You can’t live a modern financial life without credit. Having access to “credit” is your ability to obtain goods and services before you pay for them, based on the trust that you will make payment in the future. You may not realize that you have probably used credit many times in your life. For example, you accessed credit when you:

• took a mortgage to buy a house.
• obtained a loan to buy a car.
• used a credit card to make a payment.
• used premium financing to buy life insurance.
• used share financing to buy stocks or unit trusts.
• run a business, and you are the guarantor for the security bond issued to your company.

And yet, credit is often misunderstood. Many people often take credit for granted until the day arrives when they can’t get the credit they need. Credit Bureau (Singapore) Pte Ltd (CBS) is Singapore’s most comprehensive...