Credit scores, as a quantitative shorthand for credit histories, increase the potential for customized pricing of credit based on the risk an individual poses. Some argue that charging more to consumers defined as higher risk would remove some of the cost of risk carried by the general consumer population, and would allow for price reductions among consumers who pose less risk. Others argue that the savings have not been – and are unlikely to be – passed on to consumers who pose less risk, and scoring systems simply allow lenders to extract greater profits from consumers who do.
