Foreign remittance information to be included in Credit Information Bureau database

The database of the Credit Information Bureau, a body providing banks and other financial organisations across Georgia with information about financial and credit circumstances of customers, will expand its database to include information on money remittances from abroad, the National Bank of Georgia said on Wednesday.

The NBG said the change, set to come into force starting March 1, was being adopted to “simplify the lending process and increase access to credit products” for customers.

Data on remittances that will be stored in the expanded database will include the origin country of the remittance, date of transfer - if available - as well as the date of cashing out, recipient ID, their nationality, the amount of money in the transaction and the currency it is completed in.

The change follows amendments made by the Bank to the regulations of the Bureau in September, requiring lending organisations to provide the body with information on customers’ remittances. The Bureau will be tasked with storing the information in its database for a year.

While noting the expansion of the database was aimed to “enable remittance recipients to manage their data” and help them “receive loans on best terms”, NBG Vice President Papuna Lezhava also said customers could opt out of providing the information to the Bureau.