Korea Credit Information, a credit rating firm for sole proprietors, will supply Shinhan Bank with data that can track sales and purchase flows for small merchants.

Korea Credit Information said on Tuesday it will provide Shinhan Bank with small merchant sales and purchase data based on the National Tax Service's Hometax.

The data to be supplied is designed to analyse both sales and purchase details of sole proprietors to identify actual business cash flow.

The company said providing purchase information that shows a business owner's buying activity can help identify operating conditions and changes in greater detail.

Korea Credit Information has built credit rating infrastructure that can track and analyse monthly sales and purchase flows for sole proprietors. It said this can support financial companies' risk management and post-loan management by allowing them to continuously check business trends during the transaction period, not just conduct a one-off assessment when a loan is executed.

It expects the sales and purchase data can be used as supplementary material to assess the business performance of small merchants and sole proprietors who lack collateral or accumulated financial information.

Shinhan Bank plans to review ways to use the data it will receive.

Lee Min-je (이민제), chief executive of Korea Credit Information, said, "Credit assessment should not be a barrier that blocks the growth of small merchants but a door that opens new possibilities." He said, "We will build a foundation that allows sole proprietors to be assessed based on business performance through data that reflects sales, purchases and monthly business trends."