KUALA LUMPUR: iMoney has launched the free CreditScore tool in Bahasa Malaysia to increase financial awareness among consumers.
According to iMoney CEO Mitul Lakhani, its data suggests that more efforts are required to help Malaysian take control of their finances.
“Our goal is to get more Malaysian to sign up to get their credit score, understand their financial health and empower them to make intelligent decisions on their money matters,“ he said at a media briefing today.
He explained that the tool would also help consumers understand the steps they could take to improve their credit score.
iMoney’s partner RAM Credit Information (RAMCI) provides the dataset used in the tool. RAMCI CEO Dawn Lai explained that the score is a rating of a consumer’s financial health and profile.
“Credit score is made up of a number of components which include conduct of payment, timeliness of payment, length of credit history, number of credit application and utilisation rate that indicates how much of the credit limit is utilised.”
She revealed that with credit rating, one of the most common misconceptions is that a good credit score can be achieved if a person does not have any credit facility with the banks.
“This is not true as there are no credit history to establish is a person is a good paymaster or not.”
iMoney’s tool would also provide suggestions for consumers to improve their ratings. For example, for those without any credit history, the tool will recommend a person to take a credit card and check if their credit exceeds the debt service ratio.
Lai recommends the public to check on their credit score every three to six months, depending on their needs.
“For those with big purchases such as a house or a car, it is recommended for them to check their score three to four times annually, while those without any major purchases, twice a year is sufficient.”
Among the 5,774 iMoney CreditScore users, the highest number of people in the low score category belongs to 30-39 age group with 47.5%, followed by 25-29 age group with 24.5%.
The CreditScore tool was first introduced in English last August.
Article by: The Sun Daily
iMONEY LAUNCHES FREE BAHASA MALAYSIA VERSION OF CREDITSCORE