LOS ANGELES (KNX) — There's good and bad credit, but what's a person to do if they have no credit at all when they need to apply for a loan? Credit reporting company Experian might have an answer for millions of people experiencing just that dilemma.
Americans currently rely on three credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, for their credit score — a number up to 850 that rates your credit risk.
This week Experian told the Wall Street Journal it's launching "Go," a program meant to help those who typically don't have any credit history, build up a history of on-time payments. Historically, groups who avoid debt have been college students, low-income earners and immigrants.
"About 28 million adults in the United States don't have credit reports with major credit reporting firms and as a result don't have credit scores," Experian told the Wall Street Journal. "That in turn means they often can't get financing from banks and other mainstream lenders."
The company explained that it's Go program allows customers to link "recurring non-debt bills" like cell phone payments and utility bills in order to establish a credit history.
The program launched in October, according to Fast Company, with about 15,000 people part of the pilot. Experian told the outlet that many of those consumers were able to go from no FICO score to a score of at least 665.
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