Choosing a credit bureau in Guatemala
Guatemala's credit information is held across three private bureaus, TransUnion, Infornet and Digidata, while the SIB register is open only to banks, financial groups and authorised microfinance entities. The country has no credit bureau law or data protection law, but the Constitutional Court ordered the bureaus to stop spreading data on people who had not authorised it. It also found that TransUnion had not proved credit grantors collected written consent. With that ruling setting the boundary, you have to decide what authorisation to retain and which information your own rules allow you to read.
Keep signed authorisation before querying a bureau
Retain the applicant’s signed authorisation with the application. Guatemala has no credit bureau law, but the Corte de Constitucionalidad, the country’s Constitutional Court, ruled on how private credit bureaus can spread personal information.
In Expediente 3552-2014, an amparo case, the court ordered TransUnion Guatemala, Infornet and Digidata to stop spreading information about people who had given no prior knowledge or authorisation. The record contained insufficient evidence that TransUnion’s credit grantors collected written consent. Bureau practice requires signed authorisation before a query. Keep that signed record with the application, so you can show what the applicant authorised.
Check your access to the SIB register
The SIB, the Superintendencia de Bancos, runs a risk information system for credit analysis. Banks, financial groups and SIB-authorised microfinance entities can access it. Check your institution’s status before treating the register as a source for your application process.
| Source | Run by | Access |
|---|---|---|
| Sistema de información de riesgos | Superintendencia de Bancos | Banks, financial groups, authorised microfinance entities, for credit analysis only |
| TransUnion Guatemala | TransUnion | Contract, signed authorisation |
| Infornet | Informes en Red | Contract, signed authorisation |
| Digidata | Digidata | Contract, signed authorisation |
If you are a bank, financial group or authorised microfinance entity, the SIB register is available for credit analysis. Other institutions should confirm whether the Junta Monetaria has approved their access before relying on it. The private bureaus are TransUnion Guatemala, Infornet and Digidata, each requiring a contract and signed authorisation according to reported bureau practice.
Apply the rules for your institution and product
As of 5 October 2026, Guatemala had no credit bureau law and no comprehensive data protection law in force. The Constitutional Court’s ruling still recognises the applicant’s rights to correct, update, rectify and delete personal data. That means your process needs a way to receive and act on those requests.
Iniciativa 6572 would exclude financial and credit data from the bill, leave them to special rules, and exempt them from consent and deletion requirements. Iniciativa 6464 proposes prison for unlawful trade in databases and was still in committee in July 2026.
| Step | The rule | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Before the bureau pull | Signed authorisation from the consumer | CC Expediente 3552-2014, bureau practice |
| The SIB register | Credit analysis only, supervised entities | LBGF art. 58, Decreto 25-2016 art. 36 |
| Microfinance | Sufficient cash flows for the whole term | Decreto 25-2016 art. 31 |
| A card line or limit change | Confirm capacity to pay | Decreto 2-2024 art. 6 |
| The applicant's data | Correct, update, rectify, delete | Constitution arts. 4, 28, 31, per the CC |
For microfinance entities, Decreto 25-2016 requires sufficient cash flows for the full term of the financing, including remittance income. Decreto 2-2024 reportedly requires issuers to confirm the applicant’s capacity to pay, including the guarantor’s, before granting a line, extra financing or a limit change. Keep the applicable capacity check in the decision process, and give applicants a route to request correction, updating, rectification or deletion of their data.
Check what each bureau holds on applicants
Ask TransUnion, Infornet and Digidata what information each holds on the people who apply for your products. A bureau’s stated offering does not establish how often your applicants have a file or whether the returned information changes your decisions.
Used with a smart card reader, RENAP’s free software reads the DPI chip and validates registry data. Use it to check applicant identity before comparing bureau returns.
Use applicants who have authorised a query to compare the bureaus on the same population. Record whether each returns a file, whether the identity match is usable and what information would change the credit decision. Then compare the differences against the decisions you would make on those applicants.
