If you default on paying your bank or mobile loan, your name will be submitted to CRB for blacklisting. Learn how to get your CRB clearance certificate.

What is CRB?

CRB is an acronym of Credit Reference Bureau. CRB is therefore a company that is licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to collect (upon request by lenders) credit information from companies and individuals.

Credit information include Your national ID, Names, Email, Phone Number, Employment details, Bank account performance history e.t.c. They get this information from banks and mobile lenders.

When can you be Blacklisted on CRB?

CRB Blacklisting is a common term that is used to mean being listed on CRB negatively for loan default, financial fraud or forgery, or bankruptcies

NOTE: You might be listed on CRB positively or negatively. By the mere fact that your name is on CRB does not necessarily mean you have defaulted. You will only have defaulted if it is listed negatively.

Wrongly listed on CRB

If your name or ID has been negatively listed on CRB and you have never defaulted or taken a loan then somebody might have used your information to borrow a loan. If you know the company that submitted your name to CRB, contact them and launch a dispute so that your name can be cleared.

If you are not aware, contact any of the three CRB companies listed below and inquire from them on the name of the lender who submitted your name.

NOTE: As at writing this post, there were only three licensed Credit Reference Bureau companies in Kenya. We have provided their contacts and office location below.

How long does it take to be cleared to from CRB

If you pay the loan you had defaulted plus other fines, the financial institution or company for instance Branch, Okash, KCB e.t.c that submitted your name to CRB will ask their Credit Reference Bureau agency to clear your name. This might take 1 to 3 days.

NOTE 1: Clearance does mean your name being completely removed from CRB. It will only show that you don’t have any outstanding loan. That is, the status will change from negative listing to positive listing.

NOTE 2: Your previous default and credit history will still remain on CRB even after clearing your loan. Banks will still be able to see your previous loan repayment history. This information will remain on CRB for a period of five years when it will completely be removed.

CRB Clearance Certificate

A CRB clearance certificate is a legal document that is used to confirm that you are not negatively listed on CRB or you do not have a non- performing account. The clearance certificate might be required by some employers when you are seeking for employment.

It costs Kenya shilling 2,200 to get a clearance certificate. They call it processing fee not fine.

To get a CRB clearance:

1. Contact any of the CRB companies listed below
2. They will provide you with an online form to Fill
3. You will then have to pay Ksh. 2,200
4. Wait for your information to be processed
5. You will receive your clearance if you do not have any loan default. However, if you have a loan default, you will be issued with a status certificate

Contacts of Licensed Credit Reference Bureaus by CBK

Below are the three licensed credit reference bureau companies in Kenya as at 14th August 2019.

Metropol Contacts

Metropol crb contacts;

• Name: Metropol Credit Reference Bureau Limited
• Phone: (+254) 20 26 89 88 1  OR 0709 834 000  or 0709 228 000  or 0730884000
• Email: creditbureau@metropol.co.ke
• Physical Address: Barclays Plaza, 9th Floor, Loita Street, Nairobi

Creditinfo Contacts

• Name: Creditinfo Credit Reference Bureau Kenya Limited
• Phone: +254 735 880880  or +254 718 842833 or 0709593000
• E-mail: cikinfo@creditinfo.co.ke
• Physical Address: Park Suites, Parklands Road, Nairobi

Trans Union Contacts

For trans union crb contacts use;

• Name: Credit Reference Bureau Africa Limited (Trans Union)
• Phone: +254730 651 000 or +2540203751344
• Email: info@transunion.co.ke
• Physical Address: 2nd Floor Delta Annex, Ring road, Westlands,Nairobi
• SMS: 21272

Tip: It can take upto five years for your name to disappear from CRB list after paying the loan that you had defaulted. On the other hand, clearance Certificate is issued by CRB not the company that you defaulted its loan. However, you have to clear your loan with your lender first.

Photo of a sample CRB Clearance Certificate by Creditinfo and slightly modified by editor