1. ​Industry Reporting Standards - ​Clarified which accounts must be reported a minimum of once per month

​An industry standard for reporting consumer accounts will ensure the integrity and consistency of the credit information being reported. 

• All accounts with Account Status Codes 11, 71, 78, 80, 82-84, 88-89 and 93-97 must be reported a minimum of once per month. 
• A final Account Status Code must be reported when the accounts are ultimately paid or closed with a zero balance. 
• If reporting by cycles, all accounts must be reported at the close of each cycle. 
• When reporting delinquent accounts, the “Industry Standard for Reporting Account Delinquency” must be followed. 

2. ​Quick Reference Guides to Industry Standards - Added new reporting standards for Residential Rental Companies.​

While all applicable fields within the Metro 2® Format should be reported, these guidelines provide specific values that apply to reporters of Residential Rental accounts. Refer to the Residential Rental Reporting module for additional details. 

• Portfolio Type - O (Open)
• Account Type - 29
• Date Opened - Lease start date Note: If the lease start date is unavailable, report the date the renter/lessee takes possession of the property. 
• Credit Limit - Blank or Zero
• Highest Credit/Original Loan Amount - Monthly rental obligation amount; i.e., amount of rent due each month.
• Terms Duration - Program default of 001. You will not manually enter or import this value.
•  Scheduled Monthly Payment Amount - Amount of the scheduled monthly payment due for the current reporting period, which should include the monthly rental obligation amount, and utilities and other fees, if included in the rental agreement  
• Account Status - 11, 13, 62, 64, 71, 78, 80, 82 – 84, 93, 97, DA, DF
• Special Comment - Report when applicable

Some reporting standards for Point of Sale (POS) accounts have been updated under the Quick Reference Guide as of May 2022. You can reveiw this update at M2R Quick Ref POS

Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion have announced significant changes to how medical debt sent to collections will appear on consumers’ credit reports. The action will remove close to 70% of medical collection debt reporting tradelines from credit reports. 

The following join statement was made by the companies’ CEOs:
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“Medical collections debt often arises from unforeseen medical circumstances. These changes are another step we’re taking together to help people across the United States focus on their financial and personal wellbeing,” said Mark W. Begor, CEO Equifax; Brian Cassin, CEO Experian; and Chris Cartwright, CEO TransUnion. “As an industry we remain committed to helping drive fair and affordable access to credit for all consumers.”
Read the full announcement here, click here.

A tradeline is a term used by credit reporting agencies to describe credit accounts listed on a credit report. For each account reported by a business there is a separate tradeline. Each tradeline includes information about the creditor and their debt.

There are two main types of tradelines. Revolving tradelines like credit cards and lines of credit and installment tradelines or loans like mortgages, auto loans, student loans or personal loans.

Along with debt information each tradeline can include information such as;

• Lender's information
• Account type
• Account Number
• Status of account, i.e. Current, Past Due, Paid Off, etc.
• Opened Date
• Closed Date, if applicable
• Most recent activity
• Balance
• Loan original amount or  credit limit
• Scheduled payment and recent payment amount
• History of payments

This information allows other lenders and consumers to view all the relevant information about an individuals credit history in one place. 

This information is primarily used to calculate credit scores. A credit score is just one aspect of a potential customers creditworthiness. Lenders may also want to check the tradelines on an individuals credit report to get more information.

Checking on specific information on a tradeline can give a lender detailed information. For example, a lender might check to find out the length of time an account has been delinquent. They could also check if  credit scores have dipped because of a high utilization rate  which can help determine whether a potential customers is a credit risk by checking the balance versus the credit limit.

In order to report tradeline data to the credit bureaus you will need a data furnisher agreement with the credit bureau(s) you wish to report to. You will also need Metro 2® reporting software which is up-to-date with the Credit Reporting Resource Guide®, meets all credit reporting laws and regulations and is capable of accurately producing the Metro 2® format layout such as our M2R program.

Backing up your data in M2R is an important task that you should be doing on a regular basis.

Backing up your data in M2R allows you to restore your data in the event of data loss due to file corruption, hard drive issue, human error, etc.

M2R has an easy backup tool that allows you to back up all your important data in a few easy steps. Check out our tutorial here and set up your routine today.

“This study highlights the value credit reports offer to consumers and the entire economy,” said CDIA President and CEO Francis Creighton.  “It’s never been more important than right now to better understand how our credit reporting system empowers consumers to fairly engage in the economy. Our study takes a hard-look at how our most vulnerable populations can build credit and gain financial inclusivity. This is critical, fact-based information that policy makers, academics, non-profits and others can use when examining how to address important challenges facing America.”
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It is important to share this information at a time when our economy faces unprecedented challenges. Many people are looking for answers to close the gap of inequality and improve financial inclusion. The benefits of the credit reporting system will be evident more than ever during the current economic recovery.

Read Full Release

According to a recent article from CDIA lack of rental payment information being reported to consumer reporting agencies, or not scored by lenders, or both is severely effecting renters access to the financial mainstream.

According to the CDIA article Next Mortgage News highlights this point in a recent story from Laurie Goodman.  In this story Goodman says, “I think it’s a big omission that the version of credit scores that are used for mortgage origination includes no rental payment history.”  The story points out the new versions of credit score models do try to incorporate rent payment history when it is available. But it is missing most of the time, as landlords don’t have to report this data and the credit bureaus don’t have access to a consumer’s bank account data, which would include rent payments.

Is your tenant rental company trying to fill this gap? M2 Reporter can help you with your Rental Reporting needs with our M2R or M2 Rental 1 programs. Have questions? Contact us today.

M2R can now process your tenant leasing accounts creating the Rental 1 format® for TransUnion. Just like our existing M2R software you will find user friendly data entry features and up-to-date codes, rules and formatting based on the latest reporting laws and regulations according to the TransUnion Rental 1 format®. 

Features and Benefits

• Adheres to guidelines based on the Rental 1 format from TransUnion
• Compliance checks built into the software to help ensure accurate reporting
• No account or data size restrictions
• Dependable and user friendly. We think M2R Rental 1 Reporter is the best software option available for tenant reporting
• We've taken all the guess work out. There is no special training or programming required
• Unlimited live technical support, on-line tutorials and help manual
• Import features for importing your tenants account information
• Network license available for multi-user access
• No additional fees for updates or upgrades
• Multiple company options available
• Backup and restore tools

Interested in more information? Check out our Features and Products pages.