BEACON SCORE

A number generated by the Equifax Credit Bureau to rank an individual's credit-worthiness. Beacon scores are credit scores, which are determined through a complex algorithm. These numbers tell the lender how likely it is that the borrower will repay the loan. When NextGen FICO scores started being used, the Beacon score was replaced with the Pinnacle score.

Mathematical criteria involved in calculating a Beacon score can include late payments, current debts, length of time an account has been open, types of credit and new applications for credit.

Beacon and other credit scores affect the interest rate on a loan. If the borrower's score is too low, the lender will charge more interest or may not lend at all.

Each bureau uses a different name for its score, even if it uses the same FICO algorithm to generate the score. For example:
- Experian uses the term "FICO or FICO II",
- TransUnion uses "Empirica"
- Equifax uses "Beacon"

For NextGen FICO scores, (created by Fair Isaac Corp.) the new names became:
- FICO advanced risk score, used by Experian
- Precision, used by TransUnion
- Pinnacle, used by Equifax