The modern iteration of the credit score hasn't been around for that long—it was invented just a few decades ago, in 1989.

It's easy to let your credit score slip without realizing it. Checking your credit score and getting to know what's on your credit report are the first steps to getting to the "700 club," or "good score" range, according to one financial expert.

In the 1800s, credit bureaus went into business to help lenders make decisions. But today's three major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, didn't become the industry leaders they are today until the 20th century, around the same time FICO was founded.

Consumer loans for agriculture were likely first used around 3500 BCE, but modern consumer credit took many more centuries to be established. England's credit reporting system, for instance, dates back to the early 1800s when a group of English tailors began swapping information about customers who failed to settle their debts.

Your credit history is used to calculate your credit score. It includes information such as how often you miss payments (on credit cards, for instance), the types of financial accounts you hold, how long you’ve held those accounts, and more.

The three major credit bureaus introduced the VantageScore credit score in 2006 as a competitor to FICO. It’s calculated slightly differently from a FICO score, though just like the FICO score, it’s widely used by lenders.

Businesses have credit scores the same way individuals do—with a few key differences. For one thing, business credit scores range from 0 to 100 instead of 300 to 850, and are based on factors such as bankruptcy and bill-paying habits.

Although today's credit scoring system is much more objective than, say, the credit assessment system of the 1700s, some argue there's still room for improvement, with critics saying the current system is still discriminatory. For example, while mortgage payments have long been automatically reported to credit bureaus, rent payments (the primary housing expense for most lower-income Americans) historically haven't been reported unless a payment was missed.

When they created FICO, William Fair, an engineer, and his cofounder, Earl Isaac, reasoned that financial data could help a wide variety of companies improve business decisions. FICO created the first credit scoring system to help lenders be more objective.

Factoring rental payments into credit scores is just one proposed change some have suggested making to today’s credit scoring system to cater the system to renters as well as homeowners.

Because credit scores use a lot of personal information (such as whether or not someone makes credit card payments on time), some worry their privacy is being compromised in the data collection process.

While VantageScores and FICO scores both offer credit scores between 300 and 850 and consider the same core factors, they weigh those factors differently, and specific numbers can have different meanings depending on the type of score.

If you move outside the US, you won’t get to take your credit score with you. Credit scoring systems work differently in other countries. In the UK, for instance, being registered to vote improves your credit score.

In the 1700s US economy, consumer credit reporting wasn't necessary. A loan to a farmer for agricultural supplies, for instance, would inevitably help them purchase both personal and business items.

VantageScore and FICO weigh various factors that determine your credit score differently. For instance, while your payment history makes up 40% of your VantageScore, it only makes up 35% of your FICO score.

Contrary to popular belief, checking your credit score doesn’t hurt your credit. Many credit card companies show your score when you log into their app online, but there are other ways to check it.

VantageScores are sometimes lower than FICO scores because the algorithms that calculate the two scores weigh the factors that influence them differently. For instance, VantageScores typically weigh payment history more heavily than FICO scores.

FICO rolled out its first-ever BNPL-specific credit scoring models in June 2025. While missed installments can now negatively impact a credit score, there's also the potential for on-time BNPL installment payments to help boost scores.

Before the creation of the modern banking system, the majority of loans were negotiated directly between the lender and the borrower—effectively making them private credit transactions.

Sovereign credit ratings work like national credit scores, measuring a country’s ability and willingness to repay its debt. Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch are the major agencies assigning these ratings, which influence borrowing costs and investor confidence.

While the three main credit bureaus and the credit scoring companies aren't government entities, they are subject to certain US government regulations, such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

While student loans can impact your credit score, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Repaying the loan on time can strengthen your credit score, whereas paying late can hurt it. To find out more about how student loans can impact your credit score, read this article.

A bad credit score can lead to spending roughly $100K more on a typical mortgage. Poor scores also prevent you from getting certain jobs, apartments, and more, hindering you from building wealth in the long term.

Those who file for Chapter 7 must wait 10 years before the bankruptcy is removed from their credit report. For Chapter 13, the wait time is seven years.

Some buy now, pay later services do a soft credit check rather than a hard credit check, like credit card companies would do when someone applies for a card. While hard credit checks can impact your credit score, soft pulls typically do not.

Kal Penn, the actor who played Kumar in the “Harold and Kumar” films and appeared in shows like “How I Met Your Mother” and “House,” just so happens to know a thing or two about how the credit scoring system works in the US.

When you buy even something as small as a $5 latte, a global relay between banks and networks like Visa and Mastercard is triggered. It all started with a 1958 campaign from Bank of America that jump-started the credit card revolution.

In 2026, four US senators sent letters to two of the nation's major credit bureaus (TransUnion and Experian) after an investigation revealed that they were fixing fewer errors on consumers' credit reports.

Some credit card issuers also take your other payment obligations into account when determining your credit limit, such as the cost of your rent or alimony.

The factors that some experts say are driving what could be private credit's most challenging era since the 2008 financial crisis include global economic uncertainty around trade and tariffs, investor fears about the amount of money being spent on artificial intelligence, and more.

On a 1958 morning in Fresno, California, about 60,000 people woke up to find a strange rectangular piece of plastic on their doorstep without explanation. Those chosen for the "Fresno Drop" didn't know it yet, but Bank of America was behind the credit card delivery stunt.

Risks in private credit investing include the industry's lack of transparency and the ability of businesses to borrow more than a bank might allow against their debt. Some borrowers in early 2026, for instance, likely did not expect interest rates to be so high for so long, which could be contributing to an uptick in defaults.

Banks in the US started issuing CDs in the early 1800s as the banking system began to take shape following the Revolutionary War. The federal government did not formally insure CDs until the FDIC was formed in 1933.

Before that year, banks in the US were legally allowed to deny women credit or charge them higher interest if they failed to get a male cosigner.

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Some people use buy now, pay later apps as an alternative to credit cards. BNPL services have a lower barrier to entry than credit cards—many frequent BNPL users have low credit scores.

The first credit union opened in Germany in 1864, but the bank alternative didn’t reach North America until 1901. That’s when Canadian journalist Alphonse Desjardins introduced the concept to his hometown with a starter 10-cent deposit. Desjardins helped launch the first US credit union just eight years later. This engaging timeline highlights Desjardins, his contributions to credit unions, and how the institutions have evolved over the last 100-plus years. Scroll through the timeline here.

Before authorizing a purchase, card issuers consider whether or not the cardholder has a high enough available credit limit to make the purchase, where the purchase is being made in order to reduce fraud, and more.

Proponents of credit unions often point to the fact they’re not-for-profit cooperatives instead of for-profit businesses as a key selling point. This explainer dives into what this looks like in action—instead of pocketing the profits from interest rates, credit unions reinvest that money into the products and services they offer. For customers, this tends to create a more personal and community-oriented experience.