💳 Credit Scores Were Never Just About Money: The Truth Behind FICO and Financial Surveillance

When you hear “credit score,” you probably think about money. Whether you can get a car loan. Whether you’ll be approved for an apartment. Maybe even whether you’ll land that job.

But credit scores were never just about money. They’ve become one of the most powerful (and invisible) tools of modern surveillance. Not just tracking how you spend, but how you live.

🏦 The Birth of FICO: A Score Built on Power

The FICO score (named after the Fair Isaac Corporation) was introduced in 1989. It was supposed to standardize lending decisions. But let’s be clear: it didn’t invent financial discrimination, it automated it.

Before FICO, banks often made lending decisions based on “character,” which allowed open racism, redlining, and classism to thrive. FICO offered a numeric system—one that seemed objective. But it was built on data patterns rooted in systemic inequality.

Today, your FICO score is based on things like:

• Your debt history

• Your payment patterns

• The types of credit you use

• The age of your accounts

It sounds pretty objective. But when we zoom out, those patterns reflect generations of unequal access—to credit, education, housing, and wealth.

🔍 Credit Scores = Modern Surveillance?

Think about it:

• You want to rent an apartment? They run your credit.

• Want a phone plan? They run your credit.

• Applying for a job? Yep, some employers check credit too.

That means your credit score is used to judge your trustworthiness, even if your struggles stem from economic instability, medical debt, or surviving paycheck to paycheck.

The credit system doesn’t ask why you missed a payment. It just penalizes you for it. And that’s what makes it dangerous: it hides economic inequality behind a number.

📉 Who Gets Left Behind?

Black and brown communities, especially those historically denied fair housing loans or access to generational wealth, are disproportionately hurt by credit score systems.

A 2023 study found that Black consumers are more likely to have low or “invisible” credit scores—not because of poor money management, but due to limited access to traditional credit tools.

Communities without access to mainstream banking (think check-cashing services or payday loans) often never even enter the system.

In this way, credit scoring becomes a gatekeeper, reinforcing barriers that already existed.

🧠 What We Can Do

• Understand the system: Learn how credit is calculated and how it can be manipulated.

• Build credit strategically: Use tools like secured credit cards or rent-reporting services.

• Advocate for reform: Push for policies that create fair access to credit and challenge the idea that a 3-digit number defines someone’s worth.

• Teach each other: Especially fellow young people. Understanding the truth about credit can help us move smarter and push for change.

💬 Question:

If your worth wasn’t measured by your credit score, how would the world treat you differently?