BBN Report
Credit bureau database has 9 mn individuals, 600,000 corporates
ABU DHABI/ March 04-2021: The two home-grown telecom operators from the UAE, Etisalat and Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company – du, will be using credit reports and scores generated by Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB), according to a report by WAM news agency.
Both operators have been working with Al Etihad Credit Bureau for the past four years and are now active data providers to the existing 78 currently with AECB. With the addition of both Etisalat and du’s data, AECB’s customer information database stands at 9 million individuals and 600,000 companies.
The operators will lay more reliance on AECB’s reports and scores while on-boarding post-paid customers and devices purchasers in order to assess the ability of individuals or companies to meet future telco-related payments based on past payment behaviour.
Etisalat and du have become the largest entities in the UAE to provide outstanding bills and payment history on a regular basis on individuals and companies in the UAE to Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB).
AECB clientele expands
Today, AECB collects credit information from banks, finance companies, telecom operators, water and electricity companies and courts which feed into the generation of Credit Reports as well as forming the basis for predictive and analytics products such as the Credit Score and other unique indicators.
“All banks and finance companies in the UAE use Credit Reports and Credit Scores to support their decisions in assessing applications for credit facilities” explained Marwan Ahmad Lutfi (seen in the picture), CEO of AECB.
With both Etisalat’s and du’s historic and current bill payment information submitted to AECB, it is now critical for both individuals and companies to maintain timely payment schedules.
“And this will help avoid defaults as essential telecommunications services payment patterns are going to show on credit reports and will undoubtedly impact one’s creditworthiness and ability to avail attractive products and services offered within the industry.” Lutfi added.
“At du, we are committed to incorporating international best practices across all our operational verticals,” said Fahad Al Hassawi, du’s Acting Chief Executive Officer.
“By utilizing Al Etihad Credit Bureau’s products, we are given visibility on key data to help us mitigate risks to protect not only our shareholders, but our customers and extended stakeholders as well,” Al Hassawi said.
“The new announcement reiterates our commitment to sustainably manage the expectations of all our stakeholders and customers across verticals,” said Khaled ElKhouly, Chief Consumer Officer at Etisalat.