Connect, formerly PRBC, is a consumer credit reporting agency, more commonly referred to as a

credit bureau A credit bureau is a data collection agency that gathers account information from various creditors and provides that information to a consumer reporting agency in the United States, a credit reference agency in the United Kingdom, a credit repor ...

in the United States. It is similar to the other four U.S. credit bureaus ( Equifax, Experian,

TransUnion TransUnion is an American consumer credit reporting agency. TransUnion collects and aggregates information on over one billion individual consumers in over thirty countries including "200 million files profiling nearly every credit-active consume ...

and

Innovis Innovis is the credit reporting division of CBC Companies and is considered the fourth largest consumer credit reporting agency in the United States, behind the “big three” Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Based in Columbus, Ohio, the co ...

) in that it is an FCRA (

Fair Credit Reporting Act The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 15 U.S.C. § 1681 ''et seq'', is U.S. Federal Government legislation enacted to promote the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of consumer information contained in the files of consumer reporting agencies. It ...

) compliant national data repository. Connect differs in that: consumers are able to self-enroll and report their own non-debt payment history, and they can build a positive credit file based on

alternative data In economic policy, alternative data refers to the inclusion of non-financial payment reporting data in credit files, such as telecom and energy utility payments. Types of alternative data Alternative data in the broadest sense refers to any non-f ...

, such as timely payments for bills such as rent, utilities, cable, telephone, and insurance that are not automatically reported to the other bureaus. Connect service is offered free of charge. When someone takes out a loan, the lender or merchant will pay a fee to Connect so they can see his or her alternative credit rating.

Company history

Connect was incorporated on March 12, 2002 under the name Pay Rent, Build Credit, Inc. The company name was later shortened to PRBC because all recurring bill and loan payments can be used to build credit, not just rent. PRBC received two initial funding grants from the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

in support of the company's mission to build a national data infrastructure that incorporated rental payments into credit reporting to benefit consumers. PRBC also received funding from the

Omidyar Network Omidyar Network is a self-styled " philanthropic investment firm," composed of a foundation and an impact investment firm. Established in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, Omidyar Network has committed over $1.5billion to ...

, The Center for Financial Services Innovation and TTV Capital. Initial data subscribers included

Fannie Mae The Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), commonly known as Fannie Mae, is a United States government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) and, since 1968, a publicly traded company. Founded in 1938 during the Great Depression as part of the N ...

Freddie Mac The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), commonly known as Freddie Mac, is a publicly traded, government-sponsored enterprise (GSE), headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia.United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alex ...

for the company's technology and method for collecting data on commonly recurring bill payments made by individuals and small businesses, and incorporating them in a credit file, credit report, and credit score. In December 2006, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac acknowledged that PRBC Reports comply with standards for establishing the credit reputations of borrowers for loans that can be sold to them. In March 2007, mortgage insurer

Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation MGIC Investment Corporation ("MGIC") is a provider of private mortgage insurance in the United States. The company is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In addition to mortgage insurance, MGIC provides lenders with various underwriting and ...

(MGIC) announced an agreement to use PRBC Reports with PRBC Bill Payment Score (BPS) to automate their approval decisions for consumers with "thin" or no traditional credit histories. At the end of 2007,

FICO FICO (legal name: Fair Isaac Corporation), originally Fair, Isaac and Company, is a data analytics company based in Bozeman, Montana, focused on credit scoring services. It was founded by Bill Fair and Earl Isaac in 1956. Its FICO score, a me ...

and PRBC announced a partnership to deliver PRBC Credit Report with FICO Expansion Score, a comprehensive credit risk management tool that U.S. mortgage lenders can use when assessing the risk of applicants who have little or no traditional

credit history :''This article deals with the general concept of the term credit history. For detailed information about the same topic in the United States, see Credit score in the United States.'' A credit history is a record of a borrower's responsible repay ...

. In December 2008, it was announced that PRBC was acquired by MicroBilt Corporation,MicroBilt Opens 50 Million Consumer Market to Small Businesses
, "MicroBilt Corporation Website", December 30, 2008. providing small to medium size businesses the use of alternative data in order to make informed credit decisions. On September 12, 2012, PRBC launched PRBCMainStreet.com. PRBC MainStreet is intended as a community of businesses that will offer credit to underbanked or credit-underserved consumers by using PRBC's alternative credit reports. In November 2020 PRBC changed the name to Connect.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Connect Financial services companies of the United States American companies established in 2002 Financial services companies established in 2002 Credit scoring

Company history

See also

References