Credit Reporting for modern lenders
Credit reporting is a misunderstood, unnecessarily complicated process that has yet to evolve to modern Web 2.0 standards. Like many aspects of financial services, credit reporting (aka data furnishing) is generally not part of the core business model of most companies. And very few APIs exist that simplify the process in any meaningful way. Grid's Credit Reporter API is designed to change that.
The Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs) accept data in what is known as Metro2© file format. Beyond demographic information about the borrower (i.e. first and last name, dob, etc) there are roughly 25 fields that are mandatory or optional depending on the type of account, its status, and several other factors. If the data provided to the CRAs does not conform to the format and the bevy of validation rules that apply to the fields, the report will be rejected.
Authorization
Access to all endpoints is determined by an API Key that is provided in the headers: x-api-key. This key can be created in the UI or provided to you by the Grid team. API Keys should be well guarded.
IP Whitelisting
IP Whitelisting provides an additional layer of security, particularly in the event that an API Key is compromised. The key will not work unless the request is received from a whitelisted IP address. The whitelist can be updated in the UI or the addresses can be provided to Grid and configured on your behalf.
Note - the whitelist is disabled in sandbox but is active in production.