Credit Bureaus in India & their role in Lending Growth

Credit Bureaus in India
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What you’ll learn

– Credit Bureaus in India – Role & Duties of Credit Bureaus – Difference between TransUnion CIBIL, Equifax, Experian and CRIF High Mark – Credit Score, CIBIL Score and CIBIL Rank

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CIBIL score is on border or less, get credit score from other Credit Bureaus in India like Equifax, Experian or CRIF High Mark to avail loans.

TransUnion CIBIL, Equifax, Experian and CRIF High Mark are all credit bureaus which can help you borrow loans.

Credit Bureaus in India are responsible for collecting and managing credit information of individuals and businesses. Its main role is to gather data from diverse sources like banks, credit card companies, and financial institutions. This data is then utilized to create credit reports known as Credit Scores.

In India, credit bureaus play a crucial role in maintaining credit information of individuals and businesses. There are four major credit bureaus in India that operate in the country, namely TransUnion CIBIL, Equifax, Experian and CRIF High Mark.

Lending in India has grown and a lot of credit goes to these bureaus making credit reports easily accessible to lenders making purchase affordable for consumers.

Let us know more about these 4 Credit Bureaus

TransUnion CIBIL is one of the oldest credit bureaus in India and is the most widely used one. It maintains credit records of over 600 million individuals and 32 million businesses.

Equifax, a globally recognized credit bureau, is also operational in India. It offers credit reports and scores to both individuals and businesses within the country. Equifax has established a strong presence in the Indian credit market and is widely utilized by numerous lenders and financial institutions for their credit evaluation processes.

Experian, a renowned global credit bureau, also operates in India, offering credit reports and scores to individuals and businesses. As one of the prominent credit bureaus in the country, it is extensively utilized by lenders and financial institutions to evaluate creditworthiness.

CRIF High Mark pioneered the setup of a microfinance credit bureau and launched India’s first Microfinance database in March 2011. CRIF High Mark’s investor-partners include State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB), SIDBI, Edelweiss, Shriram City Union Finance (SCUF) amongst others. First Bureau to offer Microfinance credit reports.

Comparison between TransUnion CIBIL, Equifax, Experian and CRIF High Mark

The credit reports and scores provided by these bureaus are used by lenders to assess the creditworthiness of borrowers and make informed lending decisions. Hence, it is essential for individuals and businesses to maintain a good credit score to improve their chances of getting approved for loans and other credit facilities.

ParameterTransUnion CIBILExperianEquifaxHighmark
Year of establishment20002006, the license granted in 201020102007, the license granted in 2010
Scoring system300-900 where 900 is the perfect credit score300-900 where 900 is the perfect credit score1-999 where 1 is the lowest and 999 being the highest300-900 where any score above 720 is excellent and score below before 640 is poor.
Credit Records & Partners600 million individuals and 32 million businesses across India5000+ banking and financial institutions and around 430 million loan records across India800 million individual consumers and more than 88 million businesses worldwide.World’s largest microfinance database with over 80 million borrowers
Products and ServicesFor Consumers: Credit Report, Credit Score and Dispute Resolution

For Members: Customer Acquisition, Portfolio Services, Analytics and Consulting
For Consumers: Credit Report, Credit Score and Dispute Resolution
 
For Members: Customer / Fraud / Risk Management
For Consumers: Credit Report, Credit Score and Dispute Resolution
 
For Members: Equifax Risk Score, Portfolio Review and Alerts
For Consumers: Credit Report, Credit Score and Dispute Resolution
 
For Members: Anti-Fraud services, Analytics & Scorecards

Additional Solutions: Business Data Services

Credit Score, CIBIL Score and CIBIL Rank

A credit score is a numeric representation, ranging from 300 to 900, that summarizes an individual’s credit history. It is generated by any of the four credit bureaus operating in India.

When the credit score is specifically generated by TransUnion CIBIL, it is referred to as a CIBIL score. It provides a measure of an individual’s creditworthiness.

CIBIL Rank is relevant to commercial borrowers, such as companies. CIBIL Rank serves as a summary of the credit history found in a CIBIL Company Credit Report (CCR). It is assigned on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best rank and 10 being the worst.

In conclusion, it is important to note that credit reports and credit scores generated by all four credit information companies in India hold equal validity. While there may be variations in the credit scores generated by each bureau, the underlying credit information is derived from the same data provided by lenders such as banks and financial institutions. Therefore, the creditworthiness assessment remains consistent across different credit bureaus.

Furthermore, it is worth highlighting that all four major credit bureaus in India, namely CIBIL, Equifax, Experian, and CRIF High Mark, are licensed and regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This regulatory oversight ensures that these credit bureaus operate within defined guidelines and maintain the necessary standards of data privacy and accuracy.

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Course Creator

Sandeep Dhodi

Sandeep Dhodi is a payment solution and strategy specialist. Having rich and in-depth experience of 14+ years in digital payments. Associated with top Banks, Fintechs and MNCs like HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, Pinelabs, Apple and Unilever in the past. Currently managing payments partnerships and synergizing payments across Tata group of companies.

Areas of expertise – Payment Gateway (Cards, UPI, Net Banking, Wallet), Offline Payment Acceptance (BQR, UPI QR, Payment link, POS machine), Recurring Payments ( UPI Autopay, SI Hub / on Card, eMandate), EMI and BNPL.

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