What is a credit score?
A credit score is a prediction of your credit behavior, such as how likely you are to pay a loan back on time, based on information from your credit reports. A credit score is a three-digit measure of how well you're managing your finances. The higher the score, the more likely you are to get approved for loans and for better rates.
Factors used to calculate your credit score include repayment history, types of loans, length of credit history, debt utilization, and whether you've applied for new accounts. A credit score plays a key role in a lender’s decision to offer credit and for what terms.
There are three major credit bureaus in the U.S.: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. This trio dominates the market for collecting, analyzing, and disbursing information about consumers in the credit markets. Credit scores are generated by these bureaus based on information that's included in the credit reports.
Different types of credit scores
Most types of credit scores fall under two main scoring models: FICO and VantageScore.
FICO model
The FICO credit score model was created by the Fair Isaac Corp. and is used by financial institutions. FICO creates a single bureau-specific score for each of the three credit bureaus, using only information from that bureau. As a result, the FICO is actually three scores, not one, and they can vary slightly as each bureau has different calculation methods.
FICO scores range from 300 to 850. FICO Score is the most popular credit score. FICO regularly updates its credit scoring models, like FICO Score 8, FICO Score 9, and FICO Score 10.
VantageScore model
VantageScore is a consumer credit rating product developed by the Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion credit bureaus as an alternative to the FICO Score. A VantageScore is a tri-bureau standard credit scoring model that uses the same scoring criteria for all bureaus and can include information from all bureaus.
VantageScores range from 300 to 850. VantageScore also regularly updates its credit scoring models, for example VantageScore 3.0 and VantageScore 4.0.
A lender might prefer to use FICO scores if they want to gauge how likely someone is to repay their debt. But if lender is more interested in how much debt someone has and their credit utilization, they may use VantageScores instead.
FICO and VantageScore aren’t the only two credit scoring models out there. Other credit score providers offer credit scores that might sound unique, but are actually based on the FICO or VantageScore models. When you check your TransUnion credit score, for example, you’re actually getting a credit score based on the VantageScore 3.0 model.
Credit scoring system used by Microsoft
Microsoft uses VantageScore (3.0) as its credit scoring system in Defender for Individuals. The VantageScore (3.0) displayed in Defender for Individuals is a single bureau score provided by Experian. The credit score Microsoft Defender displays may be different from what you see in other apps. This is likely due to a different scoring model, or the score being calculated using multiple bureaus.
Your credit score and credit score rating are refreshed automatically on a monthly basis, starting from the day the service was first enabled.
