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Availability of credit to individuals and businesses is one of the determinants of growth in any economy and what types of businesses develop. Credit provides the purchasing power to buy now and pay later based on future earnings. Buying now on credit, rather than waiting until one has saved all the money needed to invest, creates immediate effective demand in any market. This demand creates employment opportunities which offer more people the opportunity to buy now and pay later, thus creating even more jobs. Access to credit is challenging where there is perceived high credit risk when lending to the private sector whether dealing with individuals or small and medium sized enterprises. This book reviews literature from a number of countries in the world on the effect of credit reference services on access to credit and interest rates. Furthermore, as a basis for justifying the creation of credit reference services to mitigate credit default in the financial sector, this book presents evidence from the developing world using Zambia as a case study. Financial services professionals, scholars and anyone who wishes to know how reference services work will find the book useful.