Measure the value of a second bureau
A second bureau can add useful information even when the first has a file, so compare the cost and decision value of that call before setting the rule. On your authorised applicant sample, compare using the first source alone, the second alone, both sources, and the second only when the first returns no file. For each strategy, record the source’s flags, which good and bad applicants those flags identify, the price per call, loss per bad loan and profit per good one.
The data source waterfall tool compares those source strategies using hit rates, good and bad applicants flagged, call prices, loss per bad loan and profit per good one. Choose the strategy whose incremental value justifies its cost. Decisimo’s data source documentation can request information from REST APIs or SOAP web services, and a failed request can send the decision flow to a fallback branch.
Keep signed authorisation and set bureau rules
Settle the application’s authorisation screen and second-source rule before the process goes live. The authorisation screen determines what happens before bureau information enters the credit decision, and a second source earns its place only when its value on your applicants justifies its cost.
- Check whether your institution can access the SIB register for credit analysis.
- Take and keep the applicant’s signed authorisation before any bureau query.
- Ask TransUnion, Infornet and Digidata what information each holds on your applicants, and compare their returns on an authorised sample.
- If you are a microfinance entity, check sufficient cash flows for the full financing term. If you issue cards, confirm the applicant’s and guarantor’s capacity to pay before a line, extra financing or limit change.
- Give applicants a way to request correction, updating, rectification or deletion of their data.
- Compare the second bureau’s incremental value and cost on your applicants, including both a no-file fallback and a second call when the first bureau has a file. Use the result to set when the second query runs.
Questions about credit bureaus in Guatemala
How many credit bureaus are there in Guatemala?
Three private bureaus are named in the Constitutional Court ruling: TransUnion Guatemala, Infornet and Digidata.
Is there a credit bureau law in Guatemala?
No. The Constitutional Court ruling ordered the named bureaus to stop spreading information about people who had given no prior knowledge or authorisation.
Does Guatemala have a data protection law?
No comprehensive data protection law was in force as of 5 October 2026. The Constitutional Court ruling recognises rights to correct, update, rectify and delete personal data.
Do I need the applicant’s consent to check their credit in Guatemala?
Yes. The ruling requires prior knowledge or authorisation for the information the bureaus spread, and signed authorisation before a query is reported as current bureau practice.
What would Guatemala's data protection bill change for credit data?
Iniciativa 6572 would exclude financial and credit data from the bill, leave them to special rules, and exempt them from consent and deletion requirements.
How do I check an applicant's identity in Guatemala?
Used with a smart card reader, RENAP’s free software reads the DPI chip and validates registry data.
Can a cooperative use the SIB register?
There is no statutory access for non-profit microfinance entities, cooperatives or unregulated lenders, and it is not known whether the Junta Monetaria has opened access to any federation.
Does a card issuer have to check capacity to pay in Guatemala?
As reported for Decreto 2-2024, issuers must confirm the applicant’s and guarantor’s capacity to pay before granting a line, extra financing or a limit change.
Does Guatemala regulate automated credit decisions?
No specific regulation of automated credit decisions is identified. The Constitutional Court ruling recognises applicants’ rights to correct, update, rectify and delete personal data.
Does TransUnion Guatemala give consumers a free report?
As reported, TransUnion Guatemala gives consumers one free report each year and 60 months of behaviour.
What must a microfinance entity show before lending?
Under Decreto 25-2016 art. 31, microfinance entities must show sufficient cash flows for the whole financing term, including remittance income.
Can a fintech or other unsupervised lender use the SIB register?
Only if the Junta Monetaria has approved its access.
Who can use the SIB’s risk information system?
Banks, financial groups and SIB-authorised microfinance entities can access it for credit analysis.
What does the data source waterfall tool compare?
It compares source strategies using hit rates, good and bad applicants flagged, call prices, loss per bad loan and profit per good one. Those comparisons show the incremental value of each strategy.
