Jamaica credit bureaus and when a second call is worth it
Across Jamaica's credit market, records are held by two licensed bureaus, EveryData, formerly Creditinfo Jamaica, and CRIF. Lenders, utilities and telecoms may share data with a bureau, and exclusive contracts can direct those records to one bureau. As a result, one bureau may hold only a thin file for an applicant whose file is fuller at the other. Your reporting relationship alone cannot settle which source is useful for a given applicant, so you have to decide when a second bureau call is worth making.
Jamaica’s two bureaus hold different applicant files
A bureau report shows the credit information that bureau holds for an applicant. Jamaica has two licensed credit bureaus: EveryData Jamaica Limited, formerly Creditinfo Jamaica, and CRIF Information Bureau Jamaica Limited. The credit bureau glossary defines the report, and the Bank of Jamaica’s credit-reporting page lists the licensed bureaus.
| Bureau | Company | Earlier name |
|---|---|---|
| EveryData | EveryData Jamaica Limited | Creditinfo Jamaica |
| CRIF | CRIF Information Bureau Jamaica Limited | None given |
If you sign with one bureau, its report tells you what that bureau holds. To learn what the other bureau holds for the same applicant, request its report as well.
Reporting arrangements explain differences between bureau files
The Credit Reporting Act permits credit information providers to share information with bureaus. The Act leaves reporting to both bureaus optional. A provider’s reporting arrangements can therefore affect which bureau receives its information.
The Fair Trading Commission’s market study reported exclusive data-sharing contracts and incompatible technology as barriers to data exchange. The Commission also reported that a third bureau, Credit Information Services Limited, had issued no reports since 2022 and gave difficulty obtaining information from important providers as a reason. It recommended reciprocal data exchange. As far as the available evidence shows, the recommendation has not led to a change in the Act.
When providers report to different bureaus, one applicant can have a thin file at one and a fuller one at the other. You cannot know in advance which bureau holds the fuller file. That uncertainty is why you should stay independent of either bureau’s file.
Test when a second bureau call changes decisions
A no-hit or thin report leaves you with limited information about the applicant. Calling the second bureau can expose information missing from the first. The added call also costs money, so the question is whether the information changes decisions enough to justify that cost.
Start by identifying applications where another report could matter: a thin or empty first file, a decision close to your cut-off, or an exposure near a limit in your own credit or concentration policy. For each application in the test, compare the decision using the first report with the decision using both reports. Record whether the second report added information, whether it changed approval or terms, and what happens to those accounts as repayment outcomes become observable.
Then compare the cost of the additional calls with the value of the changes. A call that shifts an applicant across the cut-off can change approvals, expected losses and the return on the book. Information that never changes a decision does not justify its call cost. The data source waterfall tool compares call orders, including calling the second source only when the first has no hit. Use your own applicant results to decide which order pays.
Build Jamaica’s reporting duties into the test
The comparison is useful only if the report is requested and used within the Credit Reporting Act’s requirements. Build the relevant controls into the test before you send data or pull a report. The duties include notice before first sharing, written consent and identity verification before receiving a report, limits on how you use the information, and accuracy and fraud-notice responsibilities.
| Step | The duty | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Before you share | Newspaper notice 7 days before first sharing. Tell applicants in writing that data may go to bureaus | s.8(10) |
| Before the report | The consumer's written consent, validated, identity verified | s.11(3), BOJ Directions |
| Use | Credit and collection, or other purposes with consent | s.11(7) |
| A decline | Notice that bureau information was used, and the right to ask which bureau within 30 days | s.14(2) |
| Accuracy | Share reliable data, report and correct what proves unreliable, pass on fraud notices | s.8(5), 8(9), 11(10) |
| A dispute | The bureau resolves within 14 days, then the BOJ within 30 days of its report | s.16 |
| What drops off | Judgments, bankruptcy discharges and claims older than 7 years | s.12(2) |
If a bureau report supports a decline, give the notice when you communicate the decision. Tell the applicant that bureau information was used and that they may ask within thirty days which bureau supplied it and that bureau’s address. If they ask, name the bureau whose information supported the decision. A consumer may also dispute information with the bureau, which must confirm, correct or complete it within fourteen days.
