Global information and insights company and the Philippines’ first comprehensive private credit reference agency, TransUnion, has announced a strategic partnership with Lista, one of the fastest growing financial management apps in the Philippines.

The partnership harnesses TransUnion Philippines’ database of consumer borrowing data, using its advanced scoring models to assess their risk profiles and present a credit score and credit report. The service is now easily available to Filipinos anywhere, anytime in the country, on Lista’s mobile portal. 

A healthy credit score is a powerful financial tool that influences everything from the interest rates lenders offer and the credit lines they extend, to the decision to approve or reject a loan application. It affects a consumer’s ability to secure a mortgage, finance a car, or even start a business.

Credit card payments in the Philippines are expected to rise by 17.2 percent this year to reach P3.4 trillion, made possible by considerable growth in the number of Filipinos who hold credit cards. According to TransUnion’s latest Credit Perception Index, 40 percent of Filipinos now own credit cards – a 15 percentage point increase from the same time last year.

The Index also showed that Filipinos intend to take better control of their financial situations, with 72 percent planning to access more educational materials in the next year.

In addition to learning more about how to manage credit, it’s important that Filipinos regularly check their credit score and report, with routine checks now made even easier via Lista. Credit reports can also help consumers be vigilant about potential fraud schemes, as well as promote better financial literacy and increased financial inclusion.

Since 2011, TransUnion has been dedicated to helping Filipino consumers and businesses make better and more informed financial decisions with the innovative use of data and insights. This ambition echoes Lista’s purpose, which is to provide Filipinos with digital tools and resources to support their journey towards financial wellness. Both TransUnion and Lista share the goal of making Filipinos’ lives better by making financial resources more accessible.

Key service features for Filipinos who want to enjoy the benefits of the collaboration between the two companies include:

Users can enjoy the convenience of requesting credit reports, validating identity documents, and settling payments through the Lista mobile app. This empowers consumers to manage their financial data anywhere, anytime.

The process of requesting and receiving a consumer credit report with their credit score included can take as little as five minutes, allowing Filipinos to quickly access their credit information, better understand their financial health and make timely and informed decisions.

TransUnion credit reports include actionable insights to improve credit standing, build financial literacy, and foster healthy credit habits, helping consumers to take better control of their finances and make positive strides towards improvement.

“TransUnion is delighted to work with Lista on our shared goal of improving Filipinos’ access to essential consumer credit information,” said Amrita Bhattacharya, Chief Operating Officer for Asia-Pacific, TransUnion. “By leveraging our strengths in information and insights to empower individuals and businesses in decision-making, alongside Lista’s digital finance management platform, we can enhance credit access, improve financial literacy, and promote greater financial inclusion in the Philippines.”

“With credit card ownership growing and more Filipinos looking to borrow or use credit both in the short and long term, we believe this strategic partnership supports the national government’s goal of becoming an upper-middle-income economy,” she added. 

“At Lista, we are committed to fostering financial literacy by helping Filipinos recognize the importance of fiscal responsibility as early in their financial journeys as possible,” said Khriztina Lim, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, Lista. “Through our collaboration with TransUnion, we aim to bridge the gap in financial literacy and accessibility to credit information in the Philippines.”

“By doing so, we can help Filipinos use that information to build better relationships with their credit and other financial products,” she said. “We believe that everyone should have equal access to financial opportunities, and this partnership will help bring that belief to life.”

All adult consumers in the Philippines can now request their TransUnion credit score and report through the Lista mobile app, which is available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. For more details on the TransUnion-Lista partnership and the TransUnion consumer credit report, please visit here.