenya after checking their credit score and report. Firms use it to know the individual they are employing and his/her credit status.

• When is an individual’s negative listing submitted to a CRB?

It takes 90 days. Banks give individuals 90 days and mobile lenders give 30 days. After the duration, the person gets a notification. They list them if they don’t make any repayment

• Reasons for checking and knowing my CRB score & status

There are lots of reasons why people check their CRB status. The reasons are:

• Find out the true state of their credit performance
• To also know if their loan repayments have been reflecting on the lender’s dashboard.
• To give them peace of mind or sort out ways to pay off loan default.
  
• What is CRB Negative Status?

CRB negative status means being listed on CRB badly or negatively for loan default or forgery.

• Can there be errors on my CRB Report?

At times they give wrong credit reports. When you detect the error, you can dispute the information by:

• Contacting the CRB that gave you the report
• By filling the form given to you by the CRB and highlighting the errors
• The CRB contacts the lender or financial institution that gave out the data for confirmation
• The lending institution will investigate the error and give their feedback within fourteen (14) days. They confirm:
• If the information is correct and should not be charged
• Should the error be true and deleted
• If the information is not up to date and correct changes made immediately.
• When CRB has being contacted, and the CRB status doesn’t satisfy the borrower?

In this case, they allow the borrower to append the summary of that dispute on their credit report.

Note: You can visit Tatua centre. It is an alternative dispute resolution centre. They deal with CRB related issues and disputes. You can access them via their website.

• Can I get a loan if I have a negative CRB status?

The quick answer is “Yes”, you can. The thing about ‘negative credit’ is that not all financial institutions see it in the same way. Different financial institutions have different metrics when considering someone’s credit status.
Contacting CRBs’

Metropol contacts

Their phone numbers are: (+254) 20 26 89 88 1 or 0709 834 000 or 0709 228 000 or 0730884000

Email them: creditbureau@metropol.co.ke

Work Address: Barclays Plaza, 9th Floor, Loita Street, Nairobi

CreditInfo details and contacts

Their phone numbers are: +254 735 880880 or +254 718 842833 or 0709593000

Email them: cikinfo@creditinfo.co.ke

Their address in case you wish to visit them: Park Suites, Parklands Road, Nairobi

TransUnion CRB Contacts and details

Name: Credit Reference Bureau Africa Limited (TransUnion)

Phone numbers: +254730 651 000 or +2540203751344

You can email them @ info@transunion.co.ke

Physical Address: 2nd Floor Delta Annex, Ring road, Westlands, Nairobi