Credit - What's in a FICO score?

FICO® scores are the most well-known example of a credit score.  The term FICO actually comes from the firm that created FICO score, Fair Isaac Corporation.  The Fair Isaac Corporation created the FICO® score so that lenders have a fairly predictable and reliable way of calculating whether a borrower will repay the money they wish to borrow.

What's in a FICO score?

The exact factors that determine a FICO score is only known to Fair Isaac Corporation, however there are some general items that may be used to help determine a score, including:

• Your payment history, have you been making prompt payments?
• How much credit you have available, versus how much you are actually using
• How long your credit history is, are you new to borrowing or have you been using credit for a long time?
• The credit types that you have and that you've used in the past
• Any recent debt that you now have

Other scores

There are other names for other FICO-type scores, because there are other credit bureau's besides Fair Isaac Corporation that track and report on credit.  The other companies include:

Equifax - The Equifax scoring is called BEACON®

Experian - Experian calls their score the Experian/Fair Isaac Risk Model

TransUnion - which has the FICO Risk Score (which used to be known as EMPIRICA®)