What lenders check: credit record, ZEK and Betreibung

Switzerland has no single credit score set by law. Before a lender grants a personal loan, it checks your budget and looks you up in the IKO, the information office for consumer credit that the law requires. It can also look at the ZEK, a credit database shared by its members in the financial services sector, and ask for your extract from the Betreibung (debt collection) register. Private credit agencies also keep data on people and calculate their own scores. You can see each of these records yourself, and the IKO and ZEK extracts are free.

Is there a credit score in Switzerland?

Not one official score. The Consumer Credit Act (KKG, in French and Italian LCC) does not create a score. It sets a check instead: before a consumer credit contract is signed, the lender must check that you can afford it (KKG Art. 27a). The purpose, in the words of the Act, is to prevent you from becoming over-indebted because of the credit (KKG Art. 22).

What does exist are scores from private credit agencies (Wirtschaftsauskunfteien). These are private companies that collect data on people and businesses and sell creditworthiness ratings, as a rule for a fee. A report by the Federal Council describes how they work: according to the study it relied on, all of them calculate a score, mainly from the payment experiences they have recorded. The report leaves the ZEK and the IKO out of that group and treats them separately.

Under the Federal Act on Data Protection, you can ask any company whether it processes data about you and what that data is (Art. 25). The answer must be free, with some exceptions, and is in general given within 30 days.

The four records at a glance

Within the law, each lender decides which entries it accepts.

The check the law requires

For a credit under the Consumer Credit Act, the lender’s check follows set rules (KKG Art. 28):

• The test. You count as creditworthy if you can repay the credit without using the part of your income that cannot be seized. That protected part is your minimum for living, as the debt collection law defines it (SchKG Art. 93).
• Your canton’s rules. The lender works out that minimum from the guidelines of the canton where you live.
• What it must count. The rent you actually pay, your taxes as set by the withholding tax tables, and the credits already reported to the IKO.
• 36 months. The lender must assume the credit is paid off within 36 months, even if your contract runs longer. The same applies to credits you are still repaying.

The lender may rely on what you tell it about your finances. It may also ask for your debt collection extract and proof of your salary, or other proof of income if you are not employed. It cannot rely on information that is plainly wrong or contradicts the IKO, and if it doubts what you say, it must check it against official or private documents (KKG Art. 31).

Your contract must state the seizable part of your income that the check was based on (KKG Art. 9). The rules carry real penalties: a lender that seriously breaks them loses the whole amount it lent, with interest and costs, and a minor breach costs it the interest and costs (KKG Art. 32).

These rules apply to the credits the Act covers, which include loans of CHF 500 to CHF 80’000 to private people for private purposes (KKG Art. 7).

The IKO

The IKO (Informationsstelle für Konsumkredit, the information office for consumer credit) exists because the Consumer Credit Act requires it. Lenders must report every consumer credit they grant to it, and arrears of at least 10 % of the net amount of a credit (KKG Art. 25). Leasing contracts and card balances are reported under their own rules (KKG Art. 26 and 27).

Before granting a consumer credit, a lender must ask the IKO about you, and again when a credit is renewed or replaced. The IKO stores running contracts only: when a contract ends, it is deleted within 14 days of being deregistered. Only lenders working under the Act can query it, and only for the credit check.

The ZEK

The ZEK (Zentralstelle für Kreditinformation, the central office for credit information) is a non-profit association founded in 1968. Only its authorised members from the financial services sector can query it. It records:

• your name, date of birth and address
• requests for credit, and the contracts that follow
• credits, leasing contracts and cards, including card blocks
• official information, such as bankruptcies

It holds both positive and negative information. If you pay as agreed, the ZEK shows that, and the entry counts in your favour. Members must tell you, and ask for your consent, before they report you to the ZEK or look you up.

How long an entry stays depends on its type. For example, a credit request that was turned down stays 2 years, unless the reason was not about you. A contract that has ended stays 3 years from the date of its rating, or 5 years if it ended in a partial or total loss.

Our guide ZEK and IKO explained has the full detail, including how to order both extracts and how to correct a wrong entry.

The Betreibung register

A Betreibung (debt collection) is how a creditor in Switzerland uses the state to collect a debt. Your name goes into the register as soon as the creditor files a request with the debt collection office, before anyone has decided whether you owe the money.

