# Overview

The Credit Scoring Service provides deep insights into a user's creditworthiness. By integrating with major credit bureaus and analyzing internal data, it helps you make informed lending decisions, set appropriate loan limits, and mitigate risk.

The service is divided into two main components:

1. **Credit Bureau**: Interface with national credit bureaus to fetch official credit reports and bureau-calculated scores.
2. **Credit Score**: Tendar's internal scoring engine that calculates loan eligibility and tracks credit history.

### How it works

***

#### 1. Credit Bureau Onboarding

Before you can determine a user's credit score or eligibility, you must ensure they are registered with the credit bureau through Tendar.

* **Check Existence**: Verify if the user already has credit bureau information on file.
* **Create Bureau User**: If the user does not exist, register them by providing their BVN and a reason for the inquiry.
* **Fetch Insights**: Once registered, you can pull a full **Credit Report** or a specific **Credit Score** from the bureau.

#### 2. Eligibility & Scoring

After a user is onboarded with the bureau, you can use the Credit Score endpoints to:

* **Check Eligibility**: Determine if a user qualifies for a specific loan amount in a particular currency.
* **Fetch Scores**: Get the current credit score, loan limit, and available balance for one or more users.
* **Track History**: Review how a user's credit score has evolved over time.

```
Check User (Bureau) ──▶ Create User (if needed) ──▶ Credit Report/Score
                                          │
                                          ▼
                                Eligibility Check ──▶ Loan Approval
```

### Base URL

***

All Credit Scoring Service endpoints are served under:

Production:

```bash
https://api.tendar.co/credit-score
```

Sandbox

```bash
https://tendar-credit-score-api-staging.fly.dev
```

### Core Concepts

***

#### Credit Bureau

An external entity that maintains records of individual credit histories. Tendar currently integrates with providers like **FirstCentral** to provide real-time bureau data.

#### Credit Report

A comprehensive document containing personal details, credit account summaries, deliquency history, and payment patterns over the last 24 months.

#### Loan Eligibility

A real-time check that evaluates a user's current standing against a requested loan amount. This is the primary gatekeeper for loan applications.

#### Credit Score History

A chronological record of a user's score changes, including their "base score" (initial assessment) and adjustments based on repayment behavior.

### Next Steps

***

| Guide                                                                                   | What you will learn                                 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| [Credit Bureau](https://docs.tendar.co/documentation/credit-scoring/interactive-blocks) | Onboard users and fetch official bureau reports.    |
| [Credit Score](https://docs.tendar.co/documentation/credit-scoring/images-and-media)    | Check loan eligibility and manage internal scoring. |