The initiative seeks to evaluate payment habits such as rent, electricity, water or telephone bills to identify people with financial capacity who are currently outside the traditional credit system
SANTO DOMINGO – Thousands of Dominicans pay their rent, electricity, water, telephone, and other bills on time every month. However, when they try to obtain a mortgage to buy a home, they face a common barrier: they lack a formal credit history to demonstrate their ability to pay to a financial institution.
That reality could begin to change.
The Ministry of Housing, Habitat and Buildings (MIVHED), together with entities from the financial sector and FONVIVIENDA, signed an agreement aimed at developing alternative credit evaluation mechanisms that facilitate access to housing finance for families with limited or non-existent credit history.
The initiative seeks to leverage information related to payment habits and financial behavior to strengthen the profile of potential home buyers, while promoting their financial inclusion and access to banking services.
When paying is not enough
One of the main challenges many families face is that, despite regularly meeting their financial responsibilities, these payments are not always part of the criteria used to evaluate a loan application.
In practice, this means that people who have been paying rent, utilities, or recurring fees for years may find it difficult to access a mortgage due to the absence of a financial history recorded in the banking system.
The proposal seeks precisely to close that gap by using alternative information that allows the identification of consistent and responsible payment behaviors.
An opportunity to expand access to housing
During the signing of the agreement, the Minister of Housing, Victor Ito Bisonó, stressed that access to housing should not depend exclusively on traditional financial evaluation mechanisms.
He said that many families maintain responsible economic behavior, but have never had the opportunity to build a formal credit history that would allow them to access financing to acquire a home.
The measure is part of efforts aimed at expanding access to low-cost housing and creating greater opportunities for more people to fully integrate into the financial system.
From informality to banking
Rosanna Ruiz, the executive president of the Dominican Republic's Association of Multiple Banks (ABA), considered the initiative an important step towards bringing thousands of families closer to the formal financial system.
The executive noted that the project will allow progress in formalization and banking processes, making it easier for people who are currently outside of traditional credit schemes to demonstrate their financial capacity and aspire to products that were previously inaccessible to them.
Beyond access to housing, this could open the door to other financial services and strengthen the economic inclusion of broad segments of the population.
New ways to measure ability to pay
The agreement envisions collaboration between public institutions, financial entities, and organizations specializing in credit information to identify innovative tools that will expand access to housing finance without compromising the system's evaluation standards.
The goal is to develop models capable of recognizing signs of financial responsibility beyond traditional indicators, incorporating information that more broadly reflects the economic reality of households.
A step towards a more inclusive market
The initiative is being developed within the framework of Meta RD 2036, a national strategy focused on promoting reforms and actions aimed at the economic and social development of the country.
If the mechanisms proposed in this agreement are implemented as established by the entity, thousands of families who currently do not qualify for a mortgage loan due to a lack of credit history could have a new opportunity to demonstrate their ability to pay and move closer to one of the most important goals for any household: acquiring their own home.
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