Schufa adapts old scores for assessing creditworthiness to new data protection regulations

The credit agency Schufa is adapting its old Schufa scores to assess creditworthiness to new data protection regulations. “From November 20th, stricter legal requirements for credit scores and new rules for consumer credit will apply to credit agencies,” explained the company. This will now be implemented for the old scores.

Schufa evaluates the creditworthiness of individual consumers based on collected data. Based on this, companies can estimate the likelihood of someone paying their bills. Banks, credit brokers, online retailers and, for example, energy suppliers use it. Anyone whose credit rating is rated as poor by Schufa usually has great difficulty concluding a cell phone or rental contract.

In March, Schufa presented its new Schufa score, which promises more transparency about how consumers' ratings are achieved and, according to the company, "goes beyond legal requirements." At the same time, the credit agency maintains additional scores for specific industries or individual customers. The auction agency assured that these should expire by the end of 2028 at the latest. In the future, the new score will then become “Schufa’s central credit score.”

Until then, the other scores must also be adjusted. For example, scores transmitted to companies in the past twelve months, the data included, the criteria with the greatest weight and a measure of the forecast quality must be shown. “For scores that will be calculated upon request from companies from November 20, 2026, the free data copy will contain additional information,” explained the credit agency. From the first quarter of 2027, explanations of the old scores would also be provided digitally.

Schufa has now also announced that it is offering new information specifically for so-called “Buy Now, Pay Later” offers. The company is reacting to new rules for smaller loans, which will also come into force on November 20th. Then, among other things, many small loans and “Buy Now, Pay Later” offers can only be granted after checking your creditworthiness. With the new information, Schufa “supports companies in meeting the new requirements in accordance with the law,” the company explained.

According to Schufa, the creditworthiness inquiries are not initially included in the consumer's Schufa score. If there is sufficient data, it will be checked whether and in what form newly reported “Buy Now, Pay Later” and small loans “can be included in the score calculation in the future,” the company explained.

Schufa has dealt with its involvement in National Socialism. They're unusual. The Jewish founder and managing director, Kurt Meyer, was able to stay in office under the Nazis for years.