Hi Everyone,
I was recently informed of some ‘credit reporting’ agencies in CH - Zek, IKO.
Never heard of these before. I only knew about betreibungsamt.
Very curious to learn more about these agencies, what service they provide, what information they keep, share, under what circumstances, etc. etc.
Many thanks!
Google is your friend:
Die IKO (Informationsstelle für Konsumkredit) ist die vom Gesetzgeber vorgeschriebene schweizerische Informationsstelle für Konsumkredit. Sie registriert im Sinne des Konsumkreditgesetztes (KKG) vom 23. März 2001 Daten von Kredit- und Leasinggeschäften natürlicher Personen zu privaten Zwecken.
L’IKO (centre de renseignements sur le crédit à la consommation) est le centre suisse de renseignements sur le crédit à la consommation prescrit par le législateur. Il enregistre à des fins privées les données des sociétés de crédit et de leasing des personnes physiques, au sens de la loi sur le crédit à la consommation (LCC) du 23 mars 2001.
Die Zentralstelle für Kreditinformation (ZEK) ist die schweizerische Evidenzzentrale für Bonitätsinformationen aus Kreditgeschäften natürlicher und juristischer Personen . Wir registrieren positive und negative Meldungen über Kredit-, Leasing- und Kreditkarteninteressenten sowie über Verpflichtungen und Bonität von Kreditnehmern, Leasingnehmern und Karteninhabern.
La ZEK (centrale d’information de crédit) est la centrale d’information suisse pour les informations de solvabilité découlant des activités de crédit des personnes physiques et morales . Nous enregistrons des informations positives et négatives sur les personnes intéressées au crédit, au leasing et aux cartes de crédit ainsi que les engagements et la solvabilité des preneurs de crédit, de leasing et des titulaires de cartes.
(German and French only)
Betreibungsamt is something different.
If I remember well, any Swiss resident in is the ZEK database. The options are: no info, pays of time, did not repay debt on time. And this info stays for years. A failed credit application: 2 years. Unpaid debt/measures to recover debt 5 years. Personal bankruptcy 10 years. Whatever happens or never happens at the Betriebungsamt ends on this database.
The IKO database is only about active credits. If you have an active credit card or car leasing, it’s there. But, after the contract ends, the line in the database is allegedly gone. But, if someone has no credit, this person is not on this database. This database is aimed at preventing into getting too much debt. Lenders are mandated by consumer credit law to check entries in IKO database. If the person is already too indebted, they reject the new loan and comply with the law.
In general, ZEK is a rear view mirror. But we all know “past performance is not indicative of future results”. That is the gap filled by IKO database, it helps to predict those future results. Just because someone has been super punctual and responsible in the past, this is not an indication of of future results. Conversely with people who had troubles in the past, they may be in a better situation today.
You can ask to both of them for your personal records. In practice, the car dealership asked these reports for me, I only signed a form where I agree to this. For a personal loan with Migros Bank, I asked for the report to ZEKmyself and submitted it as part of my application, it’s a low cost bank 