Credit Bureau Act 2016

Credit Bureau Act 2016 2020 REVISED EDITION This revised edition incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 December 2021 and comes into operation on 31 December 2021 An Act to provide for the regulation of certain credit bureaus, the credit reporting business, and certain members of these credit bureaus to whom the credit bureaus provide customer information, and for matters connected with any of these. [31 May 2021] PART 1 PRELIMINARY Short title 1. This Act is the Credit Bureau Act 2016. Interpretation 2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires — “advocate and solicitor” means an advocate and solicitor of the Supreme Court or a foreign lawyer as defined in section 2(1) of the Legal Profession Act 1966; “approved member”, in relation to a licensed credit bureau, means a member of the licensed credit bureau that is — (a) deemed to be an approved member of the licensed credit bureau under section 29(1); or (b) approved by the Authority under section 29(6)(a); “Authority” means the Monetary Authority of Singapore established under the Monetary Authority of Singapore Act 1970; “bank”, “bank in Singapore” and “banking business” have the meanings given by section 2(1) of the Banking Act 1970; “book” includes any record, register, document or other record of information and any account or accounting record, however compiled, recorded or stored, whether in written or printed form or on microfilm or by electronic process or otherwise; “card issuer” means a person that is granted a licence under section 57B of the Banking Act 1970; “chief executive officer”, in relation to a company, means an individual, by whatever name described, who — (a) is in the direct employment of, or acting for or by arrangement with, the company; and (b) is principally responsible for the management and conduct of the business of the company; “company” has the meaning given by section 4(1) of the Companies Act 1967; “consumer credit reporting business” means a credit reporting business concerning credit reports of individuals in their personal capacity; “corporate credit reporting business” means a credit reporting business that is not a consumer credit reporting business; “credit bureau” means an entity that carries on a credit reporting business; “credit facility” means — (a) an advance, a loan or other facility that gives a person access to funds or financial guarantees; or (b) the incurring by a person of other liabilities on behalf of another; “credit report” means a communication, whether in written, oral or other form — (a) prepared using customer information provided by at least one bank or merchant bank that is a member of a credit bureau, to assess the creditworthiness of a person, including — (i) information about the person’s eligibility to be provided with credit; (ii) information about the person’s history in relation to credit; (iii) information about the person’s capacity to repay credit provided to the person; or (iv) any other information relating to the person’s creditworthiness; or (b) prepared by a licensed credit bureau for any other purpose that may be prescribed; “credit reporting business” means — (a) a business in Singapore (whether routine or recurrent) that involves preparing, providing or maintaining, for profit or gain, credit reports regardless of whether the primary function of the business is connected with credit reports; (b) the business of preparing, providing or maintaining credit reports on a routine, non‑profit basis as an ancillary part of a business carried on for profit or gain; or (c) any other business that may be prescribed; “customer”, in relation to a member of a credit bureau, includes — (a) a person having an account with, or an applicant for a credit facility from, the member; and (b) the Authority or any monetary authority or central bank of any other country or territory, but excludes any company that carries on banking business, or any other financial institution that may be prescribed; “customer information”, in relation to a member of a credit bureau, means — (a) any information relating to, or any particulars of — (i) an account of a customer of the member, whether the account is in respect of a loan, investment or any other type of transaction, but excludes any information that is not referable to any named customer or group of named customers; or (ii) an application for a credit facility from the member by a customer of the member; or (b) the member’s deposit information; “data” means — (a) information relating to a person’s creditworthiness, including (to avoid doubt) customer information of a member of a licensed credit bureau; or (b) information relating to a person that is processed by a licensed credit bureau in the course of its credit reporting business, as the case may be; “data provider”, in relation to a licensed credit bureau, means any person (including a member of the licensed credit bureau) that is obliged under any contract or arrangement with the licensed credit bureau, to provide to the licensed credit bureau for the purposes of the licensed credit bureau’s credit reporting business, any information relating to a person’s creditworthiness, including (to avoid doubt) customer information of a member of the licensed credit bureau; “data subject” means the person that is the subject of any data or credit report, as the case may be; “deposit information”, in relation to a member of a credit bureau, means any information relating to — (a) any deposit of a customer of the member with the member; (b) funds of a customer of the member under management by the member; or (c) any safe deposit box maintained by, or any safe custody arrangements made by, a customer of the member with the member, but excludes any information that is not referable to any named person or group of named persons; “director” has the meaning given by section 4(1) of the Companies Act 1967; “employee” includes an individual seconded or temporarily transferred from another employer; “entity” means any body corporate or unincorporate, whether incorporated, formed or established in or outside Singapore; “executive officer”, in relation to a company, means any individual, by whatever name described, who — (a) is in the direct employment of, or acting for or by arrangement with, the company; and (b) is concerned with or takes part in the management of the company on a day‑to‑day basis; “Guidelines on Fit and Proper Criteria” means the document by that title issued by the Authority and published on its website, as revised from time to time; “integrity”, in relation to data, means the data is accurate, complete, current and not misleading; “licence” means a licence granted under section 7 or renewed under section 8; “licensed credit bureau” means a credit bureau that is for the time being licensed; “limited liability partnership” has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005; “member”, in relation to a licensed credit bureau, means an entity that is obliged under any contract or arrangement with the licensed credit bureau to provide data to the licensed credit bureau, and is entitled under such contract or arrangement to — (a) receive or request data from the licensed credit bureau; (b) use data received from the licensed credit bureau; and (c) disclose data received from the licensed credit bureau; “merchant bank” means a merchant bank licensed under the Banking Act 1970; [Act 18 of 2022 wef 28/04/2023] “officer” has the meaning given by section 4(1) of the Companies Act 1967; “process”, in relation to data, means to carry out any operation or set of operations in relation to the data, and includes one or more of the following: (a) to collect or record the data; (b) to hold the data; (c) to organise, combine, adapt or alter the data; (d) to retrieve or transmit the data; (e) to use the data; (f) to disclose or report the data; (g) to erase or destroy the data; “public authority” means — (a) the Government, including any ministry, department and agency of the Government, or an Organ of State; (b) any tribunal appointed under any written law; or (c) any statutory body; “share” has the meaning given by section 4(1) of the Companies Act 1967 and includes an interest in a share. Purpose of Act 3. The purpose of this Act is to regulate — (a) licensed credit bureaus; (b) approved members of any licensed credit bureau in relation to — (i) their providing data to the credit bureau for the purpose of the credit bureau’s credit reporting business; and (ii) their using and disclosing data received from the credit bureau in the course of the credit bureau’s credit reporting business; and (c) matters relating to or connected with the above. Application of Act 4.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), this Act does not apply to any public authority. (2) The Minister may by order declare that a public authority is one to which this Act applies. (3) The provisions in Parts 3 and 6 of the Act are in addition to, and do not derogate from, anything in the Personal Data Protection Act 2012. Appointment of assistants 5.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), the Authority may appoint any of its officers to exercise any of its powers or perform any of its functions or duties under this Act, either generally or in any particular case, except the power — (a) of appointment conferred by this subsection; and (b) to make subsidiary legislation. (2) The Authority may appoint one or more of its officers to exercise the power under a provision of this Act specified in the Second Schedule to grant an exemption to a particular person, or to revoke any such exemption. [Act 5 of 2025 wef 09/03/2025] (2A) An appointment under subsection (2) must be published in the Gazette. [Act 5 of 2025 wef 09/03/2025] (3) Any officer appointed by the Authority under subsection (1) or (2) is deemed to be a public servant for the purposes of the Penal Code 1871.