Your credit score plays a really important role in your day-to-day finances. Your credit record affects your ability to access credit, including loans and credit cards, as well as the interest rates you’ll be charged. A strong credit score can save you a substantial amount of money, as you’ll be able to access the products and rates reserved for people…
Whether you’re thinking about applying for a mortgage, credit card, personal loan, overdraft, car finance, or any other form of credit, the lender typically conducts a credit check as part of their decision-making. For some job roles, especially in the financial services sector, credit checks are run on applicants as standard. Employers will start off by validating someone’s identity by…
When you apply for a new credit card or mobile phone contract or try to get a bigger loan such as a mortgage, lenders want to examine your credit history. This process is also sometimes done when you apply for a position involving financial responsibility, such as in a bank or insurance company. A credit search includes assessing the total…
Everyone over the age of 18 in the UK has a credit score. This number represents of how appealing you might appear to potential lenders when applying for loans or a credit card or taking on a new contract for something like a mobile phone. A poor credit score will include anything that could put lenders off, such as a…
All employers will ask new starters to show documents to prove who they are. If there are further credit or criminal records checks to do, an employee could be asked to provide a wider range of documents to verify who they are. An increasing problem for employers is spotting fake documents, which could lead to them unwittingly employing an illegal…
Rising costs mean that more of us than ever are struggling to make ends meet, and perhaps thinking about taking out a credit card or loan to pay for larger purchases. When you apply for any type of credit, the lender will assess how likely you are to be able to pay it back. This is called credit scoring, and…
Credit scoring is a system used by financial services to assess the creditworthiness of either an individual or a business. In the UK, credit scoring is used by a wide range of lenders, including banks, credit card companies, and mortgage lenders, to help make decisions about who should get credit. Any credit scoring looks at a range of factors related…
A recent survey by a leading credit referencing and scoring company has shown major discrepancies between residents of various countries when it comes to their credit scores. Your credit score is expressed as a numerical value, and is a measure of how good a risk you are for a financial services company. Put simply, it gives you a general idea…
KYC is one of those abbreviations which is often used in the financial services industry, but what is it all about? KYC stands for Know Your Customer, and describes the steps which banks, building societies and other financial institutions must take to comply with money laundering legislation. In practical terms, KYC describes the checks and proof which a bank might…
Companies are increasingly casting their net worldwide when looking for members of staff, even at a junior level. A recruitment crisis in the NHS for example has led to trusts across the UK looking overseas to recruit doctors, nurses and other health professionals. It goes without saying that a high level of background checking is always required for people working…