TransUnion CIBIL Partners with Digital India’s CSCs to Drive Financial Inclusion

In order to reassert its commitment towards driving credit education and financial inclusion across the country, TransUnion CIBIL has partnered with Common Service Centres (CSCs) to assist consumers in getting easy access to their CIBIL Score and Credit Report. The CSCs are a special purpose vehicle of the Ministry of Electronics and IT, and are an initiative under the Government of India’s Digital India Flagship platform designed to drive a socially, financially and digitally inclusive society.

Whether it’s their health, financial well-being or changes in day-to-day living, many people in India have already been dramatically affected by COVID-19. It’s important that businesses and consumers are able to continue to transact with confidence while accessing credit for fulfilling their financial requirements. Consumer awareness on how to manage credit and enable easier and faster access to finance is now more important than ever.

Empowering Consumers across India to transact with confidence

With this partnership, consumers will be able to access their CIBIL Score and Credit Report from over 3.61 lakh CSC outlets nationally. People can request their CIBIL Score and report by visiting the Village Level Entrepreneurs (known as VLEs) close to their location and following authentication through the established Aadhar and biometric check, they can view their CIBIL Score and Credit Report.  These centres will also provide guidance and education to consumers on the details of their CIBIL Score and Credit Report and how to maintain credit discipline in order to access credit opportunities.

Speaking on the objective of this collaboration, the Managing Director and CEO of TransUnion CIBIL, Mr. Rajesh Kumar, said: “As consumers look to secure funds to bridge any personal finance gap due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, awareness of the importance of their CIBIL Score and credit history is vital for accessing credit opportunities quickly and easily.  Through this collaboration with CSCs, we are reaching out to regional and rural consumers across our country to provide them with digital access to their credit score and report, enabling them to apply for credit and transact with confidence.”

Highlighting the benefits of this collaboration, Mr. Kumar added: “As several credit institutions now offer better terms and conditions to consumers with a higher CIBIL score, education and awareness about it can also help consumers access loans at a more competitive rate of interest.  Moreover, this initiative paves the way for greater consumer empowerment by ensuring that their credit information is accurate and that they are reliably and safely represented in the marketplace.”

Speaking about the partnership, Dr. Dinesh Tyagi, CEO, CSC SPV said, “We are happy to collaborate with TransUnion CIBIL in this venture to help rural citizens get their CIBIL Scores and Reports seamlessly. Citizens in rural communities may lack awareness about the importance of CIBIL Score and towards availing credit opportunities easily and at better terms and conditions. A good credit score can be used by them to bargain for a better interest rate. CSC will help citizens know their CIBIL Score, check eligibility for loan and negotiate better interest rates.”

“CSC also functions as Banking Facilitators for Banks and this will help connect them with consumers to whom the banks can sanction loans quickly. This will help a large number of SMEs in rural India to get loans easily and quickly. This facility will be of mutual benefit for CSC and Banks focused on extending credit facilities to rural citizens,” he added.

Consumers can approach CSCs for their CIBIL Score and Report from 13^th July, 2020 onwards.

The CIBIL Score is a 3-digit numeric summary of a consumer’s CIBIL Report ranging from 300 to 900. It is a reflection of a consumer’s credit profile, and one of the things that lenders check before approving a credit application. The closer a consumer’s score is to 900, the higher are the chances of a credit card or loan application getting approved, thus making the CIBIL Score and Report key factors in the underwriting process and in determining a consumer’s access to credit.