UAE: Paying utility bills late will affect individuals credit scores

Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB) successfully added key utility billing data from all the Emirates covered by Etihad Water and Electricity (EtihadWE), including Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah, as part of the alternative data used in the credit reports of individuals and companies.

Etihad Water and Electricity Company is one of the most active utility providers in the UAE in terms of outreach. To date, the world-class electricity and water services provider holds more than 410,000 active contracts, altogether covering over 280,000 individuals and companies. AECB has recently added payment obligations of EtihadWE issued utility billing and customer data, thereby reaffirming its role in expanding its credit register with existing payment obligations from non-financial sectors to benefit all users of Credit Reports in the country. The latter reinforces AECB’s commitment to support the stability of the UAE’s credit marketplace by increasing the comprehensiveness of credit reports, which in turn helps users to make informed decisions.

Marwan Ahmad Lutfi, CEO of AECB, said,

"Our cooperation with Etihad Water and Electricity falls in line with AECB’s ambitions to broaden access to AECB products, allowing more individuals and companies to add to their credit history using alternative data. In fact, by including this data on top of the existing financial-related credit information, banks, telecom operators, service providers and other subscribers and users are now able to make better credit assessments and decisions."

For his part, Mohamad Mohamad Saleh, Director General of Etihad Water and Electricity Company, said that the collaboration concluded with Al Etihad Credit Bureau, represents a contribution from EtihadWE in the efficiency of its credit reports and raising its reliability in a way that enhances the quality of local services and increases the efficiency of financial transactions. This will reflect positively on the strategic objectives and will serve as a whole in the interest of the national economy, as well as consolidating the UAE's position in the relevant international competitiveness indicators.

Saleh said that the collaboration is in line with transparency, which represents a core value of Etihad Water and Electricity, as well as with our policy aimed at developing a culture of data exchange and enhancing prospects for cooperation with our various partners, stressing that the data that will be made available through the  collaboration is general data that is tradable with a commitment to protect the privacy of data and information worthy of maintaining its confidentiality in accordance with the terms of the contractual relationship with the customers of Etihad Water and Electricity.

AECB’s Credit Report and Score are gaining more and more popularity as individuals and businesses are prioritizing their credit health to make informed decisions by finding out what affects their Credit Score on a regular basis. AECB continues to work on improving the credit report models by using alternative data to generate a credit report that considers an individual or company’s monthly salary history, cheque clearance history, telecommunications monthly bill payment history, and water and electricity monthly bill payment history. As a result, the company is able to build the credit history of concerned individuals or companies upon receipt of the data from the information providers.

For more information, please visit www.aecb.ae