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by SomeStupidPoint 3195 days ago
We could have each bank (and so on) store the information you give them and allow requesting people to pull from every agency.

That really just creates a lot of little credit bureaus, which fixes the centralization issue at least.
2 comments
narak 3195 days ago
This seems like a legitimate use-case for permissioned ledgers where various lenders have necessarily siloed lending history data but also have an interest in seeing what data everyone else has for prospective lendees.

In the longer run, you can imagine not just credit history data being exchanged (with the permission of the borrower perhaps) but also the ability to trade the loan products themselves, most of which is done OTC right now. Fixed income contracts can be described as "smart contracts" [1]

[1] https://lexifi.com/files/resources/MLFiPaper.pdf

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bastawhiz 3194 days ago
That doesn't really fix any security issues, though, it just makes it easier to express who should have permission to access your data. Any system is still vulnerable with, say, a server configured with the credentials admin:admin.
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function_seven 3195 days ago
But would that allow me to conveniently omit any negative info from future credit applications? The banks would quickly start sharing this info with one another and become de facto CRAs themselves.
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gwbas1c 3195 days ago
I'm sure blockchain will magically solve that problem!

(If you're not laughing then you need to admit you have a problem)

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tylersmith 3195 days ago
I don't understand why they're proposed as a solution to this type of problem at all. I'm a big fan of blockchains, I work for a company/project completely reliant on them, but I don't get where people think they'll be useful for things like credit monitor and health care records. It makes no sense to me.
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Cerium 3195 days ago
Just to play devil's advocate, since I don't think they are a good solution either. Unlike healthcare I think you could use some of the properties of a blockchain to help reduce the risk of leaking personal information during credit checks. For example: you could prove your identity by making a transaction and then show a timely series of past payments.
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badosu 3194 days ago
> If you're not laughing then you need to admit you have a problem)

Recognizing the most repeated joke on HN?

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