Natalie
@Personalloans.co.nz
Checking your credit can be simple and free if you know the right credit check companies in New Zealand. We have sourced out some of the top companies that offer free credit checks in New Zealand. All these companies offer simple online platforms where you can check your credit. Lets have a look at some of the top rated credit check companies :
Top 5 Credit checking companies in New Zealand
Knowing your credit score or someone else’s for a business purpose can help identify problems and let you plan for the future.
Here are 5 of the Top Credit Checking Companies in New Zealand:
Centrix
Created by New Zealanders and focusing on offering their services in New Zealand, Centrix was set up in 2009 and advertised itself as “helping Kiwi Businesses, from sole traders through large enterprises.”
The company prides itself on being a local bureau that focuses on local companies and believes this provides a greater advantage to their clients – as they know and understand the area.
Centrix offers individual credit checking services for different groups:
- Consumers
- Businesses
- Landlords
- Employers
- Lenders
- Personal
The site has no joining fees or ongoing annual subscription costs, and paid for services are charged per report.
The Personal Credit Check service is free to use and can be completed by filling in the form on the appropriate website page.
Known for providing simple, straightforward credit checking, Centrix reports are color-coded for easy understanding and break down the findings of the customer’s credit status into various sections, so the individual or company can see exactly what the score is, what (if anything) is causing a negative impact, and whether there are any legal issues (such as credit defaults, insolvency notices, or debt repayment orders) that have been raised against the account.
Centrix aims to offer a swift turnaround with their reports.
Personal Credit checks can be completed as quickly as the next working day (when accompanied by either a current NZ Driving License or Passport) or within 5-10 working days (for other forms of ID).
Because of this, there is no option to ‘express’ a credit report – so individuals using the service, and requiring a fast completion time, are recommended to provide either their driver’s license or passport as the accompanying ID to obtain the fastest completion time.
Centrix recommends their services for:
- Managing Cashflow
- Reducing lending and payment risks with customers
- Reducing payment risk with suppliers
- Assessing potential employees
- Assessing potential tenants
- Setting credit terms
- Making decisions with real-time data
- Improving personal credit scores
The company has straightforward Terms & Conditions (T&Cs) and a clear process for suppressing credit information (or a ‘freeze’) for those who may have been, or are, victims of fraud.
Contacting the company is made easy, with email, phone, and street address provided. Their offices are open from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, and online applications can be made at any time.
For a simple and speedy credit check, with easy processes and an organized credit report – Centrix offers great solutions for individuals, businesses, and specific needs.
Illion
Described as being “the leading independent provider of trusted data and analytics products and services in Australasia,” Illon is a multi-award-winning company.
They have seen much acclaim for technological innovation, excellence in export and international credit & collections, and been nominated for Best Banking Innovation and awarded for Excellence in Regtech/Risk Management, and have been gathering a huge number of achievements since 2014.
Illion offers a range of credit report services that are specifically designed for businesses. They provide these with their Express platform, which allows for:
- Company and Business Search
- Personal Name Search
- Document Search
The company offers immediate access to a large database covering Australia and New Zealand.
Their report services are described as being suitable for low, medium, and high-risk decisions for businesses, and the company is an ASIC (Australian Securities and Investment Commission) approved information broker.
Based in Melbourne, Australia, the company has a team of over 800 employees working with leading regional brands and is focused on providing access to information that will allow businesses to perform checks and acquire reports that will allow for a complete risk profile.
Illion describes their services as being suitable for:
- Checking public records lodged with ASIC
- Assessing potential fraud
- Assessing potential phoenix activity
- Identifying directors who may have current or previous insolvent companies
- Predicting financial stability
- Identifying payment patterns
- Confirming business existence
- Viewing Risk Profiles
Their business reports range from $17.90 to $396, depending on the service.
They have online tools to search for companies/businesses, personal name searches, and document searches – these will provide basic information (such as the dates, codes, descriptions, etc.). The customer then has the option to add the relevant result to their basket and obtain the level of report requested.
The company has an online contact form and phone numbers for inquiries, which can be accessed through their Contact Us page.
The commercial database allows for immediate checks, with the ability to request further investigation (this is a paid-for service) of any business that isn’t showing in their data.
For businesses, Illion offers immediate solutions and actively useful tools to review information, read reports, and conduct investigations that will assist them in making smart business decisions, evaluate potential employees, and lower financial risks to their companies.
Illion does offer Personal Credit checking services under the umbrella of their Simple Credit brand, which we’ll be reviewing in further detail later on in this list.
Equifax
Equifax is a multinational corporation that operates in 24 countries across the globe. Their Equifax, New Zealand branch focuses on businesses in New Zealand to help them make the best financial decisions.
The company timeline dates back to 1967, with the Equifax branding applied in 2017.
The platform offers services for businesses and individuals – the credit checking process for businesses is set up as follows:
Equifax Score Plus
Individuals have options to use:
Secure Sentinel (for existing customers only)
and My Credit File.
The company describes its business services as “a solution designed to assist with everyday customer lending risk assessment,” with Equifax Score Plus providing:
- Real-Time Credit Decisioning
- Insights into Individuals’ Credit Histories
- Reduced Risk of Bad Debt and Write-Offs
- Reduced Customer Acquisition Costs
- Reduced Onboarding Costs
- Consistency in Risk Assessment Processes for Credit.
