by John Savage, Author, NACCC Certified Financial Health Counselor™️
The Credit Matrix is just like it sounds. Just like The Matrix the movie, there are many twist and turns and hidden factors behind the totality of every credit scoring model. Just like Neo going from the seemingly real world to the deep state of what makes the Matrix, so it is with your personal credit and consumer profile.
Ever Creditor, Lender, Mortgage Company, Auto Dealership, Property Management Company, Bank, Credit Union or Department Store has their own proprietary algorithm or scoring model that they use in determining whether to lend to you, what loan terms to offer you, how much interest you will be charged, whether you need to put any money down or not and how much, the type of credit benefits to offer you, whether to approve you for an apartment or not and how much you will have to put down.
There are so many roles that credit plays in our daily lives, literally!!! Do you know "they", even track when, how, and where when return store items to see if you are returning too many items and whether we may be involved with fraudulent activity. In fact, there are more than 40 Credit Scoring and Consumer Reports out their and any combination of these can be pulled and used to determine our credit or character worthiness based on whether we are looking for a new place to live, returning items to a store, applying for a new job with the government or simply applying for new credit, just to name a few examples.
More on these sources can be found not only at the big three and most widely known credit reporting agencies, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, but also at sites like Innovis, Nav, Checkr, First Advantage Corporation, PeopleFacts, Truework, CoreLogic Rental Property Solutions, TenantData, TeansUnion Rental Screening Solutions, AskCertegy, ChexSystems, CrossCheck, Inc., Early Warning Services, TeleCheck Services, A-Plus Property, C.L.U.E. Inc., Drivers History, MIB, Inc., Clarity Services, SageStream, TheRetail Equation, VIP Preferred, and more...
The Credit Matrix literally analyzes every aspect of our financial and personal lives, from areas of spending to our actual life style. The reason for this complexity is to be able track consumers habits, life styles, whether they are telling the truth, how to market to them and whether to lend to them or not among other factors. Simply put, how to mitigate risk and maximize profits.
The more you learn about the credit matrix, affects you and influences not only your personal life, but society as a whole, the better equipped you will be at leveraging its many benefits.
Credit allows freedom to command the best of payment terms, low interest rates, low monthly payments, top tier credit cards with a myriad of travel benefits, cash back rewards and rebates, access to lounges when you have those long airport layovers, significant savings at your favorite department stores and so many more perks and advantages.