SCHUFA score will be simplified and available online from 2026

Germany’s automatic credit scoring system, SCHUFA, has long been criticised for using opaque methods to calculate scores. Starting in 2026, the system will be simplified, more transparent and available online.

SCHUFA “black box” will become more transparent

Anyone who wants to sign a new rental contract, open a bank account, take out a loan, or buy a car on finance needs an up-to-date SCHUFA credit report to do so in Germany.

SCHUFA Holding AG collects data from over 10.000 companies, including banks, credit card companies, mobile phone providers, insurance companies and utilities, to compile these credit reports. 

While these scores hold a lot of weight in what financial steps people can take, the SCHUFA system has long been criticised for being an overly complicated “black box”. Starting in 2026, the way that SCHUFA calculates these scores will be simplified.

SCHUFA will reduce the number of scoring criteria from 250 to just 12. The new criteria will include: issue date of the applicant’s oldest credit card, number of charges made to current and credit accounts in past 12 months, the oldest bank contract and declined payments.

SCHUFA score will be more transparent and available online

Until now, anyone who needs a SCHUFA score has had to go to a local bank and request one, or make an online request and wait around three weeks for the document to arrive in the post. A version of the document which includes lots of personal information was free, while an official version (a SCHUFA-Bonitätsauskunft) cost 29,95 euros.

This process will be simplified. On the SCHUFA website, applicants will be able to fill out the 12 criteria and see a simplified version of their score for free. Applicants can confirm their identity using an eID if they want to see the more detailed version of their score.

In order to do this, applicants will need to create an account on the SCHUFA website. Because SCHUFA expects the new online service to be popular, it has launched a waiting list for opening a SCHUFA online account. If you would like to use the new system when it launches, it makes sense to join the waiting list. SCHUFA also plans to launch an app.

In their online SCHUFA account, applicants will be able to see more detailed information about how the company has calculated their score. Information in the “data cockpit” shows how their score might be impacted if they were to take out an instalment loan or cancel a credit card, for example.