Tanzania credit reference bureaus and when to use one or both
Tanzania’s supervised lenders report monthly to the Bank of Tanzania’s databank, and the databank sends the same information to the two licensed bureaus, Creditinfo and Dun & Bradstreet. Each bureau adds to and scores the shared copy, which can lead to different assessments. Written borrower consent must cover every search you run, so an additional bureau call carries a clear process requirement. For your applicant mix, you decide whether the second view changes a credit decision enough to warrant that search.
Choose a bureau for the decisions you make
Many lenders expect to choose the bureau with broader data and use it consistently. That can make sourcing and pricing simpler. The licensed choices are Creditinfo Tanzania Limited and Dun & Bradstreet Credit Bureau Tanzania Limited.
Credit reports sold rose 81% to 16,493,091 in 2025, and inquiries rose to 44,204,026.
| Bureau | Company | Fed by |
|---|---|---|
| Creditinfo | Creditinfo Tanzania Limited | BoT Credit Reference Databank, plus its own data providers |
| Dun & Bradstreet | Dun & Bradstreet Credit Bureau Tanzania Limited | BoT Credit Reference Databank, plus its own data providers |
They are the two credit reference bureaus you can choose between. For regional context, the Kenya market and the wider African market provide other comparisons, but your bureau choice in Tanzania comes down to what changes decisions on your own applicants.
Start with the shared Credit Reference Databank
Both bureaus receive the information supervised lenders report to the Bank of Tanzania’s Credit Reference Databank, under arrangements set out in the credit reference regulations.
The shared starting information does not make the bureau assessments identical. Each bureau adds data from its own providers, and each builds its products and scoring on the information it receives. The practical approach is to keep the choice of source independent: use the bureau result that gives you useful information for that applicant, and check another source when it could change the decision.
Get consent before comparing bureau results
Your reporting and search process has to work before a bureau comparison can help. Reporting institutions submit information on all existing and new facilities to the Credit Reference Databank each month, by the tenth day of the following month. Tier 2 microfinance providers also report their facilities monthly.
Get the borrower’s written consent before each bureau search and keep a hard copy with the credit application. If you may call both bureaus, write the consent to cover both. Monitoring a loan granted after the initial search needs no new consent.
Under the Personal Data Protection Act, an individual’s financial transactions are sensitive data and need prior written consent. This matters when you cross-check a bureau report against other sources, such as statements.
| Step | The duty | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Reporting | All facilities to the BoT databank monthly, by the 10th | Databank reg 6, Microfinance Act s.43(3) |
| Before a search | The borrower's written consent, hard copy kept with the application | CRB reg 24 |
| Monitoring | No new consent for a loan granted after the first search | CRB reg 24(2) |
| A decline | Reasons to the applicant within 7 days (microfinance providers and Saccos) | Tier 2 reg 40, SACCOS reg 32 |
| A solely automatic decision | Tell the person, reconsider on request | PDPA s.36 |
| A dispute | Investigate within 15 working days | CRB reg 25(3), 29 |
| Retention | 6 years from final repayment or write-off | CRB reg 36 |
If you are a Tier 2 microfinance provider or Sacco and decline an application, give the applicant reasons within seven days. For a significant decision based solely on automatic processing, the person must be notified as soon as practicable and may ask for reconsideration, subject to the statutory exceptions. Investigate a disputed item within fifteen working days.
A bureau keeps credit information for six years from final repayment or write-off. The borrower gets a free report every twelve months, within five working days.
Measure whether a second search changes decisions
A second report adds an order cost. It earns its place when its information changes an approval, limit or other credit decision enough to justify that cost. The data source waterfall tool compares strategies such as using one bureau, calling the second only when the first has no hit, or calling both.
Under the Tier 2 Fees Guideline, the CRB report charge to the borrower is passed through at cost.
Run those strategies on your own applicants. For each one, record the orders placed, the additional good and bad applicants identified, and whether the final decision changed. Then compare the cost of the extra orders with the loss avoided when a bad loan is rejected and the profit from good applicants you would otherwise have turned away.
For example, if the first report leaves an application unresolved, compare the decision using that report alone with the decision after a second search. Check whether the added information changes approval or terms, then assess the cost and likely effect on losses and profitable approvals across your applicants. With a large exposure, ask whether the second result could change the decision enough to justify the added cost.
Control which bureau you call
Once the comparison shows where a second search may help, put the source choice in a decision flow you control. That lets you call one bureau for an applicant and route a second call only when the first result leaves a decision open or the exposure warrants another look.
Decisimo’s data source documentation describes connections to REST APIs or SOAP web services and decision logic that can respond when a source call fails. Its credit decisioning software returns an outcome with a reason. Keep the rule for calling each source and the reason for the resulting decision in the same process.
Set a second search rule for applicants
Return to the application where one bureau’s result leaves you deciding whether to pay for another view. Use your own applicant outcomes to set the trigger, then follow the process in order:
- If you are a reporting institution, submit every facility to the Bank of Tanzania’s Credit Reference Databank monthly, by the tenth day of the following month.
- Before any search, obtain the borrower’s written consent covering both bureaus if you may call both. Keep a hard copy with the application.
- Keep bureau calls in a decision engine you own, so the source choice follows your rule rather than one bureau’s product.
- Compare one-source, conditional second-search and both-source strategies on your applicants. Record order costs and changes to decisions, losses and profitable approvals.
- Call the second bureau when the first has no file or leaves the decision open. When exposure is large, call it if the added result could change the decision enough to justify the cost.
- If you are a Tier 2 microfinance provider or Sacco and decline an application, give reasons within seven days. If a significant decision is based solely on automatic processing, notify the person as soon as practicable, and they may ask for reconsideration, subject to the statutory exceptions.
- Investigate a disputed item within fifteen working days.
Questions about Tanzania's credit bureaus
How many credit reference bureaus are there in Tanzania?
Two. As at December 2025, the Bank of Tanzania listed Creditinfo Tanzania Limited and Dun & Bradstreet Credit Bureau Tanzania Limited.
Do both bureaus have the same data?
Both receive information reported to the Credit Reference Databank, and each may add to and score that shared information differently. Compare the resulting decisions on your own applicants.
Why call both bureaus?
A second search can help when the first bureau has no file, leaves the decision open, or the exposure makes another view worth considering. Compare its order cost with the decision value on your applicant book.
Do I need written consent before checking a credit report in Tanzania?
Yes. Obtain the borrower’s written consent before a search, cover both bureaus if you may call both, and keep a hard copy with the application.
Must I check a bureau before lending?
No rule found makes a bureau search a stated precondition to lending. A bureau pull reads as market practice that supervisors expect, since the BoT’s digital lender questionnaire asks whether CRB reports are used. Set your source choice as part of your own credit assessment.
How long does credit information stay with a Tanzanian bureau?
A bureau keeps credit information for six years from final repayment, bankruptcy, assignment or write-off. Adverse information also cannot remain more than six years after it was placed or last reaffirmed.
Who must report to the Credit Reference Databank?
Banks, non-bank financial institutions, savings and credit schemes, microfinance companies and other finance companies licensed by the Bank of Tanzania must report every facility monthly, by the tenth day of the following month. Tier 2, 3 and 4 microfinance providers also report under section 43(3) of the Microfinance Act.
What must I tell an applicant I decline?
If you are a Tier 2 provider or Sacco, give the applicant reasons within seven days. For a decision based solely on automatic processing, tell the person, who may ask for reconsideration.
