Credit Score Glossary
Amortization
The process of gradually repaying a debt with regularly scheduled payments.
Authorized User
Consumer status in consumer credit file provided by an entire tradeline from another person's credit account. Defunct tactic in Fair Isaac's FICO 08 score algorithm which nullified it
Asset
Assets are things like cars, homes, boats, savings and investments owned by a person that have cash value.
Credit Bureau
Misnomer for consumer reporting agency
Equifax
Atlanta-based publicly-held big-three consumer reporting agency. Formerly Retail Credit Company
Experian
Big-three consumer reporting agency. Formerly TRW
Fair Isaac Corporation
Creator of FICO scores. Formerly "Fair, Isaac Company"
Median
The type of average Fair Isaac uses to describe the middle score of the distribution
Mortgage
Misnomer for "mortgage loan." Agreement that secures a loan with real estate.
Reason Code
Number representing one of a fixed set of approximately 45 factors that a FICO credit score is not higher
Secured Credit Card
Financial instrument-- typically used to reestablish a damaged credit history-- that requires a savings account in the amount of the spending limit
Thin-file Credit Score
Credit score using consumer files with few tradelines, targeted at the under-banked market segment
TransUnion
Chicago-based big-three consumer reporting agency. Formerly Trans Union
VantageScore
Non-FICO score developed jointly by the big three consumer reporting agencies Equifax, TransUnion and Experian, and released in 2006