Most of us working- or middle-class Pinoys already have a credit card or a personal loan. But have you ever wondered what categories credit card companies and loan agencies look for every time they approve or deny a person’s loan or credit card application?

The Credit Management Association of the Philippines, or more commonly known as CMAP, governs all member banks, credit card companies, and loan agencies. What that means is when a person has a poor credit history due to non-payment of personal, business or home loans and unpaid credit card bills. Your name will be blacklisted and you will not be able to obtain a loan from any CMAP member financial institution for a period of five years or more.

Upon receipt of your loan or credit card application, they will immediately conduct a credit check to determine your credit score. They will enter your name from the CMAP database. If your name is included in the CMAP, your application will be rejected immediately. If it doesn’t produce results, your app will go to the next level. They will enter your financial information such as the credit cards you own, your income based on the ITR and the assets you own, each of which has a different weight in the credit score, some have a higher score than others. Barring other negative results and if your credit score is high enough. Your request will be approved.

In addition to the CMAP, there are other Philippine government bodies that exchange information with them, which is required by the Anti-Money Laundering Act or AMLA which makes it difficult for people to create fictitious accounts and for those who have pending cases as a scam to open an account. of checks or to obtain any loan.