Business Focus - CRIF

CRIF is a global company specializing in credit referencing, business information, digital solution and software covering the entire credit life cycle and customer digital Journey. CRIF’s continuous commitment in investing in the region is evident by the fact that CRIF became a significant minority shareholder of Nova Credit Limited (“Nova Credit”) in 2018. Nova Credit is a newly established consumer credit reference agency with a diversified shareholder base consisting of CRIF, local Hong Kong banks as well as data and tech providers.

Nova Credit focuses on building a contemporary financial information platform utilizing data intelligence and Fintech solutions, and has been recently shortlisted as tenderer for Multiple Credit Reference Agencies (“MCRA”), a milestone project led by The Hong Kong Association of Banks in introducing more than one credit reference agencies in Hong Kong.

In line with the National Development and Reform Commission’s recent announcement, CRIF and Nova Credit will be contributing to the social and economic development of the Greater Bay Area (“GBA”) through cross-boundary data mutual recognition and the implementation of cutting-edge technologies supporting the integration of tech hub like Shenzhen and encouraging more cross-boundary development.

On November 29 2021, the first “Greater Bay Area Cross-boundary Data Mutual Recognition Platform” (Nansha platform) was officially launched and Nova Nansha, Nova Credit’s joint venture company in Nansha, China, was appointed as the business operator for this platform.

During the launch event, the local authority of Industry and Information Technology of Guangzhou Nansha Economic and Technological Development Zone, as well as various banks in Guangdong province, signed a cooperation agreement with Nova Nansha, signifying that the first cross-boundary identity verification service for individuals is officially available for government and enterprises in Guangdong and Hong Kong.

Nansha has been designated as one of the three main platforms for deepening regional cooperation by the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area issued by the State Council since February 2019.

Moreover, China has tightened control over crossboundary data flows, with the Data Security Law rolled out last September, and the Personal Information Protection Law taking effect on November 1 2021. Both have imposed stringent penalties for the unauthorized collection, processing, storage and use of data generated in the country.

Nansha platform is fully funded by the government, Nansha District People’s Government of Guangzhou Municipality. As the appointed business operator, Nova Nansha provides legitimate, reliable and secured digital channels for cross-boundary identity verification which is an innovative Know You Customer (“KYC”) solution for financial institutions in GBA.

Before that, cross-boundary verification can only be supported by physical documents which would usually take 8 to 10 working days to complete the basic approval process in banks. The cross-boundary KYC solution allows financial institutions in Hong Kong to verify identity and conduct customer due diligence through legitimate data sources in Mainland with the explicit consent of Mainland customers in a much more efficient way.

With stringent network security and privacy protection measures, a simple “Yes” or “No” will be reverted to confirm the accuracy of information provided by the customer, and the approval process can be drastically shortened to approximately 20 minutes by utilizing data verification service provided by the Nansha platform.

Apart from minimizing enquiry to customers and speeding up the data verification process, it also ensures correct data entry and reflects the current status of customers. The cross-boundary KYC solution will promote the overall development of the financial industry in the GBA and speed up crossboundary financial connectivity in GBA.

In line with CRIF business scopes, Nova Credit is committed to establishing an international scoring standard and rating model approved by foreign financial institutions, so as to align the GBA rating standard in an organic way with international standards and practices, helping private and public entities to attract high-quality foreign capital.

On December 13 2021, the first Corporate Credit Report Format Standardization Conference was officially held in Qianhai. The conference was joined by 12 contributing entities, with participants from Nova Credit, CRIF country offices in the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, as well as seven domestic credit agencies.

The standardization has set up the basic rules and corresponding relationships of corporate credit reports through summarizing and sorting out the common corporate credit report paradigm in the countries and regions where the contributing entities are located, which will serve as the mutual recognition basis for corporate credit reports in different countries and regions.

The construction of a cross-border credit standard system will help solve the problem of mutual recognition of cross-border credit products due to inconsistent standards of cross-border credit caused by different institutional mechanisms, legal systems and market segmentation. It also contributes to sustaining commercial financing across GBA and Southeast Asia, which is part of the core competence and mission of CRIF in Asia.

Established in 1988 in Bologna (Italy), CRIF operates over four continents and currently is the leader in continental Europe in the field of banking credit information and one of the main operators on a global level in the field of integrated services for business & commercial information and credit & marketing management.

Moreover, CRIF is included in the prestigious IDC FinTech Rankings Top 100, a ranking of the leading global technology solution providers to the financial services industry, and in 2019 completed its coverage as an AISP in 31 European countries where the revised Payment Services Directive is applicable.

Today over 10,500 banks and financial institutions, 600 insurance companies, 82,000 business clients and 1,000,000 consumers use CRIF services in 50 countries on a daily basis.

As of risk management professional, Nova Credit was established in 2017, with a diversified shareholder base. The shareholders consist of Hong Kong’s banks and local financial institutions, the founders and management team of Nova Credit as well as globally reputable credit bureaus. The shareholders, with years of industry experience and expertise, are committed to assisting Nova Credit in its strategic development and dynamic growth.

Nova Credit is devoted to building a contemporary financial information platform utilizing data intelligence and Fintech solutions, with the aim of co-creating the future of financial services with market participants in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.