Frequently Asked Questions and Help

Yes. The National Credit Repositories require a Data Furnisher's or Service Agreement for reporting accounts whether you are reporting directly (in-house) to the repository or through a Third Party Processor/Stacking Service. This is a separate agreement from pulling credit reports. Please contact each National Credit Bureau to which you will be reporting and obtain this agreement.

• Step 1 - Contact each National Credit Reporting Repository (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion, Innovis) which you will be reporting with, and establish a Data Furnishers or Service Agreement. This is a separate agreement from pulling credit reports.
• Step 2 - All businesses reporting to the National Credit Bureaus, must meet the minimum reporting requirements established by each Credit Reporting Agency.
• Step 3 - Once you have established a Data Furnishers or Service Agreement with one or more of the National Credit Bureau repositories and meet their account reporting minimums, then your best option is to lease Credit Manager - Metro 2® credit reporting software which will accurately report your consumers accounts.
• Step 4 - Enter or update your accounts into the Credit Manager software. View a list of required account information.
• Step 5 - The software will perform validity checks on the accounts, to ensure the information which you have entered, is compliant with the latest regulations related to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), the Fair Debt Collections Practice Act (FDCPA) and the Metro 2® format specifications as defined in the Credit Reporting Resource Guide®.
• Step 6 - Send your accounts to the National Credit Repositories which you have a reporting agreement with. Once the Credit Repository has received your accounts, they will run extensive processes to verify the data which you have submitted. They may also request additional information from your company and may have you manually verify the data which was submitted. Because of the time involved in this initial verification process, the first batch of accounts may not be updated for several weeks. Once the bureaus have approved your accounts, they will typically update the accounts within a thirty day period. This process and time delay will vary between bureaus. Please contact your sales representative at the bureau for their policies.
• Step 7 - Repeat steps 4-7 on a monthly basis. Please note: Monthly reporting is required by all credit reporting agencies. Customers which do not report on a monthly basis, risk termination of their reporting agreement and accounts purged from their databases.

Promoting on-time payments can provide your customers with the best opportunity to build or establish credit.

Reinforces borrower incentives to manage credit wisely and avoid delinquencies and defaults. Reporting credit improves the performance of the entire market and lowers the costs of making credit available.

Better information results in better lending. Sharing payment information provides other creditors the information they need to avoid overextending your customers. As a result, your customers will be in a better position to pay their loan on time.

Customers who know you are reporting payment history are more likely to make on-time payments.

Allows a collection agency better leverage to collect a debt.

Each Credit Bureau has their own policy regarding reporting minimums. Basically, you should report your entire portfolio with accounts aging up to 6.5 years. If you are still unable to meet their minimums, the bureaus may allow you to report through a Third Party Processor/Stacking Service such as The Service Bureau. You will need to have Metro 2® compliant software (Credit Manager) and a data furnisher's agreement in order to use this service. Additional processing fees apply for this service.

A data furnisher would be any industry which reports trade lines to the credit bureaus such as banks, credit unions, mortgage lenders, credit card issuers, collection agencies, loan institutes, government agencies, rental lease, utility companies, auto finance and other lenders.

Judgments are typically submitted by the court system however, some credit bureaus no longer include judgments or tax liens as part of a consumer’s credit history.

In 1997, the credit reporting industry initiated the use of the "Metro 2®" format which became the industry standard for reporting trade line information.

The Metro 2® format layout was developed by Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA) to replace the Metro format which was developed in the late 1970's. The Metro 2® format layout is described in the Metro 2® Credit Reporting Resource Guide. It facilitates complete and greater accuracy of reporting of data and provides the following features:

• The Metro 2® format is designed to be easier to use and understand;
• provides one standard computer format to be used for reporting accurate, complete and timely consumer credit information;
• meets all requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA);
• allows for reporting information at both the account and consumer levels;
• allows reporting on debtors that "cannot be located"
• allows reporting of deferred payments and "associate" borrowers/debtors information;
• Identification numbers can be changed to accommodate transfer or sale of debt (asset sales); and,
• the format accommodates a 4-digit "year" for improved accuracy.

