Policy think tank IMANI Africa has expressed its disagreement with the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, that Ghana is yet to develop an individualised credit scoring system.
Dr. Bawumia had asserted that Ghana will, starting next year, develop a personal credit scoring system on the back of the Ghana Card.
However, Messrs. Bright Simons and Franklin Cudjoe argued that there exists a personalised credit score system, citing popular credit reference bureau XDS Data Ghana Limited.
However, in a statement on December 5, 2023, XDS data denied IMANI’s linkages with them with respect to producing personal credit scores.
XDS stated that although it has the capacity to deliver individualised credit scores, it has refrained from doing so because the Ghana Card, which will serve as a unique identifier, has had low penetration so far.
“Despite our capabilities, the bureau has not produced scores. This is because of the lack of a unique identifier. Currently, facilities are accessed by individuals using different kinds of identification which makes it difficult for the bureau to be 100 percent sure of capturing a credit subject’s total exposure. However, XDSData Ghana Limited produces credit information just like any International Credit Bureau, adequate for lenders to be able to make informed credit decisions.”
“The mandatory use of the Ghana card from the 1st of July, 2022 for all financial transactions has seen Data Providers submitting Ghana Card Information to the bureau. Credit scoring models require unique identifiers to fully map information. The penetration of the Ghana Card information supplied to the bureau is progressing at a slow pace. In collaboration with the Bank of Ghana, we have been tracking the Ghana Card penetration which stands at 35 percent as at the end of the last quarter of 2023”, the company said.
But responding to the statement from the company, IMANI rejected the unique indentifier claims by XDS, observing that in other jurisdictions like the UK, US, Kenya, and Rwanda, other forms of unique indentifiers such as drivers licences and passports are used with reasonably accurate results.
Bright Simons stated: “With all this talk about “credit scoring” in Ghana, some of you may have wondered, how do other African countries manage? Well, one thing I know for sure is that countries like Kenya & Rwanda aren’t waiting for “Kenya/Rwanda Card” to reach “90th percentile” to improve theirs.”
IMANI also accused XDS of succumbing to pressure from authorities to make a u-turn on earlier information published on their website about their capabilities, which included personal credit scoring.
“Draw your own conclusion….l now understand why their website was down a few days ago..Independent business scared of politicians because of edidija…😆😆😅😅�😅,” IMANI President, Franklin Cudjoe posted on X.
