TransUnion was formed in 1968 to act as a holding company for the Union Tank Car Co. but soon developed into a distinctly independent enterprise by reinvesting it’s revenues into the acquisition of credit information files, after noticing the huge potential of income generated by other established credit bureaus at the time.
With the purchase of the Credit Bureau of Cook County in 1968, TransUnion instantly found itself in possession of approximately 3.5 million credit accounts. They were able to build new working relationships with hundreds of lenders and eventually leverage data and provide risk management tools to their new clientele.
Over the next 40 years, Transunion would build a reputation of aggregating reputable borrowers by building a reliable database through the advancements in computer hardware and proprietary software. Their capability to process millions of consumer credit files was light-years from the unreliable and largely anecdotal methods of unregulated credit bureaus from the days of old.
Near the tail end of the 80s, they set up shop in Toronto determined to grow internationally and overseas into the United Kingdom and beyond. Then, with the recently passed US Congress bill, mandating strict regulations with respect to credit collections and usage, consumers were given the right to access their own files and dispute any discrepancies. This bill became known as the Fair Credit Reporting Act or FCRA for short.
This proposal was undoubtedly a key player for giving rise to the development of subscription-based online accessibility. Every American now had rights to examine their personal credit file. Included in this document would be a three-digit credit score, of course, as well as historical reports (of all credit cards, loans and select utilities), past collections (or accounts that have gone into default) and any hard credit inquiries.
About 10 years later this would lead Canadian legislature to drop their own version of this bill regulating credit collections and personal privacy in the form of PIPEDA (which is short for Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act of 2000). Yup, that sure is a mouthful.
In 2014, TransUnion developed an innovative new program designed to help non-homeowners improve their scores through voluntary reporting by property owners of their rental units. This initiative labelled ResidentCredit, allowed landlords to report details to credit bureaus regarding relevant particulars about their tenant’s transactions or lack thereof.
Similar to Equifax, TransUnion offers you direct access to your credit file complete with historical views of all open and closed files on record as well as email alerts for possible identity theft breaches.
Online access to your credit score is just a click away. With their visually appealing dashboard, you can see your score and how it compares to the rest of the nation. In addition, it’s a breeze to view your recent payments and your membership order all within one well-designed portal.