Americans who fall behind on loan payments, rack up rising debt or take out personal loans to consolidate debt will likely see their credit scores fall under updates planned for the popular FICO scores, according to Fair Isaac Corp., the creator FICO scores.

But most consumers will experience just modest changes in their scores.

“Most consumers will see less than a 20-point swing in either direction,” David Shellenberger, FICO’s vice president, product management, scores, said in a statement on Thursday. “That’s roughly 110 million that will see only a modest change to scores, if at all.”

About 40 million, he said, will see a sharper shift upward in scores, and 40 million will be hit with a similar-sized drop, Shellenberger said.

FICO is making the changes to its new version of its credit ratings, called FICO Score 10 Suite. Lenders, however, determine which version to use, and many may continue to rely on older, more lenient iterations.

For example, FICO’s last update in 2014 was seen as bolstering credit scores. But the most-used FICO model is still the one released 2009, says Ted Rossman, industry analyst for CreditCard.com.

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"Rather than getting too hung up on which model a particular lender is using, consumers should practice fundamental good habits such as paying their bills on time and keeping their debts low," Rossman says.

The updates, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, are likely to widen the divide between consumers already judged as good or bad credit risks.

Americans with high FICO scores of 680 or higher who continue to make loan payments or pay credit card bills on time will likely get ever higher scores while those who keep missing payments will see their scores drop more sharply than with previous FICO versions.

“Credit scores are extremely important because they help determine whether or not you get approved for a loan or line of credit, and if you do, what interest rate you will be charged,” Rossman says. “They are among the most important numbers in your financial life.”

The shift marks a reversal from FICO changes in recent years that boosted access to credit for some consumers.

Settlements among states and the credit reporting agencies – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion – removed most tax liens judgments from the reports, for example. The agencies and Fair Isaac also began figuring in information such as utility payments and bank account balances to give consumers with sparse credit histories more of a chance to get a loan.

The credit bureaus maintain consumers’ credit histories that form the basis for credit scores.

FICO says its latest version "gives lenders unparalleled flexibility and predictive power to make more precise lending decisions." The number of defaults in a lender's portfolio could decrease by as much as 10% for new bank cards, 9% for new auto loans and 17% for new mortgage loans compared with previous versions, the company said.

The changes come as standards tighten for some loans and lender confidence in the record 10½-year-old economic expansion slips. The economy remains on solid footing but has slowed and is expected to pull back further over the next year. Household debt is at record highs but is historically low as a share of total income.

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The new FICO version will put more emphasis on how consumers' debt levels have changed over the past few years, The Wall Street Journal article said.

Consumers who had been paying credit card bills in full but then start carrying growing balances for a few months likely will be hit with a lower score. Meanwhile, those who increase credit card debt in a specific month but pay it off quickly will likely see more modest declines in their scores.

Shoppers who transfer credit card debt to a personal loan but keep racking up credit card balances will likely face a sharper drop in scores.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Credit score: Those with low scores to see drop under new FICO criteria