Credit Scores in Switzerland

Your credit records play an important role in determining whether you can make purchases on credit, subscribe to postpaid plans, or get a credit card or a personal loan. This moneyland.ch guide gives you an overview of Swiss credit scores and explains what they mean.

What is a credit score?

A credit score is a rating of your creditworthiness. It shows prospective lenders how likely you are to pay your bills and repay loans.

Are credit scores important in Switzerland?

Yes. Having a negative credit score can make it difficult or impossible to make purchases using invoice billing (buy-now-pay-later), get a postpaid subscription (a mobile plan, for example), get a credit card or a personal loan, get a car plan, or lease a car. 

Credit scores also play a role in determining how much interest you have to pay for loans. The worse your credit score is, the less favorable the interest rate will be.

Who creates credit scores?

Credit scores are created by credit bureaus. These may be associations or for-profit private companies.

A credit bureau collects and records information about your payment habits using information provided by lenders and/or merchants. It then uses this information to determine how likely you are to pay your bills, and to repay loans, and creates a credit score based on this assessment.

What is the IKO?

The IKO is an association that is mandated by the Swiss government to provide Swiss lenders with information about prospective borrowers. It collects and provides information that is necessary to prevent borrowers from becoming over-indebted. 

All Swiss lenders, including credit card issuers, must report to the IKO. They are also required to check your IKO credit history before granting you a loan.

What is the ZEK?

The ZEK is a credit bureau run as an association, of which numerous Swiss banks and other lenders are members. It collects data about borrowers from its members, and also provides its members with information about prospective borrowers.

What do ZEK credit scores mean?

The codes used by the ZEK and IKO do not rate your creditworthiness from excellent to poor, but simply provide information.

ZEK credit scores, and their meanings, are shown in Table 1.

Table 1: ZEK credit scores

Note: Information is provided by moneyland.ch for educational purposes only, with no guarantee of accuracy. If you need detailed information, contact the credit bureau directly.

The ZEK codes shown in the table above are the most relevant codes for most consumers. There are additional ZEK codes that apply to specific circumstances, such as personal bankruptcy, debt repair, frozen or terminated debit cards, and many more.

You have the right to instruct the ZEK not to share your credit score with third parties. However, if you do this, you will not be able to use loans, credit cards, or car leasing.

What is a private credit bureau?

Some private companies operate credit bureaus as a service for merchants. Private credit bureaus like Crif and Intrum collect more information than the ZEK and IKO bureaus. For example, they may collect information about positive payment behavior such as prompt payment of bills. Swiss merchants and services providers use these credit scores to decide if you can pay for purchases by invoice billing or installment plans, or pay for a subscription in arrears. 

What does my Crif credit score mean?

Crif credit scores, and their meanings, are shown in Table 2.

Table 2: Crif credit scores

Note: Information is provided by moneyland.ch for educational purposes only, with no guarantee of accuracy. If you need detailed information, contact the credit bureau directly.

What does my Intrum credit score mean?

Credit scores from Intrum, and their meanings, are shown in Table 3 below.

Table 3: Intrum credit scores

Note: Information is provided by moneyland.ch for educational purposes only, with no guarantee of accuracy. If you need detailed information, contact the credit bureau directly.

How can I check my credit score?

Credit bureaus are required by law to give you a copy of your credit score upon request. You can request your credit score online or by mail. You must attach a copy of your ID or passport. Just use the links below to go to the credit bureau’s secure websites and request a credit statement.

• Crif credit score request form

• IKO credit statement request form

• Intrum credit score request form

• ZEK credit statement request form

Even if you always pay your bills on time, it can be beneficial to request copies of your credit statements at least every couple of years. The reason for this is that there may be incorrect entries in your statement, or your address or personal information may be outdated.

Swiss credit bureaus generally provide one credit statement per year free of charge. If you order more than one statement per year, the credit bureau may charge you a service fee.

How long does negative information remain in my credit history?

The length of time for which negative entries remain in your credit history depends on the seriousness of the incident. For example, the ZEK code for a debit card frozen by the bank is removed after just one year, whereas codes showing that the lender suffered a loss remain in your ZEK credit history for 10 years.

Swiss private credit bureaus have a joint code of conduct that stipulates how long entries about negative incidents can remain in your credit history. 

• Incidents that do not result in debt collection can remain in your credit history for a maximum of five years. This is the case when you pay bills late, but early enough to avoid a debt collection case being opened.

• Incidents that result in debt collection cases can remain in your credit history for up to 10 years. The same holds true for incidents that result in a loss for your creditor. Personal bankruptcy also remains in your credit history for up to 10 years.

How can I improve my Swiss credit scores?

Check whether the information on your credit statements is correct and up to date. Incorrect data can result in a poor credit score. For example, if the credit bureau has your old address, there is a risk that you may be confused with the person currently living at that address, who may have poor creditworthiness.

Should you find any incorrect information, or if your credit score is poor in spite of always paying bills on time, contact the credit bureau immediately and request that they correct the mistake. This can generally be done online using a form on the credit bureau’s website.

When you pay a bill late, it is possible that a merchant will report the incident to a credit bureau before they receive your late payment. In this case, you may have a negative entry in your credit history for a bill that you did in fact pay. A good first step is to contact the merchant and ask them to have the entry removed. If the merchant does not do this, contact the credit bureau yourself and explain the situation, providing them with the receipt for the paid bill as proof.

It is also possible that a credit bureau will not have a profile for you at all. This can be the case if you only recently moved to Switzerland, for example. Certain service providers (like buy-now-pay-later services) may not provide their services if you do not have a profile at their partner credit bureau. If using these services is important to you, it is possible to have the relevant credit bureau create a profile by providing them with the necessary information. 

Debt collection registers versus credit scores

In Switzerland, regional debt collection offices accept and process debt collection claims from creditors. Debt collection claims against you are recorded in the debt collection register of the municipality that you live in.

Unlike credit bureaus, debt collection offices do not use a scoring system, but simply record debt collection claims. You can obtain a statement from your municipal debt collection office for a fee. If no claims have been made against you at that office, the statement will be blank. If there are claims against you, these appear on your statement. As with credit bureaus, it is possible to have incorrect entries removed.

Most Swiss landlords request debt collection statements when you apply for a home. There are other situations in which you may be required to provide a statement, such as when you apply for a personal loan, or when you apply for jobs with some Swiss employers.

You can order statements from many Swiss debt collection offices online using the Easygov service.

More on this topic:
Swiss personal loan comparison
Swiss credit card comparison
Swiss Debt Capacity Requirements Explained
How to Deal with Debt Collection in Switzerland