Credit history or credit report is a record of a person's past borrowing and payment history. The reports include information about late payments and bankruptcy. The terms "credit reputation", "credit history", "credit report", and "credit score" are all synonymous with each other.

In America when a customer completes an application for credit from a bank or credit card company, their information is automatically forwarded to the credit bureaus. The credit bureau matches the name, address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information stored in its files.

This information is used by lenders such as banks to determine an individual's credit worthiness. It's a helpful indicator for determining a person's willingness to repay a debt. The willingness to repay a debt is indicated by how timely past payments have been made to other lenders and how many late payments. Banks and other companies like to see consumer debt paid on a monthly basis.

The other factor in determining whether a lender will provide a loan is dependent on income. The higher the income the more credit a person can access. However, lenders make decisions on both the ability to repay a debt and willingness, based on past payment history.

These factors help lenders make decisions on how much to loan and what interests rates to apply. Risk-based pricing applies to almost all lending in the financial services industry. As a result, the credit report is very important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the interest rate, grace period, and other obligations of the loan.