Their Personal services are designed to:
- Check Credit Ratings
- Improve Credit Score
- Protect Credit Reputation
- Protect Identity
Equifax has also taken steps to provide information on how the COVID-19 pandemic may have affected personal scores, and this information is included in the credit file of their credit report.
Personal Credit reports are available for free and are despatched within 10 business days. This can be upgraded using their express service ($9.95 inc GST) to reduce turn-around time to delivery within 3 business days.
These reports are designed to show customers what businesses (such as banks and utility companies) will see and offer a personal credit report that displays previous applications for credit, repayment history, and any overdue debts that have been listed as being defaulted.
The company also offers an investigation service and information on how to dispute or question any errors.
Equifax has a comprehensive FAQ section and goes into clear detail on several topics, including:
- Why a credit provider might see a different score rating
- What the score rating means
- The information on the credit file
- Who is applicable for having a credit file
- Where to discover unpaid fines
- Who can see the information
- How the report may impact an individual
For simple, straightforward, and easy-to-understand services, Equifax has made sure to cover every angle and provide support at every level.
Their services may not be as swift as some of the providers on the list, but their long history of operation, straightforward approach, and attention to detail, make them ideal candidates for those who can wait the 3-10 days required.
Credit Simple
Credit Simple is part Illion and provides Personal Credit checks for individuals living in New Zealand.
The award-winning company was formed in 2016 and provides an innovative platform service that operates in a browser. It does require user-sign-up to make use of the site and the available tools.
The site is designed for quick and easy access (a 1-minute signup process) and adopts an informal approach when connecting with customers – speaking to the individual as a ‘mate’ rather than a complex, technologically augmented business.
This helps to break down the barriers that get in the way of understanding and help individuals really get to grips with what they’re being told and to make sense of the data that’s being displayed.
The FAQ section offers examples (such as that most credit scores range between 300 and 850) and covers a huge range of topics, including:
- What’s a credit score?
- Why the score is a shocker, and how it might have happened
- How to get a score higher
- How star signs aren’t used to calculate credit scores
- Costs
- What the information on file can be used for
They also offer a free ebook (Comprehensive Credit Reporting) to provide extra information that isn’t covered by their FAQs and a blog to give advice, information, and more depth to financial topics.
Because of the browser-based approach, individuals can log in to their accounts and interact with a dashboard of data. Credit Simple doesn’t charge for this service and also offers access to their Money Simple tool for keeping track of finances.
In order to use the services, individuals will need to create an account with a User Name, password, and registered email address and will then need to provide:
- Name
- Date of Birth
- Gender
- Residential Address
- Mobile Number
- Proof of ID Type (with the choice of Valid NZ Driver’s License, Passport, or None of the Above – the last option requires the user to provide further documentation in a secondary signup step).
Once the information is inputted and accepted, the dashboard, and credit score, will be available to view.
Credit Simple has really taken their name seriously when it comes to making the process easy.
For individuals who want to check their scores, understand their rating, see what their bank or utility providers can discover about them, and look for ways to improve on this – the Credit Simple service is an ideal solution.
Experian
Perhaps one of the most well-known global agencies, Experian provides a huge range of data, analytical, and credit services in 44 countries, supporting more than 3.5 billion credit decisions and aiding more than 390,000 fraud victims with support.
For businesses, the New Zealand Experian operation offers commercial reports to help “make better decisions about your business, suppliers, and customers” and recently launched Fraud Share as a cross-industry fraud solution to better enable NZ businesses to detect and prevent fraud.
The company describes its Consumer Credit Report & Credit score as being “an in-depth, holistic and singular customer view” which is designed to:
- Identify risk
- Assess credit
- Determine creditworthiness
- Indicate historic defaults
- Reveal Bankruptcies
- Provide Court Information
- Identify credit inquiries
- Determine current credit providers
The service is available in real-time using via their web services (using XML), and the data can be viewed with a summary of the key elements relating to the individual report.
They also offer a free Personal Credit Report under the ‘Your Credit Report’ service and have a wider range of accepted identifications than some other sites, which include:
- Driver’s License (issued by an Australian State / Territory)
- Birth Card
- Roads & Maritime Services (RTA) photo card
- Government Issued License (such as a boating one)
- Government Issued Proof of Age card
- Passport
- Children / Teacher’s Registration Card
- Government Issued Public Employee ID
but they also request additional documentation and paperwork from their accepted list of providers (such as bank or credit card statements, home insurance papers, and utility bills).
Experian also requires that at least one of the forms of identification that is being submitted shows the current or last known Australian home address for the individual relating to the credit check.
This service can be requested by post or by email – and it takes up to 10 working days to complete the process. The free service does not offer an express function.
To contact the company, the details can be found in the Contact Us section of their website, with an online form, street addresses, and telephone numbers for their regional and local offices.
The Experian site isn’t the easiest to navigate, as they offer a lot of services to both individuals and businesses, and their forms are generally downloadable in PDF format rather than available online to be completed.
But as an incredibly large and successful global company that specializes in handling data and credit checks, it’s not too big of a hurdle for anyone who isn’t looking for immediate results.
Whether you’re looking for individual or business credit checks, these sites offer a comprehensive range of services, timeframes, and functionality for all budgets and needs.
