Congressional Bill Would Help Trans Americans Obtain Credit
Transgender and nonbinary people disproportionately face significant barriers to obtaining accurate credit reports and scores after legally changing their names.
The Pressley-Porter bill is an attempt to make it easier for all people who legally change their names, especially transgender Americans, to access lines of credit.Most credit bureaus will use deadnames, or people’s first names given prior to their transition when conducting business, which can make getting accurate credit information difficult for transgender people.
This has led to some transgender people having “split credit reports,” with some credit history on their deadname and the rest on their current name, which some companies may mistake as an indication of fraud.Having split credit reports can cause people’s credit score to drop, in some instances of 100 points or more, which, in turn, makes it difficult to buy a house or car, get employed, obtain a loan, or even pay for everyday items with credit cards.
Out of all major credit companies, only Experian has publicly supported transgender clients and has a page dedicated to helping transgender Americans obtain and improve their credit scores.
