There are so many people in the U.S. today that they aren’t easily identified by names. Therefore, they have been assigned numbers by the government, known as Social Security Numbers. This number is how people are identified in many transactions, including taxes, health insurance, banking, and many others.

Businesses are identified similarly to people, but instead of Social Security Numbers they have what is known as an EIN, or Employer Identification Number . This number is unique to each different business, much like the social security number, but it follows a 00-0000000 format instead of the 000-00-0000 format of social security numbers. They were designed this way so that the computers can distinguish the difference between individuals and businesses based on whether they have an EIN or a SSN.

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The main system in place for determining credit scores is called FICO, an acronym for Fair Isaac Credit Organization, which is the company that owns this formula.

The three credit bureaus, Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian all use this system to establish credit scores, but they each market it under a different name. Equifax markets their product as Pinnacle; Experian as the FICO Advance Risk Score; and TransUnion as Precision. It is important to be aware of these names, and to note that all of these products employ the same formula for establishing credit score.

The notable differences in the different products marketed are due to slightly differing data that each of these bureaus collects on any given individual or business’s borrowing habits. These bureaus are competitors, and work independently of one another. Certain aspects of one consumer’s credit history may not be reported to all three, and thus may be missing from one or more bureau’s data. Likewise, contested aspects of a credit history may not be removed as requested from all of the bureaus.

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