Examples of common monthly payments that go largely unreported to traditional credit bureaus include rent, private mortgages, non-prime auto loans, utilities, phone, cable, insurance premiums, pay day advances, and rental furniture and appliances.

According to Michael Nathans, PRBC chairman and founder, "The patent recognizes PRBC’s technology and method as a credit bureau, for collecting bill payment data from financial institutions that consumers and small businesses use to pay their bills each month, and for storing and scoring that data to produce a report indicating the payer’s creditworthiness, specifically their willingness and ability to make timely payments.”

“The patent validates PRBC’s market leadership in the alternative credit data space and our business model; credit-seeking consumers and small businesses, as well as the financial institutions and insurers that serve them, will benefit," he added.

"By using positive payment information about recurring bills as proof of creditworthiness, PRBC’s service can add value to the bill payment services offered by financial institutions," said Corey Stone, PRBC’s CEO.

"It gives banks and credit unions a new way to help their customers build credit and secure their financial futures, while supporting higher depositor retention and cross-selling with the institution’s credit and insurance products," he pointed out.

PRBC is a consumer reporting agency that collects, stores, scores, and reports bill payment data for "permissible purposes" under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. It is the first credit bureau to give consumers and small businesses the tools to demonstrate their creditworthiness without the need to go into debt.

In addition to receiving payment data from creditors and financial institutions’ bill payment services, PRBC has partnered with the National Credit Reporting Association to verify trade line accounts and up to three years worth of prior payments that are reported directly by consumers to PRBC.