Agencies that collect information on how promptly people and businesses pay their bills are known as

• A. Collection Agencies
• B. Banks
• C. Creditors
• D. Credit Bureaus

Answer: (D)

Payment history is tracked by specialized organizations that compile data from many lenders to create credit reports and scores. These agencies, called credit bureaus or consumer reporting agencies, gather information on whether people and businesses pay on time, how often payments are late, current debts, and public records. Lenders rely on these reports to assess creditworthiness and decide terms for new loans or lines of credit.

This role distinguishes them from collection agencies, which focus on recovering debts after they become overdue, or from banks and creditors, which provide credit and hold accounts but do not serve as centralized repositories of payment history. The agency that fits this function is the one that aggregates and reports payment behavior across many lenders: credit bureaus.