Germany's most powerful credit rating agency has taken a significant step towards transparency, giving consumers direct access to their new credit score and, for the first time, a detailed breakdown of exactly how that score is calculated.
Since Tuesday, consumers can view their new Schufa score and all credit-relevant data stored about them through a newly launched Schufa Account, accessible via a browser at app.schufa.de or through a new smartphone app. Consumer Affairs Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD) welcomed the move but made clear she would be watching closely to ensure the transparency promises were actually kept.
The new score rates consumer creditworthiness on a scale of up to 999 points, calculated across twelve categories. Consumers who have no outstanding instalment loans, have used the same bank account for a long period of time and have a clean payment history receive higher scores. The existence of a mortgage, as well as how frequently someone has applied for or taken out a new current account or credit card, also affects the rating. Any incidents or circumstances that negatively impact creditworthiness are listed clearly.
Previously, consumers could request a so-called basic score free of charge. While it indicated their creditworthiness in broad terms, it offered no explanation of how that rating was actually arrived at. The new system changes this fundamentally.
According to Schufa, the new score is designed so that consumers can calculate it themselves "without any statistical knowledge." The agency also says the score is "built in such a way that it improves more quickly with reliable payment behaviour", a feature it says is particularly beneficial for younger people. When young people move out of home for the first time, for example at the start of an apprenticeship, only limited data is available for credit assessment. The new system is designed to build their score more quickly as they establish a financial track record.
Consumer Affairs Minister Hubig underlined the enormous importance of the Schufa score in everyday life. Without good credit data, she noted, concluding contracts for mobile phones or rental apartments "often becomes difficult." She stressed that it was therefore crucial for Schufa scores to be arrived at in a transparent and comprehensible way, something that, she acknowledged, had "not always been delivered" in the past.
Hubig set high expectations for the new system. "In the Consumer Protection Ministry too, we will be watching closely to see whether the promises behind the new Schufa score are actually kept," she said.
Setting up a Schufa Account requires identity verification using a national identity card. Consumers who have activated their ID card for electronic identification via eID can complete the process in a matter of moments. Those without eID can request a PIN letter by post and use that to verify their identity instead.
Schufa expects that around half of all customers will be using the new score by the end of 2026. Business customers have already been able to test and use the new score since April 2025, and Schufa has given its corporate clients a transition period until the end of 2028 to switch over. At banks, a switch typically requires prior notification and approval from the relevant banking supervisory authority before it can take place.
The financial watchdog organisation Finanzwende welcomed the launch of the new Schufa score, describing it as a meaningful improvement. "It is actually more comprehensible than before how the rating is determined," Finanzwende said on Wednesday. The organisation also counted the development as a personal success, having previously co-launched a petition against Schufa together with the campaign portal Campact.
The petition, titled "Schufa: Hands Off My Account," targeted plans by Schufa and its subsidiary Bonify to offer consumers the option of granting access to their bank account data in order to improve their Schufa rating. Campact and Finanzwende described this as part of what they called a "so-called transparency offensive" by Schufa, and argued instead for "genuine transparency in the previously opaque assessment of creditworthiness." Those criticised plans have not been implemented.
Finanzwende expert Salim Rehan described Tuesday's launch as "an important first step."
Schufa is Germany's largest credit reference agency, holding data on around 68 million people. Approximately 11,000 business customers use its creditworthiness ratings. Anyone whose credit rating is assessed as poor by Schufa typically faces significant difficulties when trying to sign a mobile phone contract or rent an apartment.
Antonia Becher, Head of Campaigns at Campact, captured the broader concern that has long surrounded the agency. "Schufa reaches deep into people's lives with its data and its assessments," she said. "So much power in the hands of an opaque company has been a thorn in many people's sides — and the success of our campaign has made that more than clear."
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