The Most Hated Spy Agencies in America

This course is about the history of the credit reporting system, from the store clerk in the 1850 Midwest saga, where a merchant will sell products to farmers with the promise to pay at the end of the season.

We go on to the development of the beginning of the credit reporting system where the credit reports were put on stock index cards and filed away locally, to the computerization of data that completely changed the landscape. And then, onto the advent of the credit scoring system.

That’s just a part: but what about all the other 50 or so credit reporting agencies that collect data on you? Most people don’t know who they are, but I found out and I give them to you in this very quick history lesson.

Credit reporting agencies are collection points of information about you, the individual. And it does not even have to be credit related. Are you a good risk? What is the likelihood of getting paid back if you are a merchant? Both important questions, among so many others.

We, as consumers, are now borrowing more money to live a lifestyle that is well-documented, from the money we borrow to the drugs our doctors prescribe, to the job application process. This is just a quick analysis of the history of the credit report.