Credit Bureaus

A credit bureau is an independent company that provides consumer credit history. This information is often used to help determine the creditworthiness of a potential customer. There are quite a few bureaus in the United States but Experian, Equifax and TransUnion are the largest. If you have ever had a loan or credit card, you will have a credit history with one or more of these companies.

Credit card issuers also work with credit bureaus by providing them with credit information about current cardholders.