As we see a large number of customers request a payment pause, it is important to understand how this ‘indulgence’ should be reported in Comprehensive Reporting Data. The credit providers and industry bodies (ARCA, ABA in Australia, and RCANZ, NZBA in New Zealand) have worked together collectively to come up with an agreed approach.
In New Zealand, the comprehensive reporting framework supports the provision of a payment status of ‘N’ (no payment required) and it is recommended that this is used by credit providers where a payment holiday is in place.
In Australia, there is less capacity to report payment pauses within the CR Code/data standards framework and credit providers have agreed to provide a payment status of 0 (up to date) if a payment holiday is in place.
Note: this advice assumes the customer was not “in arrears” at the time of requesting the payment pause. If the customer was already in Hardship or ‘in arrears’ at the time the requested a payment pause, the credit providers normal hardship reporting process should be followed.