What the extract shows. The Betreibungen opened against you in the past 5 years, and certificates of loss (Verlustscheine), which stay on the extract until they are deleted or time-barred.

One district at a time. Each office covers its own district. For a full picture, order an extract from each district you lived in during the past 5 years.

How to order it. Online, by post or at the counter of the office, with a copy of an official ID. A standard extract costs CHF 17, or CHF 18 if it is sent to you (GebV SchKG Art. 12a).

Who can see it. You can always order your own. Someone else can order yours without telling you if they can show a real interest, for example a written offer to lend you money (SchKG Art. 8a). A lender can also ask you to bring it (KKG Art. 31).

How entries go. An entry is deleted automatically 5 years after the procedure ends. Paying the debt does not remove it by itself. If you paid, ask the creditor to withdraw the Betreibung: once withdrawn, the office no longer shows it to others. The office also corrects entries that are wrong, on its own or at your request (SchKG Art. 8).

For the full detail, read Getting a loan with a Betreibung and Ordering a debt collection extract.

Your budget

The records show what you already owe. The budget shows whether a new payment fits. A lender works it out under the rules above, but you can do the same check first: list your income, then your rent, health insurance, taxes, the credits and leasing you already pay, and what you need to live. What is left is the most a monthly payment could take; leave room for costs you did not plan for.

For more, read How much can I borrow. The loan calculator shows the monthly payment for an amount and a term.

What Swizeo checks

When you apply, and only with your consent, we check with credit offices and we check whether the monthly payment fits your budget.

A person on our credit team makes the decision. If the answer is no, we tell you why, as far as the rules allow, and what you can do next.

Our rules on entries:

Our loan calculator needs no name or ID, only an amount and a term.

If you have an entry

An entry is one part of the picture. The law also asks whether a new payment fits your budget today.

1. See what is recorded. Order your IKO and ZEK extracts and your debt collection extract before you apply anywhere, so you know what a lender will see.
2. Correct what is wrong. For a ZEK or IKO entry, contact the member that reported it; your extract names it. For a Betreibung, the debt collection office corrects a faulty entry at your request.
3. Close what you have paid. For a Betreibung you have paid, ask the creditor to withdraw it, then check your next extract.
4. Be open with the lender. Explain what happened and what has changed since.
5. Ask before you reapply. If you were turned down, ask the lender why and when it makes sense to try again. Our guide Loan rejected: what now covers this.

The ZEK and the IKO do not delete a correct entry early. It stays until its period ends.

Offers that promise no credit check

Some offers promise a loan «without a credit check», «without ZEK» or «despite Betreibung». For a consumer credit under the Act, a lender must check your creditworthiness before you sign and must query the IKO, so a genuine lender cannot make that promise. And if a broker arranges a consumer credit for you, you owe the broker nothing for it (KKG Art. 35).

Read Loans «without a credit check»: what’s true and Spotting loan scams before you answer such an offer.

If money is already tight

If you have open Betreibungen, or bills are already hard to pay, a new loan adds one more payment. It can make things harder. Debt advice can look at all your options with you, including ones that are not a loan.

Schuldenberatung Schweiz, the umbrella association of the non-profit debt advice services, lists them by region on schulden.ch and runs a free advice line, 0800 708 708, Monday to Thursday from 10:00 to 13:00. Our guide Debt help in Switzerland explains the options.

Questions about credit checks in Switzerland

Does applying for a loan leave a trace? At the ZEK, yes, if the lender is a member. Members report credit requests, not only contracts. An open request stays until its «valid until» date. A request that was turned down stays 2 years, unless the reason was not about you.

Does a paid Betreibung still show? Yes, unless the creditor withdraws it. Paying does not remove it by itself. It drops off the extract 5 years after the procedure ends.

Can a lender see my debt collection extract without asking me? It can order one if it shows a real interest, for example a written loan offer. It can also ask you to bring it (KKG Art. 31).

How long does a ZEK or IKO extract take? Both offices usually prepare it on the day your order arrives and send it by letter post.

I am new to Switzerland. Do I have a record? Possibly not. The IKO only holds entries for people who have had a consumer credit under Swiss law, and the ZEK holds what its members report. Read Loans with a residence permit (B, C, L).

Will Swizeo lend to me if I have a ZEK entry?

Next step

See what we ask for, and why, before you apply: our requirements are on the personal loan page.