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Published on August 29, 2007

CEO Niwat Kanjanaphoomin said that from October 1, the agency would reduce its fee for individuals checking their credit reports from Bt200 now to Bt100.

It is hoped that at the lower fee, individuals will make greater use of the bureau's services, which will help in providing up-to-date credit records for the convenience of those wishing to access new credit. Continuous updating of repayment records will directly benefit those who want to apply to financial institutions for credit, Niwat said.

He said the agency had earlier planned to cut the fee for retail customers checking their credit reports to Bt150 when the number of customers rose from 6,000 a month to 8,000. However, at present the agency has only 4,500 individual clients wishing to examine their credit records each month.

"Although the number of customers has not reached our target yet, the fee reduction will help the goal come true. In the longer term, the NCB plans to provide this service free of charge," he said.

Niwat said that at the reduced fee of Bt100 per transaction, the bureau needed about 6,000 clients seeking to examine their credit records per month. The smaller fee is expected to lead more people to check their records, particularly those who had never previously done so. Niwat said it was a good practice for loan borrowers to update their credit records at least twice a year.

Despite the reduced fee for individuals, service fees for corporate customers will remain unchanged at Bt200 per client per report.

Niwat said the NCB had proposed amendments to the Credit Information Business Act to the Finance Ministry. The proposed changes would allow people to check their own credit reports with the bureau free of charge once a year.

As well, the proposed amendments would allow the agency to establish its own credit-scoring system, different from that of financial institutions.

The NCB's system will be based on customers' behaviour, including both their spending and their debt-repayment records, he said. The system used by financial institutions is based on information given in customers' loan applications.

Somruedi Banchongduang

 The Nation