Every time your business makes a payment—whether it’s to a supplier, a lender, or a leasing company—there’s a possibility that information will become part of your business credit history. Those payments can either help build your business credit or hold you back when you need financing, depending on whether you pay them on time. 

While many of these payments are reported directly to major business credit bureaus like Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax and Experian, there’s another way that payment information about your business can be collected and shared: through the Small Business Financial Exchange (SBFE).

The SBFE is a trade association that collects business credit payment history from members, including small business lenders and financial institutions, and makes that information available to partner credit bureaus. 

If you want to understand your business credit, you’ll want to understand how the SBFE works. Let’s break it down.

What Does the Small Business Financial Exchange (SBFE) Do?

Established in 2001, the SBFE operates as a member-owned trade association, meaning its members—primarily lenders—both contribute and access small business credit data.

The SBFE follows a “give-to-get” model: Members, such as banks, credit card companies, alternative lenders, and leasing companies, submit payment data on the businesses they work with. In return, they gain access to credit reports that include this data, helping them make informed small business lending decisions.

The SBFE itself does not create or sell credit reports or credit scores, yet the data it collects plays a key role in how lenders assess small business creditworthiness.

So, how do lenders access SBFE data if it doesn’t compile credit reports? Here’s how it works:

• Financial institutions that originate loans, own business debt, or service accounts join the SBFE.
• Each month, these members report both positive and negative payment history to the SBFE, where it is securely stored.
• That data can then be included in credit reports sold by SBFE’s exclusive commercial credit bureau partners: Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax, Experian, and LexisNexis Risk Solutions.

Only SBFE members can purchase credit reports that include SBFE data, which means not all business credit reports from these bureaus will contain SBFE information.

Here’s one way to think about it. When Costco started, it was a member’s only warehouse for small businesses. Only small businesses could be members and shop there. Those business members could then sell items they bought at Costco, or use them in their own business. 

In something of a similar way, only members of the SBFE can participate in its data exchange.

Why Does the SBFE Matter to My Business?

When you apply for a loan, credit card, or other financing, a lender may review your business credit report. If that lender is an SBFE member, the credit report they purchase may include SBFE data—information reported by other SBFE members about your business’s payment history.

This means your on-time payments to lenders, leasing companies, and credit card providers can help you build strong business credit, improving your chances of getting approved for financing with better rates and terms. 

On the other hand, late or missed payments can negatively impact your credit, making it harder to qualify for the funding your business needs.If your business has a solid credit history, SBFE data could help you secure small business bank loans, equipment leases, or other financing options that might not be available otherwise.

Does the SBFE Create Business Credit Scores?

The SBFE does not create or sell credit scores of any kind. SBFE data may be used to calculate business credit scores sold by commercial credit bureau partners to other members.

What is on My SBFE Credit Report?

Remember, you don’t have a credit report with SBFE since it does not compile credit reports.

That said, the SBFE reports that it has payment information on 40 million small businesses, and 98 million accounts. Over 135 members of the lending industry belong to the SBFE, including ten out of ten of the largest business credit card issuers and commercial banks.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean the SBFE has credit information about your business. If you don’t have credit accounts with members, now or in the past, the SBFE will not have information about your business. 

If you do have accounts with SBFE members, information about your business may include:

• Business identification information, like your business’s name, address, DUNS number, NAICS code, and/or EIN.
• Payment information about small business loans and lines of credit, lease payments, and business credit cards.  
• Credit limits, highest amount borrowed, and/or outstanding balances.

Again, that information is only shared with credit reporting agency partners. Those bureaus can sell credit reports that includes that information to to other SBFE members.

At this time, there is no way to check the information the SBFE has collected about your business directly with the SBFE.

Final Thoughts on SBFE and Business Credit

While SBFE itself doesn’t generate credit scores or reports, the data it collects from lenders can play a key role in how financial institutions evaluate your business. That means payment you makes—on time or late—could impact your ability to secure financing, negotiate better terms, and grow your business.

Strong business credit can opens doors to better loan options, lower interest rates, and higher credit limits, giving your company more options when you need them.

But just as with personal credit, building and maintaining a solid business credit profile takes time. By getting credit with companies that report, making on-time payments, and monitoring your credit reports, you can take control of your financial reputation and set your business up for long-term success.

FAQs: Small Business Financial Exchange

Here are some common questions about the SBFE. You can ask your questions below in the comments. 

Who can access the data that the SBFE stores about my business?

Access to your personal credit reports and credit scores is restricted under a federal law called the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). 

Business credit, however, is not covered by the FCRA. This means that anyone—including potential lenders, suppliers, or competitors—can purchase a business credit report without your permission.

That said, SBFE data is only available to SBFE members. These members can access SBFE data strictly for credit risk assessment—not for marketing or other purposes.

Is SBFE a credit reporting agency?

No, the Small Business Financial Exchange (SBFE) is not a credit reporting agency. It does not create or sell credit reports, scores, or other credit evaluation tools. 

Instead, SBFE serves as a data exchange where members share small business credit payment history. This data is then provided exclusively to SBFE-approved commercial credit bureaus, such as Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax, Experian, and LexisNexis Risk Solutions, which may include it in business credit reports and risk assessment tools sold to other members. 

Can I build credit with the SBFE?

Because it does not compile credit reports, small business owners do not need to build business credit with the SBFE. Since small business credit information shared with SBFE can be included in your business credit reports, it’s important to pay all business financing accounts on time. 

Does SBFE report to Dun & Bradstreet?

SBFE itself does not report directly to Dun & Bradstreet or any other credit bureau. Instead, SBFE commercial credit bureau partners, including Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax, Experian, and LexisNexis Risk Solutions, receive data from SBFE members and incorporate that information into certain business credit reports and scoring models. (Credit bureau partners used to be called SBFE certified vendors.)

However, not all business credit reports sold by these bureaus include SBFE data, as each lender chooses which credit products to purchase, and only members may purchase reports with member-reported data. 

What Is the SBFE Score?

There is no such thing as an “SBFE score.” SBFE does not create credit scores or reports. Instead, it supplies credit and business data to its certified credit bureau partners, which use that data—along with other sources—to develop their own credit risk models and scoring systems. 

If a lender references an SBFE-related score, they are likely referring to a credit model built by one of SBFE’s commercial credit bureau partners that includes SBFE data.

What Is the difference between the SBFE and SBSS scores?

While they may sound similar, the SBFE and SBSS scores are completely different. The SBFE is a data exchange, not acredit  scoring system. 

The FICO SBSS Score (Small Business Scoring Service) is a business credit score created by FICO. The SBSS Score pulls data from multiple sources, including personal and business credit reports, to help lenders assess small business creditworthiness—in certain types of SBA loan applications, for example. 

While an SBSS score may include SBFE data if the lender purchases a credit report with that information, SBFE does not create a credit score.