View a list of required account information.

Metro 2® Credit Reporting Software, such as Credit Manager will properly format accounts into the Metro 2® format which is the required format for reporting trade lines to the major credit bureaus. Prior to submitting the accounts to the credit bureaus, the software will also perform compliance checks on the accounts to make sure the information to be submitted is up-to-date with the latest reporting standards and Metro 2® requirements. The reporting standards are updated every year to meet the latest reporting laws and regulations and accounts which do not meet the latest reporting standards are subjected to rejection by the bureaus. If your file contains excessive rejections, your entire file may be rejected. It is crucial that the software used to report trade lines is kept up-to-date with with the latest reporting standards.

• The best software should be fully tested, accepted and approved by the National Credit Bureaus to which you will be reporting.
• Credit reporting software must be kept up-to-date with the latest reporting laws and regulations and follow the strict guidelines defined in the Metro 2® Credit Reporting Resource Guide.
• Full reporting capability to handle all credit bureau approved reporting scenarios, which your company may encounter.
• Credit reporting software must accurately report your companies accounts to the credit bureaus using the Metro 2® format.
  • Please note: Simply submitting an account to the National Credit Reporting Repositories does not guarantee acceptance into their database. If the software you are using does not conform to the list above, chances are, the credit bureaus will exclude the non-compliant accounts. If excessive compliance errors are reported month after month, your reporting agreement with the bureaus, may also be compromised.
• Purchasing the best credit reporting software package should be based on the accuracy in which it reports your accounts, and the features which best suit your companies needs.
• Software should be easy to use and provide intuitive Help Screens. This will help eliminate any second-guessing as to what the credit bureaus may require in a particular field.
• Easy and secure uploading of your accounts to the National Credit Bureaus.
• Software can be limited to the number of accounts which it will reasonably handle. Make sure the software which you are selecting can handle the volume of accounts which your company has to report.

The Metro 2, Credit Reporting Resource Guide is an in-depth document produced by Consumer Data Industry Association. This guide details the Metro 2 format including, the Header Record, Base Record, J1 & J2 Segments, K1 Segment, K2 Segment, K3 Segment, K4 Segment, L1 Segment, N1 Segment, Trailer Record and all fields which pertain to each of those segment. It also contains all reporting codes, reporting examples, industry types and FAQ's. This document is typically updated yearly or as needed to conform with the FCRA and ECOA.

The accounts which you submit to the bureaus must be in compliance with the latest reporting laws and regulations as defined in the Metro 2 Credit Reporting Resource Guide. These reporting standards are updated every year to meet the latest reporting laws and regulations and to comply with the FCRA and ECOA. Accounts which do not meet the latest reporting standards are subjected to rejection by the bureaus. If your file contains excessive rejections, your entire file may be rejected. It is crucial that the software used to report trade lines is kept up-to-date with with the latest reporting standards.

Metro 2® compliance would include checks such as making sure the account status matches the last payment date, delinquency date, closed date and other reporting codes. Dates and balances are accurately reflecting the current state of the account and reporting codes. For example, if an account is delinquent, a delinquent account status, amount past due and delinquency date must be provided and the payment history must also reflect the delinquency for that months reporting cycle. Reporting software will have hundreds of compliance checks and cross checks to make sure the reporting scenario for each account is accurately reflected.

Metro 2® support two formats, the Metro 2®, 366 and the Metro 2®, 426. While both formats are similar the 366 packs all numeric fields like dollar amounts and dates to save file space, where the 426 format does not contain packed fields. When opening the Metro 2® file in a text editor (or similar) the 366 packed fields are not human readable where the 426 fields are readable.

See Metro 2® Required Fields

A third-party processor such as The Service Bureau provides a service to which a company can submit their accounts/trade lines to a processor, the processor combines their accounts with other companies and submits the accounts to the bureaus. The company must be approved and have a data furnishers/service agreement with each bureau prior to using this service. This service is typically used by companies who do not meet the credit bureaus minimum reporting volume but have been approved by the bureau to report through a third-party processor.

