Does Italy have credit scores? We get this question quite a lot but the short answer is always “not in the Aussie sense.” In Australia, we’re used to a numeric credit score from bureaus like Equifax or Illion. In Italy, creditworthiness isn’t summed up by a single number. Instead, the Bank of Italy runs a Central Credit Register (Centrale dei Rischi) that collects detailed information on loans and debts.
This means if you search for “credit score in Italy” or “credit score Italy”, it won’t turn up a familiar range of points. Italian banks focus on your credit history and overall financial situation, not a three-digit score.
Needless to say, this feels odd when we’re all so used to thinking in terms of “good credit” or a FICO-like number, but their system still serves a similar purpose: lenders must see if you can pay back what you borrow.
Overview
Italian banks and lenders submit all the loans and guarantees to the Central Credit Register. The Banca d’Italia even says this CR is “a database on household and firms’ debts towards the banking and financial system.”
It’s fed by data from participating:
- Banks
- Financial companies
- Other lenders
In practice, every mortgage or line of credit above a certain size will show up in your record. For any big debts (over about €30,000), every payment and even late payment is reported. So to put this simply, your credit information – not scored in points like it is here, but recorded – is centralised at the Bank of Italy.
And if you have a solid record of on-time repayments, you build a good credit history in Italy; if you default or have missed payments, that also goes in the file.
From here, it’s fairly similar to how it is in any other country: Italian banks then read this register when considering a loan. They don’t pull out a credit score number; they see a history of your debts and payments. In effect, having good credit in Italy means having a clean, up-to-date CR file.
Again, just like it is in Australia, people with good standing – meaning no missed loan payments – are generally going to find it easier to borrow and get better terms.
Checking Your Credit Report
So, can Australians view their Italian credit report if they’re looking to get a loan or mortgage here? Yes. If you plan on living or intend to borrow in Italy, you can request your CR data from Banca d’Italia. By law, the Bank of Italy must give you the information it has.
How to Access This Information
You can apply for your Italian “credit report” (CR data) online or by mail, and it’s completely free. For example, the Bank of Italy site notes: “Access to Banca d’Italia’s Central Credit Register (CR) data is free of charge”.
Within about 30 days or possibly a bit less, they’ll send you a report of what’s recorded under your name. This Italian credit report will list your:
- Loans
- Balances
- Any overdue amounts on file
Again, keep in mind that it isn’t going to give you a fancy score, but it shows your registered debts and indicates if you’ve ever been flagged as a problem borrower.
Interpreting Your Data
Reading your Italian credit report is fairly necessary as it’s your best way of confirming what the lenders see. If you spot an error (for example, a loan that’s been paid off), you need to get in touch with Banca d’Italia or the bank that reported it.
And keep in mind that Italy has a few private credit information systems (SICs) like CRIF or Experian, but those are voluntary networks and separate from the official register. Most banks in Italy rely first on the Bank of Italy’s register.
How Behaviour Affects Credit in Italy
What actions build or hurt your credit when you’re in Italy? Much as in Australia, paying on time is always one of the most important parts.
If you pay off loans and credit cards as quickly as you’re able to, your CR shows positive behaviour. Even single late payments don’t automatically label you a “bad debtor” until a lender decides there’s serious trouble.
Banks actually evaluate your overall financial situation. This means they look at income, existing debts and repayment history together. For example, a lender will consider your debt-to-income ratio (the debt payments you have vs your salary) and past loan performance. The Bank of Italy explains that a customer is marked as bad only after an intermediary has assessed the customer’s entire financial situation – not just one missed bill.
So this basically means that if you run up credit card balances (which Italians often call “revolving credit”), how you service those balances matters. For example, if you’re carrying large credit card debt or have a bunch of loans with late payments it’ll show up as higher indebtedness in your CR file. That would mean you’d struggle getting other loans in the future.
Likewise, taking out loans can help build history. Even though Italy doesn’t have a credit-score number, you’re naturally still going to be rewarded when you borrow and repay the lender promptly.
The CR is basically supposed to “improve the assessment process for creditworthiness” by giving a full credit history. In other words, a history of loans that have gone well helps. So if you use credit cards or instalment loans, make sure to pay them off on schedule.
Being New to Italy and Building Credit History
The whole system of needing good credit history to get a loan is obviously going to be hard for newcomers as you won’t have any local credit history yet. When you apply for credit or a mortgage, Italian lenders will see no entries in the CR under your name.
That’s not the same as bad credit – it just means “unknown.” In practice, banks deal with this by looking harder at other signals, such as:
- Large deposits
- Strong income
- International credit proofs
You might be required to provide extra documentation (like your Australian credit report, income letters, foreign property ownership, etc.) or pay even more down payment.
It’s also common to see stricter debt-to-income limits (often mortgage payments capped somewhere around 30-35% of your net income). Because of this, many foreign buyers find it takes quite a while for them to qualify for all the best mortgage rates.
It’s not exactly a quick solution, but one way you can help get to that stage is to simply be a bit more patient. That’s as simple as paying any Italian bills (like your rent or utilities) on time to slowly build a domestic track record. And make sure you start with smaller credit lines (for example, a secured card or a modest personal loan) before going for a big mortgage.
Over time, those entries in the CR will form your Italian credit history. Meanwhile, showing a record of good credit behaviour back home in Australia (like on-time home loan or credit card payments) can help convince banks to approve your loan here.
How Upscore Can Help
Upscore’s Finance Passport can be massively helpful for securing mortgages overseas. This platform lets you package your Aussie financial history – income, liabilities, credit accounts, and repayment history – into a format Italian banks can review.
