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FICO score FICO
Also called personal credit score, credit score.
The personal credit scoring model most funders pull on the owner-guarantor, on a 300 to 850 scale weighing payment history, utilization, file age, credit mix and recent inquiries.
Drafted with AI assistance. Not yet independently checked. Nobody has verified the claims on this page against a source, so treat the figures and legal points as a starting point rather than as settled, and confirm anything you are about to act on. How we check things.
What it means
There is no single FICO score. There are many versions, and bureau-specific variants of each, so the number a lender sees depends on which bureau it pulls and which model it uses. Differences between versions on the same file are routine.
In small-business funding the score is doing two jobs. It grades the guarantor, who is on the hook personally. And it substitutes for business credit history on files where the entity is too young or too small to have one.
A soft pull at application does not affect the score. The hard pull at approval does, and shopping one file through several brokers can produce several hard pulls with different funders, which is one of the practical costs of submitting an application in more than one place.
Where this one catches people
The score displayed in a consumer app is frequently a VantageScore or a different FICO version than the one an underwriter pulls, and they disagree by margins large enough to move a file between pricing tiers. More usefully: a strong personal score does not fund a business that cannot service the payment, and a weak one does not close every door. It moves the file into the part of the market priced for it, which is exactly where the expensive products live.
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FICO score — common questions
What does fico score mean?
The personal credit scoring model most funders pull on the owner-guarantor, on a 300 to 850 scale weighing payment history, utilization, file age, credit mix and recent inquiries.
Where does fico score catch people out?
The score displayed in a consumer app is frequently a VantageScore or a different FICO version than the one an underwriter pulls, and they disagree by margins large enough to move a file between pricing tiers. More usefully: a strong personal score does not fund a business that cannot service the payment, and a weak one does not close every door. It moves the file into the part of the market priced for it, which is exactly where the expensive products live.
Is fico score the same as an interest rate?
FICO score is defined above; if you are comparing it against a rate, check whether the two measures share a time dimension before you put them side by side.
Which products does fico score apply to?
It is not specific to one product — it appears across the market.
Is there a worked example of fico score?
Not on this entry. Where a term is arithmetic, the arithmetic is shown; this one is not primarily a calculation.
What else should I read alongside fico score?
Credit box, Credit pull, Debt-to-income, Dun & Bradstreet, FICO SBSS.
Has this definition been checked?
Not yet. This entry is drafted and live, and the notice at the top says so. Confirm anything you are about to act on.
Is this legal advice?
No. It is a definition. What a clause does in your contract, in your state, is a question for a lawyer licensed where you are.
Can I suggest a term?
Yes — [email protected]. The glossary grows from what people are actually shown in contracts.