A third-party reporter such as a collection agency would report the companies bad debt/negative accounts/trade lines to the bureaus however, the collection agency would have the agreement with each bureau rather than the company submitting the accounts.

A Stacking Service or Third Party Processor, such as The Service Bureau will accept accounts from multiple customers who do not meet the current bureau account reporting minimums, combine the accounts together and submit a "stacked" file to the bureaus. You must be approved by the credit bureaus to use this service, meet their processor reporting minimums and have a data furnishers or service agreement with each bureau to which The Service Bureau will forward your accounts.

See Stacking Service costs

Once the Credit Repository has received your first batch of accounts, they will run extensive processes to verify the data which you have submitted. They may also request additional information from your company and may have you manually verify the data which was submitted.

Because of the time involved in this initial verification processed the first batch of accounts may not be updated for several weeks. Once the bureaus have approved your accounts, they will typically update the accounts within a thirty day period.

This process and time delay will vary between bureaus. Please contact your sales representative at the bureau for their policies.

The credit reporting agencies (CRA) are separate entities and maintain their own databases, therefore your trade lines will only be displayed on the bureaus which you submit data and have a reporting agreement with.

For reporting consumer/commercial credit see How To Report Credit.

For consumer assistance see Consumer Help.

Credit Managers Metro 2® file was tested and approved by all major credit bureaus, prior to it's release.

Direct reporting and processor reporting is available using the Pro and Elite versions. If using The Service Bureau's processing service additional fees will apply. The Pro version supports up to 50,000 accounts where the Elite version will support over 50,000 accounts.

The best option for most businesses is our Pro version.

All versions of Credit Manager support the Metro 2®, 426 (uncompressed) format.

Credit Manager does have an extensive and flexible import engine. This process will take accounts in various formats and import the accounts into Credit Manager. Importing accounts can help eliminate manual data entry errors, thus providing more accurate information to the credit bureaus.

Non-credit reporting software packages generally do not use the same codes, which the credit bureaus require. However, our flexible import utilities will allow you to cross-reference the information to the codes the credit bureaus require.

Credit Manager Supports all company types, status codes, type codes, comment codes, compliance condition codes, Consumer Information Indicators, 24-month payment history and all appended segments including reporting up to 6 co-signers/co-makers. Credit Manager is the best option to handle any bureau approved reporting scenario.

The ease of use of any software package is largely based on the skills and understanding of the individuals using the software. Credit reporting can be complicated, however, we have made our Credit Manager software easy to install and use, and as user friendly as possible. Moreover, the software comes with extensive context sensitive help screens and the backing of a knowledgeable and accessible support staff. In short, you will find the Credit Manager software as easy as it gets for reporting accounts to the credit bureaus.

Credit Manager is capable of importing fixed formatted files such as a Metro 1 file into its database and export in the Metro 2® format. Please note: After importing, your accounts may require additional information or editing to be compliant with the Metro 2® format and meet current regulations. Our intuitive compliance management system will help guide you through correcting any compliance issues.

Minor revisions, which include compliance updates and minor enhancements, are available at no charge. Major revisions are available at a discounted rate to customers with a yearly support agreement. For complete description of Major revision policies, please [contact us] for a copy of our support agreement.

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The Metro 2® File Viewer is beneficial to companies which have software that already creates the Metro 2® format. The Metro 2® File Viewer can read the existing Metro 2® file, search fields, locate reporting errors and formatting issues, create reports and check for compliance errors (Elite version only) however, it will not modify the data within the Metro 2® file. It also supports sftp for uploading the file to the credit bureaus one-by-one or in a batch mode.

Credit Manager is used for importing or manually entering your accounts into its database, checking for compliance issues, producing reports and creating a Metro 2® formatted file for uploading to the credit bureaus using the built-in sftp/https functions. Credit Manager can also import an existing Metro 2® file to edit account information, check for compliance and uploads.

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