This guide is for individuals going through a Persona-powered identity verification flow. While we’ve included helpful tips, the verification was set up by the business, service, or organization that asked you to verify. They use Persona as a tool, and they ultimately decide what’s required and can assist with your specific situation, if you’re having trouble.
What a credit header check is
A credit header check helps a business confirm your identity by comparing the details you provide with identity information held by a credit bureau. It does not assess your creditworthiness, and it does not access or affect your credit score.
A credit header check does not affect your credit score. Depending on the country and data provider, it may leave an entry on your credit file showing that an identity search took place.
This article covers credit header checks used for identity verification. It does not cover separate checks a business might run when you apply for a loan, a credit card, or another credit product.
What is in a credit file
A credit bureau holds different types of information about you. Some of it identifies you, and some of it describes your borrowing and repayment history. The identifying part is often called the credit header. Think of it as the details at the front of the file, not the borrowing information inside it.
| Part of the credit file | What it can include | Used by a credit header check? |
|---|---|---|
| Credit header: identifying information | Name, date of birth, current and previous addresses, and an identification number where applicable | Yes. These are the details compared with the ones you provide |
| Credit history: borrowing information | Credit accounts and loans, outstanding balances, repayment history, and missed payments | No |
| Credit score | Your credit score | No. The check does not access it or change it |
What a credit header contains depends on the country and the records available.
Is this the same as a credit check for a loan?
No. The two answer different questions.
| Credit header check | Credit check for a loan or credit product | |
|---|---|---|
| The question it helps answer | Do these identity details match an existing record? | Can this person repay a loan? |
| What it is for | Helping confirm your identity | Assessing creditworthiness |
| What it looks at | Your identifying details only, not your credit score, loan balances, or repayment history | A separate process, which the business running it should explain |
If a business also needs to check your creditworthiness, that is a different process from identity verification.
Does it affect my credit score?
No. A credit header check does not affect your credit score.
Depending on the country and data provider, the check may leave an entry on your credit file showing that an identity search took place. It may be described as an identity search, an access note, or a soft search. An entry like this does not, by itself, mean that someone applied for credit in your name or that your credit score changed.
Why Persona or another company appears on my credit file
The business you are using may work with Persona to verify your identity, and Persona may work with a data partner to compare your details with identity records held by a credit bureau. Depending on how the search is recorded, your credit file may show Persona, a data partner, or another name associated with the check.
An entry from an identity check is not an application for credit. If you do not recognize an entry, contact the business associated with the check and the credit bureau showing it. To learn more, see How Persona identity verification works.
Why a business checks your identity
Businesses can check your identity to:
- help prevent someone from using your details to impersonate you
- protect access to your account
- meet legal or regulatory requirements
For financial institutions, identity verification can be part of Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements. A credit header check may be one part of that process, alongside other verification methods. These checks help businesses confirm identity, but no single check can prevent every instance of fraud.
Read more about why you may be asked to verify your identity and how verification can help protect you.
What the business receives
For a standard identity-matching check, the business receives results showing whether the details you provided match the available records: a match, a partial match, or no match. It does not receive your full credit report or the underlying credit header record.
Some businesses use separate identity information services that can provide additional details, such as address history, where permitted. Those services are different from a standard matching check, and they do not mean the business receives your credit score or borrowing history.
To find out which services were used and what information was received, contact the business that asked you to verify.
Did I authorize this check?
The business requesting the check is responsible for explaining how your information will be used and for obtaining any authorization required. You may find that explanation:
- in the verification steps you completed
- in a consent or authorization notice
- in the business’s privacy notice
The business generally decides why and how your information is processed, and privacy notices may call this role the data controller. Persona provides identity verification services on the business’s behalf.
If you are unsure why a check happened or whether you authorized it, contact the business that asked you to verify. This article cannot establish whether you authorized a particular check.
Can I verify my identity another way?
Possibly. The business that asked you to verify decides which methods it accepts, based on the service it provides and its compliance requirements. Depending on the business, alternatives can include submitting an identity document or having your information reviewed by a person. An alternative is not guaranteed, so ask the business what is available.
If you have never had credit or are new to the country
A credit bureau may have little or no information about you if you have never had credit or recently arrived in the country, so the check may not find enough to confirm your identity. That does not necessarily mean your details are incorrect or that you did anything wrong.
The business that asked you to verify decides whether another method can meet its requirements. Contact it to discuss your options.
If your details do not match
Records can be incomplete or out of date, and a recent move, a name change, or a difference in how your details are written can affect the result. Check that you entered your full legal name, your date of birth in the correct format, the address the screen asked for, and any identification number or postal code without typos.
If your details are correct and the check still does not match them, contact the business that asked you to verify rather than submitting the same information again. For more help, see The screen says my details could not be confirmed.
How to correct inaccurate identity information
The credit bureau maintains the identity information in its records. Persona does not update those records or send corrections back to the bureau through the verification check.
If you believe a record is inaccurate, contact the relevant credit bureau to learn how to review and correct it. If you do not know which bureau was involved, ask the business that asked you to verify.
If you never started a verification
An unfamiliar check does not necessarily mean identity theft has occurred, but it is worth looking into.
- Contact the business associated with the check. Find its contact details on its official website or app, rather than following links in an unexpected message.
- Explain that you did not start the verification, and ask the business to review the activity.
- Contact the credit bureau if needed. If you suspect identity theft, ask about the protections available in your country, such as a fraud alert or a credit freeze.
The business can review its verification records and coordinate with Persona where needed. Because Persona processes those records on the business’s behalf, the business is the starting point for questions about that activity. See also I did not ask to be verified.
Who stores my information, and can I ask for it to be deleted?
Separate records are involved, held by different parties.
| Who holds the information | What to contact them about |
|---|---|
| The credit bureau | Reviewing or correcting the underlying credit file, and asking about available protections |
| The business that asked you to verify | What was collected during verification, how it is used, how long it is kept, and whether it can be deleted |
| Persona, on the business’s behalf | Persona processes and stores verification information for the business, and handles it according to the business’s instructions and applicable requirements. Start with the business for a request about that verification |
Some information may need to be kept to meet legal or regulatory requirements. Deleting verification information does not delete the underlying credit bureau record, and a credit freeze is not the same as deletion.
For more, see Can I delete my data?, including guidance for situations where Persona holds information directly.
Who to contact
| If your question is about | Contact |
|---|---|
| Why you were checked, authorization, verification results, or other ways to verify | The business that asked you to verify |
| Inaccurate information, or an unfamiliar entry on your credit file | The relevant credit bureau |
| Deleting verification information | The business that asked you to verify, first |
The business that asked you to verify has the context for your verification and can coordinate with Persona when needed.