Company History & Mission Statement
Merchants Information Solutions, Inc. Company History
A Century of Growth and Innovation
Merchants Information Solutions, Inc. (MIS) was originally incorporated in Phoenix, Arizona on February 15, 1912 - the day after Arizona became a state.
Known then as Merchant's and Manufacturer's Exchange, the company functioned primarily as a board of trade and better business bureau. By the early 1920s, the company was offering consumer credit-reporting services.
Over the next several years, Merchant's and Manufacturer's Exchange laid the foundation for companies like the Better Business Bureau, Wholesaler's Credit Exchange, and Lender's Exchange.
In 1928, what was once a publicly traded company became a non-stock, member-owned corporation. In 1946, at the request of the Associated Credit Bureaus, the company unofficially changed its name to The Credit Bureau of Phoenix. The change became official in 1958.
In 1971, The Credit Bureau of Phoenix was automated through TRW (now known as Experian®). This technological breakthrough made it possible to create a statewide credit file, and to that end the company began acquiring other Arizona credit-reporting agencies. Some were purchased outright, while two others - Pinetop and Safford - were automated as contract agencies.
In 1973, the company became Credit Data of Arizona. Over the next decade, it opened new offices in Tucson, Albuquerque, and El Paso, and automated 16 credit bureaus in New Mexico and West Texas.
The growth into other states spurred another name change for the company, which became Credit Data Southwest in 1985.
Known today as Merchants Information Solutions, Inc., the company is a member-owned corporation governed by a board of directors. In addition, in late 2006, Merchants Information Solutions became the parent company of Personnel Profiles Employment Screening, American Tescor, LLC and ID Advocates. These three recent acquisitions have made Merchants the largest employment screening provider in the State of Arizona.
The Merchants Information Solutions, Inc. Mission Statement
Delivering world-class identity theft & background screening solutions.
The Merchants Information Solutions, Inc. Vision Statement
Our Values
Integrity
Integrity is the foundation of our business. We expect the highest level of integrity in our dealings with our customers, employees, members and our communities.
Leadership
Every employee contributes to our success and should:
- Take prudent risks
- Lead by example
- Know your business
- Consider customers, stakeholders, employees and community needs when making decisions
- Care about each other
People
- We value a richness of diversity among our employees, customers and community.
- We value employees who demonstrate open and honest communication, passion for their job, initiative, creativity and teamwork.
- We value a willingness to take on challenges and see them through.
Customer Service
- We shall constantly seek to meet and exceed the needs and expectations of our customers by providing superior products and services.
- We promote long-term relationships by developing trust, respect and confidence with our customers.
Quality
- We seek quality and excellence from our employees and in the products and services we provide.
Results
- We are a results-driven company.
- By developing and implementing strategies to accelerate our growth we will provide superior returns to our stakeholders.