Verity journal

What is CCRIS?

If you’ve been paying attention to the news in March 2018, you would have noticed the announcement by Bank Negara offering citizens the ability to monitor their own credit standing via the E-CCRIS system. As the country has been advancing towards a digital future, this move comes as no surprise.

“But, wait!” I hear you say, “what is CCRIS to begin with?”. You are not alone. Many Malaysians are equally in the dark.

CCRIS stands for the Central Credit Reference Information System and is a database which stores credit-related data from participating financial institutions. CCRIS then streamlines the information into credit reports, which are made available to financial institutions and borrowers, upon request.

A CCRIS report is easy to obtain as all one needs is to visit a Bank Negara branch or sign up for its new online checking system. The report would indicate if an individual is in debt, or bankrupt.

Under the Credit Reporting Agencies Act of 2010 and subject to approval by Bank Negara, registered credit reporting agencies can access an individual’s credit information with prior consent from the said individual.

For most Malaysians, the first encounter they have with CCRIS is when they need to obtain a loan for a new car or house as the report is often used by banks to evaluate a potential borrower.

This might lead some to perceive CCRIS negatively, that it is primarily used to blacklist debtors. Bank Negara has rightly clarified that this is not the case but a summary of an individual’s financial health status.

A CCRIS report is not meant just for loan approvals, but more importantly, is an essential way for anyone to check and confirm his/her financial status and financial health.

In the past, we’ve highlighted how financial health can be an important indicator of a candidate’s suitability in a pre-hiring process. We’ve also discussed how individuals who are caught embezzling company funds are often motivated by desperation due to their own problematic financial situations. For many employers, it isn’t uncommon for a CCRIS check to be requested during the interview stage as it can be a useful preventive measure to safeguard a company’s interests.

To employees with a less than perfect credit status: Do not worry. Everyone makes mistakes and you should not be penalized for it forever. A CCRIS check is definitely a good way to help you and your potential employer to map out an appropriate plan for your previous blunders.

By doing your own CCRIS check and sharing this with your potential employer – you are being transparent and pre-empting the situation, and taking control of the discussion.

Verity Intelligence welcomes Bank Negara’s encouragement for all Malaysians to keep tabs of one’s own credit report as this safeguards an individual’s financial and credit health by preventing identity theft, avoid debt defaults and acts as a useful reference material for employment or work contracts.

So, is CCRIS the be-all and end-all of financial checks? We will discuss this further in our next article.

Stay tuned to www.verityintel.com as next week, we will go into how a person’s financial data is gathered by government and private agencies.