organization that supplies credit information to businesses and to financial institutions in response to a request for a credit history on an individual or business organization. Examples are: credit bureaus affiliated with the Associated Credit Bureaus of America, such as Trans Union Corp.; Dun & Bradstreet the oldest of the mercantile credit agencies; and credit interchange associations, such as the National Association of Credit Management. Mercantile agencies furnish information on debt repayment and credit history, collected from a wide number of reporting companies.
In addition to Trans Union, the major credit bureaus in the United States are Equifax, Inc., and Experian Information Solutions.
organization that supplies businesses with credit ratings and reports on other firms that are or might become customers. The largest of the agencies, Dun & Bradstreet, provides credit information on companies of all descriptions, along with a wide range of other credit and financial reporting services.
organization that supplies businesses with credit ratings and reports on other firms that are or might become customers. Such agencies may also collect past due accounts or trade collection statistics, and they tend to industry and geographical specialization. The largest of the agencies, Dun & Bradstreet, was founded in 1841 under the name Mercantile Agency. It provides credit information on companies of all descriptions along with a wide range of other credit and financial reporting services.
