when were credit scores invented

Credit scores as we know them today were invented in 1989 with the introduction of the FICO® score by the Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO). This was the first industry-standard consumer credit scoring system designed to make evaluating creditworthiness faster, more objective, and equitable. Before that, credit reporting existed since the 1800s, and early credit bureaus started in the late 19th century, but credit scoring models like FICO began in 1989 to standardize and improve the lending decision process. Other scoring models such as VantageScore were developed later in 2006, based on similar principles but different methods of calculation.