How can a consumer improve his or her credit score?
Since a credit score is a measure of an individual’s willingness to repay a debt, making payments on time is the basic key to a good score. Lenders like to see consumer debt obligations paid on a monthly basis. Another factor in determining a good credit score is income. The higher the income, all other things being equal, the more credit the consumer can access. However, lenders make credit granting decisions based on both ability to repay a debt (income) and willingness (the credit report) as indicated in the past payment history. These factors help lenders determine whether to extend credit, and on what terms. With the adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry, this report has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual percentage rate (APR), grace period and other contractual obligations of the credit card or loan.
