Frequently Asked Questions

SBFE is a trade association for small business credit lenders and a commercial data repository. SBFE is not a commercial credit reporting agency and does not build or offer credit reports, scores, or models.

If your commercial lender is an SBFE member, the lender reports your business’s payment history directly to SBFE. SBFE then provides this information to SBFE’s partners (bluCognition, D&B, Experian, Equifax, and LexisNexis Risk Solutions).  SBFE’s partners combine your SBFE-reported payment data with additional sources, such as public records, Secretary of State filings, and trade accounts receivable information, to generate risk management solutions such as credit reports and scores.

The payment history reported by SBFE members appears only in certain credit risk products offered by SBFE’s partners (bluCognition, D&B, Experian, Equifax, and LexisNexis Risk Solutions). Each commercial credit reporting agency provides multiple report types and scoring models, and not all of them use SBFE data.  Lenders choose which specific products to purchase, so the presence of SBFE data in any given report depends on the product each lender selects.

The commercial lenders that contribute data to SBFE report borrower/guarantor information and account information including payment history tied to extensions of credit (such as commercial term loans, lines of credit, leases, and credit cards).

No.  Small businesses are not permitted to join SBFE or report their payment history directly to SBFE.

For questions about your business credit report or to request a copy, please contact the commercial credit bureaus listed below.

For questions about your business credit report or to request a copy, please contact the commercial credit bureaus listed below.

No. SBFE does not receive trade credit data.

The Small Business Financial Exchange (SBFE) is committed to protecting our member's data, and thus SBFE anonymizes the names of our members.    Due to the structure of our data exchange and the confidentiality requirements in our member agreements, SBFE is unable to disclose the names of SBFE’s members unless they give SBFE express written consent.

Several members have granted SBFE permission to use their names on our website.  You can find and view these featured lenders in the SBFE Members section on our homepage.