UAE residents get a chance to improve their credit score

UAE residents get a chance to improve their credit score

Dubai: UAE residents with poor credit scores brought on by bouncing cheques or delays in payments could soon have a chance to rebuild their ratings back into positive territory. The Al Etihad Credit Bureau is ‘assessing’ a plan to introduce a scheme where individuals are actually rewarded - and not just docked - points. If the plan is put into effect, individuals with an indifferent credit rating can hope to start afresh on their records – and thus stand a better chance of taking loans or enter transactions that involve submitting cheques. “Let’s say an individual gets laid off and misses two or three payments, that should not stick to the credit history for five years or more,” said Marwan Ahmad Lutfi, CEO of AECB. “As you start repaying on all the commitments on time, it takes anywhere between 6-12 months to get back to where you were on the credit rating. “Credit ratings typically work by penalising someone for non-payments. We want to change that, where for good behaviour, individuals can get a boost to their credit scores. If you fall short on something, there must be something that can offset that. “I don’t think such a scheme exists