Equifax Canada is Committed to Helping Canadians Benefit from Paying their Rent

TORONTO, ON (April 23, 2024) – Equifax® Canada, a global data, analytics, and technology company, is committed to helping people live their financial best and to take steps to further financial inclusion for people in Canada with the continued support of rent reporting in credit scores.

As the largest consumer credit bureau in Canada, Equifax strives to empower economically healthy individuals and financially inclusive communities worldwide. The inclusion of rental payments in credit scores is an important step to ensuring credit and mainstream financial services are made more accessible to more people. Equifax supports the rental initiatives recently announced by the Federal Government and believes the inclusion of rental payments in credit scores will help more Canadians achieve homeownership or gain access to other financial services.

“Renters are a growing part of the Canadian economy and it’s time they are recognized for making their rent payments on time," said Sue Hutchison, President & CEO at Equifax Canada. “Equifax Canada has been leading the way and has been modeling how rental payments, just like mortgage payments, can help build a credit score. This is so important for young Canadian consumers, new Canadians and other underserved consumers.”  

Equifax has been exploring how data sources not traditionally used in credit scores, such as rent payments, could help create a more complete picture of consumers' credit  health, creating financial opportunities for more people, and better reflecting the changing demographics in this country.

The addition of alternative data will be the beginning of a meaningful step forward in modernizing the credit infrastructure in Canada and improving access to credit. The inclusion of rental payments in credit scores is an important step to ensuring credit and mainstream financial services are more accessible for qualifying Canadians.

Equifax has been testing small volumes of rental payment data for some time now, to assess its suitability for helping to responsibly contribute to credit files and scores in Canada. A study undertaken by Equifax found that the inclusion of alternative data in scores could establish or enhance the credit scores of an estimated five million more Canadians. This could help more people demonstrate their creditworthiness and expand the pool of qualified consumers for various forms of credit. 

Equifax looks forward to working collaboratively with the government, banking and lenders, and other stakeholders to ensure this important evolution in the credit infrastructure in Canada is implemented responsibly. Equifax has invested billions of dollars into unique data, verification insights, fraud reduction tools, powerful modeling techniques and cloud-based technology solutions that empower our customers to bring greater access to financial opportunity to more people in more places. Equifax is proud to be leading the way and is confident that this initiative can be scaled while safeguarding the integrity of Equifax credit scores. 

"We know that a single financial opportunity can be a critical step to establishing financial health, changing the trajectory of families and communities for generations. Everyone deserves the opportunity to build a strong financial future," said Hutchison. 

 

About Equifax

At Equifax (NYSE: EFX), we believe knowledge drives progress. As a global data, analytics, and technology company, we play an essential role in the global economy by helping financial institutions, companies, employers, and government agencies make critical decisions with greater confidence. Our unique blend of differentiated data, analytics, and cloud technology drives insights to power decisions to move people forward. Headquartered in Atlanta and supported by nearly 15,000 employees worldwide, Equifax operates or has investments in 24 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region. For more information, visit Equifax.ca.