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Your credit score, also known as a credit rating, is a score given to you based on your borrowing history from credit providers, ranging from 0 to 1,200.

When you apply for a credit product (such as a home loan, car loan or credit card), your credit score can essentially act as a numerical representation of your trustworthiness and reliability as a borrower.

The key difference between a credit score and a credit report lies in the detail and purpose of the information provided.

A credit score is a single number, typically ranging from 0 to 1200, which summarises your creditworthiness based on your credit history. On the other hand, a credit report provides a detailed history of your credit activities, including personal information, credit accounts, repayment histories, and more.

While your credit score gives a quick snapshot of your financial reliability, your credit report offers a comprehensive look at your credit behaviour over time​​.

There are three leading credit reporting agencies in Australia: Equifax, Experian, and illion. Each of these companies uses a different formula when calculating your credit score, but generally speaking, your credit score will be calculated based on the following factors:

• Your repayment history
• The type of lender you’ve applied with
• Your number of recent credit applications
• The amount of money you’ve borrowed
• Any defaults, bankruptcies and court judgements
• Regularly applying for balance transfers

And more.

Each credit reporting body uses a different formula when calculating your credit score, so whether a credit score is good or bad is subjective. Plus, credit bodies tend not to use ‘bad’ to describe someone’s credit score, instead using ‘low’ or ‘below average’.

Equifax uses a 0 – 1,200 range. A ‘good’ score is 666-755; a ‘very good’ score is 756 – 840, and an ‘excellent’ score is 841 – 1,200. A ‘low’ score of 459 or under puts someone in the lowest credit rating category.

When you apply for a loan or credit product, lenders will likely use your credit score to assess your application. By checking your credit score regularly, you can see where you’re at financially.

A higher credit score can improve your chances of a successful loan application for a desirable product that meets your needs.

On the other hand, having a low credit score can limit your options in many ways. It could lower your chances of being approved for loans you apply for and exclude you from being eligible for certain loans.

Yes, customers who currently have a loan with Jacaranda Finance can check their credit score with Jacaranda Finance for free! It’s designed to be an easy and secure way to monitor your financial health.

If you currently have a loan with Jacaranda Finance you can check your credit score for free by logging into the BetterCredit app or online portal and following the prompts.

This process won’t affect your credit score and allows you to view your score within the app.

While we do receive information from Equifax about your credit report in order to show your credit score, we do not show more information from your report online or in the BetterCredit app at this stage.

You can access your credit report free every three months from Equifax, Experian, illion, and Talefin, as well as smaller, third-party services like Credit Savvy and Clearscore.

Nothing! If you are a customer who currently has a loan, checking your credit score with Jacaranda Finance is completely free!

Your score is not affected by the frequency of checking it or requesting a credit report, and you are encouraged to do so frequently.

At Jacaranda Finance, customers who currently have a loan can check their credit score in the BetterCredit app or online account as often as they like. However, we only update your credit score monthly, so it might not change until the start of the following month.

The ability to check your credit score for free is only available to Jacaranda Finance customers who currently have a loan.

For our check credit score feature, your credit report data is provided by Equifax, Australia’s largest credit reporting agency. Your Equifax credit score is out of 1,200.

• Website: www.equifax.com.au
• Privacy Policy: www.equifax.com.au/privacy
• Telephone: 13 8332

Our partnership with Equifax lets us provide you with an updated credit score every month based on the numerous factors and insights Equifax uses.

While you can check your score for free as often as you like, it will only update at the start of each month.

Checking your credit score with us will not affect it in any way. We use a ‘file access’ to retrieve your credit information from Equifax, which is different from a ‘full credit enquiry’ and will not appear on your credit report.

Your information is protected through bank-level security and encryption. We keep your data safe, and we’ll never sell your information to any third parties.

Review our Privacy Policy for more information.

We will not share your credit score or report with any other parties. Only you and Jacaranda Finance can see it. Checking your credit score will not trigger a hard credit inquiry and will not appear on your credit report to other lenders.

There are a number of reasons why you might not be seeing your credit score in your account:

• You might not yet have a credit score if you’ve only just taken out your first credit product
• The latest data from Equifax might not be available
• Your personal details in your application might not match the information in your credit report

There might also be an error on our end. If you’re having trouble viewing your credit score, please contact our customer service team so we can help you.

Comprehensive Credit Reporting (CCR) is a system that includes both positive and negative information on your credit report, allowing lenders to get a more accurate picture of your credit behaviour.

This includes details of your credit accounts, repayment history, and any credit inquiries, providing a balanced view of your financial reliability.

Read our article on CCR for more information on how it works.

Yes! Jacaranda Finance reports data under the Comprehensive Credit Reporting regime. We will now provide a more detailed and comprehensive view of your credit history to credit bureaus.

This means that your positive credit behaviour, such as making timely repayments and managing your loans responsibly, will be reported, potentially strengthening your credit profile and credit score.

Finance Fundamentals is a series of seven short video modules – about 30 to 60 seconds long – with an answer to one or two multi-choice questions at the end of each one.

Download our BetterCredit app to check it out, or learn more about Finance Fundamentals here.

By completing our free course, you can test your knowledge on the following topics:

1. What is a Credit Score?
2. Why is Your Credit Score Important?
3. What Determines Your Credit Score?
4. Credit Scores vs Credit Reports: What’s the Difference?
5. Credit Scores and Loan Applications
6. What’s the difference between negative and positive credit reporting?
7. Where and How to Check Your Credit Score

Download our BetterCredit app to get started!

Depending on your speed, the course could take around 10 minutes to complete, but there’s no time limit. You can watch each video and answer the questions at the end in your own time, and your progress is saved if you want to finish it later.

Yep! Finance Fundamentals can be re-taken at any time. If you want to test your knowledge again, just hit ‘Refresh Knowledge’ in the BetterCredit app.

You can also re-do individual modules if you don’t want to re-take the entire course.

Yes, we plan on releasing more content for Finance Fundamentals down the line. While nothing is set in stone yet, watch this space and check your emails/texts, as well as our socials, for updates on the next topics we’ll be releasing!