Account for the report’s limits when assessing its contents. The Act excludes, among other information, judgments more than seven years old unless the creditor confirms in writing that they remain unpaid, bankruptcy discharges more than seven years old, unpaid taxes more than seven years old, and claims concluded more than seven years earlier.
Keep second bureau calls in your decision engine
Use your applicant test results to set the call order. Distinguish a valid no-hit from a failed or timed-out call. A no-hit can trigger a second bureau call under your rule. Give a failed call its own branch, and route provider errors separately from empty reports.
Keep the rule in a decision engine you control, and record why the second source was called and what information changed the outcome. Decisimo’s data source documentation describes connections to REST APIs and SOAP web services, including how a decision flow can respond to a failed call. Decisimo returns the outcome with a reason. You still set and review the call rule against your own applicants.
Set reporting and call rules before launch
Stay independent of either bureau’s file. Write the call order from your test results, then review whether the extra information changes decisions and outcomes enough to justify the cost.
- Before first sharing credit information, publish a notice in a daily newspaper at least seven days in advance and tell applicants in writing that their information may go to bureaus.
- Before requesting a report, collect and validate the applicant’s written consent and verify their identity.
- Use bureau information for extending credit and collecting debt. Use it for other purposes named in the Act only with the consumer’s consent.
- If a decline rests on bureau information, give notice when you communicate the decision. Tell the applicant they may ask within thirty days which bureau supplied it and that bureau’s address. Name the bureau if asked.
- Share reliable information. If information you provided proves unreliable, notify the Bank of Jamaica, the consumer and the bureau, and correct it. Pass written fraud notices to each person who received the information.
- Account for report exclusions, and make sure your process can handle disputes and corrections.
- Keep bureau calls in a decision engine you control. Record the reason for each call and the resulting decision.
- Compare first-report decisions with decisions using both reports. Test the second call for thin or empty files, close decisions and larger exposures, then weigh changed decisions and observed outcomes against the cost.
Questions about Jamaica’s credit bureaus
How many credit bureaus are there in Jamaica?
There are two licensed bureaus: EveryData Jamaica Limited and CRIF Information Bureau Jamaica Limited. Compare call strategies on your applicants rather than assuming either holds the fuller file. A third licensee, Credit Information Services Limited, was reported in 2025 to be leaving credit reporting.
What happened to Creditinfo Jamaica?
Creditinfo Jamaica is now EveryData Jamaica. The Bank of Jamaica lists EveryData Jamaica Limited, formerly Creditinfo Jamaica, as one of the two licensed bureaus.
Do lenders in Jamaica have to report to both bureaus?
No. The Act permits providers to share information with bureaus but does not require them to report to both. Each bureau’s file holds the information providers that share with it send, so the two files can differ.
Why call both bureaus?
The files can differ, so a second report can add information missing from the first. Compare what it changes in decisions and outcomes with the additional call cost.
What must I tell an applicant I decline?
Tell the applicant when you communicate the decision that it was based on credit information from a bureau and that they may ask within thirty days which bureau supplied it and that bureau’s address. If they ask, identify the bureau whose information supported the decision.
What consent do I need before pulling a report?
You need the applicant’s written consent, collected and validated, and you must verify their identity before receiving the report. Make both checks part of the report request process.
How long does a judgment stay on a Jamaican credit report?
A judgment more than seven years old is excluded unless the creditor confirms in writing that it remains unpaid. Account for that limit when assessing what a report can tell you.
How long does a bureau have to resolve a dispute?
The bureau has fourteen days to confirm, correct or complete disputed information. Make sure your process can respond to corrections that affect information you supplied.
