When Dun & Bradstreet analysed its New Zealand consumer credit files that were accessed by credit providers in May, it found that 50 per cent of the files that included comprehensive data had at least one credit history that was not "clean". In other words, half the files included at least one late payment report or other negative data.New Zealand moved to comprehensive credit reporting in April 2012 but, according to D&B, the first organisation to access comprehensive data only started doing so at the end of last year. However, by May this year, 23 per cent of inquiries by credit providers accessed files with comprehensive data, said D&B's director of consumer risk solutions, Steve Brown. D&B has one million files in New Zealand that include comprehensive data.Speaking at AB+F's Retail Financial Services conference in Sydney yesterday, Brown said the New Zealand experience was a guide to what was likely to unfold in Australia, where comprehensive credit reporting was introduced in March.Brown said: "In New Zealand the industry was not ready. It took time to address compliance issues, set industry standards and make system changes."Consumers were not ready either. Brown said the fact that 50 per cent of files had late payment reports or other negative data reflected the fact, before the start of the comprehensive regime, there were no consequences for making late payments."We would expect behaviour to change as consumers are made aware that credit files now contain late payment information and this may affect a person's ability to get credit," Brown said.He said that in Australia things were moving faster. D&B put the first comprehensive data into its system this week. He expects to have a good source of comprehensive data by the end of the year and to see organisations start accessing that data then.Early adopters have been organisations that don't take deposits, and therefore have no insight into the customer's cash flow, as well as organisations with low customer loyalty and high default rates.They include auto and store finance companies, credit card issuers, micro-lenders and "secondary" lenders."A lot of these are monoline businesses and they want a better view of the applicant," Brown said."They also want data that will improve the speed and quality of their credit decision-making."And they want to expand into new segments where customer information is scarce, such as with young people."He said the big banks would take their time. In New Zealand no large bank has supplied live comprehensive data to D&B, although some are doing tests.Brown said one objective of lenders was to use comprehensive data to price for risk and he expects this to become a much bigger feature of the mortgage and personal finance markets.