The Positive credit register celebrated its first birthday – the register’s development will continue and data content will expand in the future

The Positive credit register celebrated its first birthday on 1 April 2025. The number of loans in the register has stabilised at around 12.5 million loans. The first year of the register included both successes and challenges.

On 1 April 2025, one year has passed since the introduction of the Positive credit register. 1 April 2024 was not only April Fool’s Day but also Easter Monday, a bank holiday. As this date had been recorded in the law as the register’s introduction date, the register opened as planned and employees came to work despite the holiday. The first year of the register has been eventful and has included both successes and challenges. Above all, the year has been enlightening and full of activity. Tiina Roos, the Product Owner of the Positive credit register, summarises the previous year as follows:

– Spring and autumn 2024 were busy and exciting, as we launched the register activities and aimed to establish them.

The lack of some income data in the Incomes Register and, consequently, also in credit register extracts, posed challenges to some people such as entrepreneurs and grant recipients when applying for credit.

– In such situations, we have encouraged lenders to use sources other than credit register extracts to assess income data. The Data Protection Ombudsman and the Ministry of Justice have also reminded lenders that they should use sources other than a credit register extract to assess the loan applicant’s income, says Marjaana Ohralahti, the register’s operating officer.

Register’s content has been established and its use is active

Lenders use the register when making credit decisions, and private individuals can view their own credit data in the register. Users can also set a voluntary ban on credits in the register’s e-service.

The number of consumer credits in the register has stabilised at around 12.5 million loans. They amount to around EUR 152 billion.

The register is widely used by lenders: For example, they report all new credits or changes to existing credits using APIs. They also use this data whenever they make credit decisions by ordering a credit register extract from the register. The extract shows the individual’s consumer credits and the income data stored in the Incomes Register. Every month, lenders order an average of 550,000 credit register extracts

Active data protection through bans on credits

The register has also taken on a more prominent role in preventing the impacts of data breaches, as it provides private individuals with the opportunity to set a voluntary ban on credits free of charge. A voluntary ban on credit may provide protection when an individual’s personal data has ended up in the wrong hands, for example. Nearly 85,000 individuals have already set a voluntary ban on credits in the e-service.

“Our customer services have been successful in managing both bans on credits as well as a wide variety of situations related to credits. The challenges faced by taxpayers have been solved in close cooperation with lenders. The feedback we have received from our customer service has been highly positive,” says Ohralahti.

Sights on the future

However, the register has already set its sights on the future. The register’s current features will be continuously developed and improved, but the register’s data content will also be extended and there are upcoming major development projects. Other things on our agenda include exploring the opportunities for making use of artificial intelligence, updating our customer information system and introducing some new features in our e-service.

The second phase of the register is also progressing as planned: From 1 December 2025, lenders will also start entering loans granted to natural persons other than consumers, or so-called entrepreneur loans, into the register. We are also looking even further ahead, as the aim is to also enter housing company loans in the register in the future. A project related to this endeavour was launched at the beginning of 2025 and will continue in cooperation with the National Land Survey of Finland (NLS), as the aim is to import the data to the register from the Residential and Commercial Property Information System maintained by the NLS.

We will also continue our cooperation with our customers and stakeholders. In the autumn, we will publish a customer experience survey, which we hope will provide us with feedback and development ideas from both our stakeholders as well as private individuals.