What are the technical requirements for CreditAPI?
What’s the typical response time?
What’s the availability of CreditAPI?
What data formats are supported?

What method of communication does CreditAPI support?
What is the recommended data format?
Should we store credit data in our system?
Should we enable additional security measures supported by CreditAPI?

Q: What is the business prerequisite for using CreditAPI?
A: CreditAPI is designed for companies that have permissible purpose to access consumer credit reports from the 3 credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion. End-users of CreditAPI will need to be existing subscriber of or vetted by the three bureaus or a credit reseller to retrieve credit reports.

Q: What do I need to get setup with CreditAPI?
A: To get setup with CreditAPI, please contact MeridianLink and ask to speak with a CreditAPI representative. The CreditAPI representative will gather your requirements and provide the contract to initiate the setup process. Once the contract is executed, CreditAPI will be setup with your specific requirements.

Q: How long does it take to get setup with CreditAPI?
A: Setup of CreditAPI typically takes about 1 to 5 business days depending on the requirements. Setup doesn't start until the paperwork is completed and the end-user has subscriber code with the bureaus. 3rd party integration with CreditAPI will depends on the integrator's technical experience and familiarity of credit data. Given the experience, it would take less than a day to integrate with CreditAPI.

Q: What are the technical requirements for CreditAPI?
A: CreditAPI is a web based interface that is compatible with any client-side environment. The only technical requirement is the ability to post requests via HTTPS with 128-bit SSL encryption.

Q: What’s the typical response time?
A: 2 to 3 seconds for 1 bureau credit report. 11 seconds for a 3 bureaus merge credit report.

Q: What’s the availability of CreditAPI?
A: CreditAPI is available 24/7

Q: What data formats are supported?
A: CreditAPI supports the following common format: HTML, MISMO, PDF, TEXT, XML, X12.

Q: What method of communication does CreditAPI support?
A: CreditAPI supports both asynchronous and synchronous communication via HTTPS post. We recommend asynchronous communication as it doesn't tie up your system's resources.

Q: What is the recommended data format?
A: This depends on your business needs. Most CreditAPI users go with XML for machine readable and PDF for human readable.

Q: Should we enable additional security measures supported by CreditAPI?
A: Yes. CreditAPI also supports IP restriction to limit your credential from being used at a different location. This is invaluable to protect access to your account in the event that your credential is compromised and is being used elsewhere.

Q: Should we store credit data in our system?
A: It is recommended that you do not store credit reports in your system to minimize liability in the event of a security breach. CreditAPI offers the ability to retrieve previously ordered credit reports using a reference number. This, in conjunction with the IP restriction feature, allows you to save disk space and minimize damages if your servers were compromised or stolen.

Q: Does CreditAPI supports credit card payments?
A: Yes. We recommend that such feature be handled by the system that is ordering the credit report. In the event that is not possible, CreditAPI can be setup to process the credit card that is attached to the credit order request. This is a useful feature if you want to pass the costs of the credit report to the end-user.

Q: How flexible is CreditAPI in terms of configuring the look and feel of the credit report?
A: End-users have the ability to fully customize and generate their own credit report based on the XML data provided. As a more practical alternative, CreditAPI provides over 30 predefined customizable templates that could be used to structure the order and grouping of data that are shown on the credit reports.

Q: Are there fraud detection products that can be ordered along with the credit report?
A: Yes. Each bureau has its own add-on product that scan for discrepancies with the inputted data. For example, SSNs are checked to make sure it doesn't belong to a deceased person and that it matches with what the bureaus have in their database.

Q: Are FICO scores accessible via CreditAPI?
A: Yes, FICO scores can be ordered from the bureaus. FICO scores are generally only available for credit granting purpose.