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An Intermediate Information System Forms Mutual Trust

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Data Management in a Connected World

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 3551))

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Abstract

On the Internet, business transactions between anonyms are being made on a minute cycle. How can confidence between such business partners be obtained? For this purpose, an organization called the “credit bureau” exists in all countries having a functioning free market. In Germany, the leading credit bureau is the SCHUFA.

On the one hand, a credit bureau operates an information system which supplies for the credit grantor data about the credit-worthiness of his clients. On the other hand, the credit bureau offers the customer the possibility to document his reliability to the contractor or the credit grantor, respectively. Of its own accord, the credit bureau strictly commits itself to neutrality and only gives data to credit grantors that are relevant for the credit granting itself. This procedure prevents the system from being abused thereby alienating customers.

In many branches, the credit-granting process is highly automated. Via statistical methods the data of the credit bureaus are condensed into scoring systems. Via correlation of scores, equivalence classes of customers are being formed according to their non-payment risk.

The final credit decision is not only based on the data and the score of the customer in question but obviously also on the data which the credit grantor already possessed or which he was collecting since the contract was concluded.

An integrated decision support system for credit processing starts at the point of sale. It supports an appropriate computer-based dialogue and it includes a rule engine in which the rules for risk assessment are integrated. The information system of the credit bureau can be used in an interactive way.

While a credit is used, the non-payment risk and its probability are of substantial interest. For this purpose, a special monitoring process has to be established.

In summary, the credit-bureau system combines several techniques of computer science in an interesting way. You will find everything from database technology, via mathematical/statistical methods and rule-based systems to Web-based communication.

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© 2005 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Steinbauer, D. (2005). An Intermediate Information System Forms Mutual Trust. In: Härder, T., Lehner, W. (eds) Data Management in a Connected World. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 3551. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/11499923_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/11499923_15

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-26295-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-31654-1

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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