CRB (Credit Reference Bureau)
Also known as: Credit Reference Bureau, CRB listing, CRB status
Full definition
A Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) is a licensed private company that collects and shares borrower repayment history from participating lenders. In Kenya three CRBs are licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya under the Credit Reference Bureau Regulations 2020: Metropol, TransUnion (formerly CRB Africa), and Creditinfo. Every licensed lender (banks, SACCOs, microfinance banks, digital lenders licensed by CBK) submits monthly borrower data to all three, and pulls a credit report before approving a loan.
A CRB listing is not automatically a blacklist. The bureaus record both positive (on-time repayment) and negative (arrears, defaults, write-offs) events, and lenders read the whole file. That said, a negative listing (default on a facility above KES 1,000 with a licensed lender) can suppress new credit for years, and full removal of a defaulted listing requires that the underlying debt is cleared and the lender initiates the removal.
Every Kenyan is entitled to one free CRB report per year from each of the three CRBs, on request. The paybillke lender-licensing cluster covers which lenders are on CBK's register (and therefore report to CRBs), which are not, and what your rights are under the CBK Code of Conduct.
Worked example
A borrower defaulted on a KES 3,000 mobile loan in 2024. In 2026, applying for a KES 200,000 SACCO loan, the SACCO pulls her Metropol report, sees the outstanding default, and declines. She clears the KES 3,000, waits for the lender to update her file, then reapplies successfully.
Verified 2026-09-01. Definitions on paybillke are sourced from Safaricom PLC Annual Report FY2026, the Central Bank of Kenya, the Communications Authority of Kenya, the Kenya Revenue Authority, and the primary operator documentation for each product. How we verify. Report a change.