PRBC - The 5th Credit Bureau

Headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland, PRBC was incorporated on March 12, 2002 under the name Pay Rent, Build Credit, Inc. The company name was later shortened to PRBC because all recurring bill and loan payments can be used to build credit, not just rent.

PRBC received two initial funding grants from the Ford Foundation in support of the company's mission to build a national data infrastructure that incorporated rental payments into credit reporting to benefit consumers. PRBC also received funding from the Omidyar Network, The Center for Financial Services Innovation and Total Technology Ventures. Initial data subscribers included Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Citimortgage.

In 2005 and 2006, the National Credit Reporting Association (NCRA) and the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) announced separate agreements with PRBC to help educate consumers how to document their creditworthiness by building a credit history based on their non-debt recurring payments.

In November 2006, PRBC received a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the company's technology and method for collecting data on commonly recurring bill payments made by individuals and small businesses, and incorporating them in a credit file, credit report, and credit score.

In December 2006, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac acknowledged that PRBC Reports comply with standards for establishing the credit reputations of borrowers for loans that can be sold to them.
In March 2007, mortgage insurer Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation (MGIC) announced an agreement to use PRBC Reports with PRBC Bill Payment Score (BPS) to automate their approval decisions for consumers with "thin" or no traditional credit histories.

At the end of 2007, Fair Isaac and PRBC announced a partnership to deliver PRBC Credit Report with FICO Expansion Score, a comprehensive credit risk management tool that U.S. mortgage lenders can use when assessing the risk of applicants who have little or no traditional credit history.

Innovis - The 4th Credit Bureau

Innovis (also known as CBCInnovis) is the 4th credit bureau also known as a Consumer credit reporting agency in the United States, the other three being Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.  Most sources of information about consumer credit repair do not make mention of Innovis (or the 5th agency, PRBC).

Innovis is a subsidiary of CBC Companies, but companies that report debt activity, such as Verizon, refer to the company by the name "Innovis", or simply state that they report to "all four credit agencies".

Innovis began as ACB Services - founded by Associated Credit Bureaus (ACB), in 1970. In 1989 ACB Services was purchased and renamed Consumers Credit Associates (CCA). First Data Corporation purchased CCA and renamed it Innovis, Inc. in 1997. Most recently, CBC Companies purchased Innovis, Inc. in 1999.  As of 2008, CBC Companies claims it has provided consumer credit information through its credit bureau organization for over 55 years.