Credit Bureau (Cambodia) Co., Ltd. (CBC) and Credit Bureau (Singapore) Pte Ltd (CBS) have joined forces to launch the first cross-border initiative between credit bureaus of both countries. The signing ceremony took place on Wednesday at the Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay in Singapore.
As global mobility continues to increase, cross-border sharing of credit reports has become a pressing issue in recent years. While an individual can retrieve their credit report directly from the credit bureau in their home country, the legitimacy of the credit report could be unclear when these individuals transfer the credit data to their employers in the other country.
The initiative makes it possible for members of CBS and CBC, such as financial institutions, to request individuals’ credit reports upon obtaining their consent, where the individual has made an application for a credit facility with that financial institution or has applied for a job with the financial institution which under the Fit and Proper criteria has to perform the necessary employment screenings.
With the credit data obtained, financial institutions will be able to make more thorough assessments of an individual’s creditworthiness before extending credit facilities to them and access credit reports for background screening when onboarding hires previously based in Singapore or Cambodia.
Dr Chea Serey, Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia and Chairwoman of CBC, said, “It is commendable that the National Bank of Cambodia and the Monetary Authority of Singapore thought out of the box with an open mindset to empower the consumers to take control over their credit file across the borders. The two credit bureaus have put in incredible efforts to be able to launch this collaboration that can bring significant benefits to a large number of businesses and individuals from both Cambodia and Singapore, unlocking opportunities for them. This is a beginning, and we hope that we can expand our collaboration with credit bureaus in other ASEAN countries in better realizing a seamless ASEAN.”
Both CBS and CBC will work closely together to ensure that regulatory frameworks and requirements are complied with, thereby providing a more holistic picture of new-to-country individuals’ creditworthiness and closing up the gaps that many credit providers and employers face while performing credit checks on individuals who have just relocated to the country.
William Lim, Executive Director of CBS, said, “CBS plays an integral role in supporting prudent access to credit in Singapore for the past two decades. We believe that this new initiative will help build a more robust credit management system for both bureaus. This collaboration is a first and positive step for the availability of cross-border flow of data to support ease of access to credit for the nationals and residents of both countries. We hope that this will pave the way for other bilateral collaborations to empower our members’ risk assessment capabilities when the right regulatory conditions are present.”
Photos: Facebook Page of Dr. Chea Serey, Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia and Chairwoman of CBC Source: Khmer Times
