Bank of Botswana issues credit bureau licences to Transunion, Micro-Finance Credit Bureau and Credbase

The Bank of Botswana has issued credit bureau licences under the Credit Information Act, 2021 to Transunion Proprietary Limited, Micro-Finance Credit Bureau Proprietary Limited and Credbase Credit Bureau for credit information sharing, enabling the public to obtain credit bureau-related services from these entities. The licences authorise the bureaux to obtain and receive consumer information; process, store, update, manage and disseminate data subject information; compile and maintain files for generating credit reports; develop a credit rating system; publish information about their activities; conduct market and statistical research; and undertake other prescribed activities. Licensed credit bureaux must comply with the Credit Information Act, 2021 and the Data Protection Act, 2024, including implementing appropriate technical and organisational measures to safeguard data and protect data subject rights, and the Bank will work with the Office of the Information and Data Protection Commissioner on privacy-conscious credit reporting. Data providers are legally required to submit credit data to licensed credit bureaux, while operating credit bureau services without a Bank-issued licence is a criminal offence; individuals also have rights to access and correct their credit information and to object to certain processing, with complaints directed to the relevant bureau or the Information and Data Protection Commissioner.