News

Vinod Patel Takes The Lead In Credit Reporting

The Credit Information Reporting Agency Pte Limited (CIRA) is happy to announce that Vinod Patel & Company Pte Limited (VPCL) through its Consumer Finance operations, is the first company in Fiji to load its credit information with CIRA. VPCL was also the first company to register with the Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) under the Fair Reporting of Credit Act 2016 as a Credit Information Provider and Credit Information Recipient.

The credit infoArmation uploading exercise has been possible following a comprehensive briefing with relevant executives and a training program conducted for staff, by CIRA. Uploading of the first credit information records was completed over two days.

The Chairperson of CIRA, Mr Winston Penjueli in making the announcement stated, "We welcome Vinod Patel. We are delighted to have them on board and we're looking forward to working closely with their staff as they familiarize themselves with the WIN system in a live environment. We are confident that they will find CIRA's services very useful."

The CEO of VPCL, Mr Rahul Amin said that the idea of credit information sharing through CIRA was welcomed by the Directors and Executives of the company, as it provides the right balance between the company's Enterprise Risk Management priorities, business growth and customer satisfaction. Mr Amin added that, "these priorities clash at times but having a platform such as CIRA allows us to appropriately manage such cases. We understand the reservations that companies may have and we would gladly share our experience with the aim of increasing CIRA membership."

Mr Amin acknowledged the great effort, enthusiasm and commitment by the Company's Consumer Finance Team, ably led by their General Manager, Mr Vikram Jain. "Vikram has been a pivotal part of this process; asking the right questions particularly from a risk management perspective."

Mr Amin added that VPCL is confident that the sharing/accessing of credit information will enhance the ease of doing business, financial inclusion and reduce the risk premium charged given the current information asymmetry in the market.

"For VPCL, we recognize that this is a win-win initiative for the private sector and consumers,and this benefit is optimized with more membership."

VPCL is also exploring the avenue of live sharing which will further enhance their membership with CIRA and be of great benefit to their customers as information on CIRA will be updated simultaneously when they make a payment at any of Vinod Patel's 11 Home & Living branches.

The spokesperson for CIRA, Chief Operating Officer Mr Terence Elaisa shared that the CIRA team is working with lenders who have completed the registration process with the RBF. Currently, there are seven organizations who have completed registration and they looked forward to more organizations joining.

CIRA’s services are not limited to banks and consumer finance companies. Any organization which provides services and uses billing credit payment terms may also consider using CIRA's services.

Organizations interested in using CIRA's services need to first contact the RBF and complete the required registration process confirming if they will be credit information providers and/or credit report recipients. This will determine their membership type with CIRA.

For individuals who may wish to check their own credit reports, they may do so by contacting CIRA directly. Individuals will need to pass an identification check before a search may be conducted.

CIRA is confident its services will positively impact Fiji's ease of doing business reforms and in the long term, effectively support economic and financial stability.

For further information, contact the Chief Operating Officer, Mr Terence Elaisa on ph: 3300377 Shortcode: 9888, email: terence@cira.com.fj

About CIRA

The Credit Information Reporting Agency (CIRA) [pronounced key'ra] was established in2018 after having obtained a licence to operate a credit information reporting agency from the Reserve Bank of Fiji. CIRA is 100% locally owned with a local board.

CIRA's key function is the collection of credit information or data pertaining to a person or accompany, association or body of persons, corporate or unincorporated, from credit information providers, its compilation and provision of this same information via credit reports. CIRA is operating in a regulated environment governed by the Fair Reporting of Credit Act 2016 and its accompanying Fair Reporting of Credit Regulations 2016, which means positive outcomes for all, in terms of responsibility and accountability of the accuracy and timeliness of information.

After completing extensive research on the key stakeholders of the credit environment and their needs and objectives, CIRA designed and developed a dynamic data platform application called "WIN".

CIRA currently has six staff and is located at Shop 5, Level 1 Epworth House in Suva.

For more information contact:

The Chief Operations Officer
Mr Terence Elaisa
Credit Information Reporting Agency PTE Limited
P O Box 18300
Suva, Fiji Islands

Mobile: 865 1964
Office: 330 0377
Office: 9888 (Vodafone & Inkk only)