Many Benefits Come With Positive Credit Score

The Office of the Supervisor of Insolvency (OSI) says there are many benefits for individuals having a positive credit score.

Speaking with JIS News, Deputy Supervisor of Insolvency, Fayola Evans-Roberts, said that there are increased opportunities for persons who have a reputation of a positive credit score.

A credit score is a number assigned by a mathematical algorithm that converts qualitative data from the historical credit information on a credit report into a numerical score. The number represents the assessed risk associated with offering credit to an applicant based on their credit history.

“A good credit score enables you to access credit from individuals and institutions. Access to more credit is important, as it shows that more persons can trust your ability to repay your debt, because you are a person who manages his or her debt in a capable way,” she explained.

Mrs. Evans-Roberts said that as society continues to modernise its operations, a good credit score will become even more important.

“We are in a time where credit is increasingly vital as we are moving towards a more digital society. We have been hearing the term “cashless society”, so access to credit to ensure that certain resources are available to you is crucial,” she added.

Mrs. Evans-Roberts also told JIS News that individuals or business operators who are facing insolvency can reach out to the OSI to receive assistance.

“Once the debts are overwhelming, the OSI is there for persons to come and seek to resolve the issue, so all the regimes that are available to individuals, whether individual or company debt, once a person is in charge the debts are discharged so there is possible resolution for persons,” she noted.

“The Insolvency Act, 2014 highlights the different regimes that persons can use in order to avoid insolvency, or even if they become insolvent we ensure that the insolvent process is administered in a manner that all parties benefit,” she added.

According to Mrs Evans-Roberts, persons can present proposals instead of going into bankruptcy, and even with imminent insolvency where a person may be aware that in 12 months’ time they may become insolvent, that person can reach out to the OSI.

The OSI can be contacted at 876-929-8322 or email info.osi@miic.gov.jm or by visiting their social media pages @osi.gov.jm on Instagram or Facebook.

Mrs. Evans-Roberts is also encouraging persons to attend the upcoming Caribbean Credit Repair Association’s Credit Restoration Virtual Summit to learn more about credit restoration.

The two-day summit will be held on Thursday, July 22 and Friday, July 23 between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. and streamed on the Financially Focused Facebook page and YouTube channel.

The theme for the event is ‘Bringing Dignity to Consumer Debt’.

Topics that will be discussed at the two-day summit include the credit report industry, credit restoration, insolvency, the OSI, and legal stakeholders in the debt subsector and the lending subsector of the financial institutions.