It is the most radical change in the history of Schufa. Germany’s most important credit agency is radically cleaning up and will in future only offer a central so-called score. At the same time, she reveals for the first time how it is made up. From March 17th, everyone can see how Schufa assesses their personal creditworthiness.
What is the Schufa score?
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The Schufa score is a number. It reflects how likely it is that someone will be able to service a loan or pay a bill. It is calculated using a formula that takes into account various criteria such as the number of installment loans. Banks, for example, query it in order to better assess whether they can grant loans. Mobile phone companies use the number when signing a new contract.
Schufa will switch to the new score and a new user account on March 17th. Until then, consumers will still see the old scores.
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Why is the Schufa score important?
Schufa is the largest credit agency of its kind in Germany. It has collected information from 6.4 million companies and around 68 million German citizens. Every day Schufa receives around 340,000 inquiries from companies who want to assess whether they want to do business with a customer.
What is Schufa doing now?
Schufa had a lot of trouble in the past. Consumer advocates criticized how opaque the company was. There were numerous court cases. The credit agency determined different scores for different corporate customers. The most important one was the bank score. Consumers were recently able to see a so-called basic score, which is based on that for the banks, but was actually calculated separately. Now the credit agency is clearing up. In the future, there will be a central score that consumers can access free of charge. It replaces the six most important industry scores and the basic score. Everything should become simpler and clearer.
What does the new score look like?
The new score has a maximum of 999 points. A score of 868 means someone is very creditworthy. An excellent value. A score of 350 is considered sufficient. The lowest possible value is 100. In principle, there is no score, unlike before, if someone can no longer service a loan or has not paid bills – a so-called payment default. The top score is achieved by 0.03 percent of German citizens, around 62 percent have an excellent score and 20 percent have a good score.
Schufa is introducing a new rating system in March.
© Christin Klose/dpa-tmn | Christin Klose
How is the new score calculated?
In the future, the score will be based on twelve criteria that Schufa statisticians have determined to be particularly meaningful. Schufa grants points for each. The sum of the points results in the score.
- Payment problems: This criterion has the greatest weight. Those who couldn’t pay once probably won’t be able to pay again, as the statisticians have determined. The longer the payment default occurred, the lower the likelihood of a relapse and the more points there are. Without payment problems now or in the past three years, 264 points are possible. Three years because Schufa has to delete the data after this period.
- Number of inquiries and conclusions for current accounts and credit cards in the past twelve months: If someone finds out about the conditions for current accounts or credit cards from several banks or savings banks, it is possible that these banks will ask Schufa how creditworthy the person is. Schufa knows from the past that many inquiries indicate financial difficulties. However, consumers today are researching more about offers before signing up for one, making the criteria less precise. Schufa now considers several inquiries and the conclusion of a contract within 28 days as one process. Maximum 117 points.
- Number of inquiries outside the banking sector in the past twelve months: The situation here is similar to that of bank inquiries. Maximum 99 points.
- Age of current address: Statistically speaking, people who live in one place for a long time are more creditworthy. Maximum 94 points.
- Age of the oldest credit card: If you pay for a hotel room with such a card, for example, the bank will grant you a loan equal to the room price. The customer usually settles the sum once a month. The longer someone uses such a card without any problems, the better their credit rating. Maximum 81 points.
- Age of oldest bank contract: Statistically, those who have been with the same bank for a long time tend to meet their financial obligations. Maximum 69 points.
- Number of new installment loans in the past twelve months: The more (even small) loans someone has to service, the greater the likelihood that the person will default on payments. Maximum 66 points.
- Loan with the longest remaining term: The longer an existing loan has to be serviced, the more likely another loan could be an additional burden. Maximum 61 points.
- Real estate loan: Anyone who owns a house or apartment and pays off a real estate loan is particularly careful with their money. At least that’s what experience shows. Maximum 55 points.
- Identity verified: maximum 38 points
- Latest line of credit: A line of credit is similar to an overdraft facility (overdraft facility). The bank grants credit up to a fixed amount. This is usually cheaper than an overdraft, but requires a high credit rating. The longer such a credit line exists, the more points there are. Maximum 36 points.
- Loan status: This takes into account whether there are open or paid off loans. Most points are awarded for completed loans. After all, the customer has already proven that they can meet their obligations. Maximum 19 points.
How does Schufa come up with the point values?
The credit agency can use past data to see how likely it is that someone with four installment loans, for example, will not be able to service one of them. The amount of points within the criterion depends on this. Not every criterion is equally important. Everything about payment disruptions is much more serious than, for example, the fact that loans have already been repaid. Accordingly, there are more points if there is no payment disruption (264) than for paid off loans (19).
How can I view the score?
In order to see what data Schufa has stored about me and what score I have, I need an account with Schufa. To do this, I have to register once online. This can be done immediately with the E-ID of the identity card. Or I request a special PIN to be sent by post. Access to the account is then given via email and a password of your choice. The website shows my personal score, how it is made up exactly and how I rank in relation to the rest of the republic.
When does the new score apply?
Schufa will introduce the new score on Tuesday, March 17th. From then on, the new Schufa account can also be accessed. The score has already been tested with important corporate customers for a good six months.
Who is Schufa?
Schufa was founded in 1927 as a protection association for general credit protection. More than a quarter each belongs to the cooperative banks and the savings banks. The rest is held primarily by commercial banks. The Wiesbaden-based company employs around 1,000 people and had sales of around 289.8 million euros in 2024.
