CIBIL and Equifax and are the credit information companies authorized by the Reserve Bank of India. Both CIBIL and Equifax collect and record the credit-related activities of customers all over the India and process the financial raw data to provide readable and user-friendly credit scores and credit information reports. The credit score which they provide are In form of numbers starting from 300 to 900 based on the financial history to determine the creditworthiness of an individual or a company.
You get to know the importance of CIBIL and Equifax when you apply for a loan, be it secured or unsecured or even for a credit card. Every professional lender whether it is a Bank, NBFC or any credit union the first thing they look for in the applicants profile is his/ her credit score and then the rest of the eligibility criteria.
Equifax India combine all the financial history of a customer which includes the present and past borrowings, repayments of the borrowing, credits all together in one report which contains the complete information. CIBIL also provides the same facility and offers credit reports that contain the credit behaviour of the customers. If the customer was defaulting in the repayment of any borrowing it will be reflected strongly in the credit report of the customer.
CIBIL was established in year 2000 in India and the current shareholders of CIBIL are- Bank of India, IIFL, Aditya Birla Trustee Company, UBI, TransUnion. Whereas Equifax was established in India in the year 2010. It is basically a joint venture of USA, Equifax.Inc and some lending financial institutions like State Bank of India, Union Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and some more. Both have their headquarters in Mumbai.
The credit Score provided by both CIBIL and Equifax ranges from 300 to 900. The Credit Score provided by both the agencies are same only. However it may vary by some points, in case if it differs by more than 50 points for the same individual then the customer can obtain a copy of the Credit information Report (CIR) and check the reports for any potential discrepancies.
The Reserve Bank of India has instructed all the banks to provide the details of each customers borrowing and repayments to all the credit Bureaus of India every month so that there can’t be any mismatch between the credit score provided by different bureaus. Credit Score by all the credit bureaus are equally valid by all the banks. But some banks have their priority. If a customer is not satisfied by his/her credit score from one buero he/she can cross-check with other credit authorities to get sure.
The cost of getting the credit report from Equifax is Rs.138 and if you need both credit score and the credit information report then it will cost Rs.400 to you. Whereas CIBIL offers only a Credit report only that contains the credit score as well, the cost of getting this report is Rs. 550.
For the payment Equifax accepts only demand draft whereas CIBIL allows you to pay through net banking, debit cards and credit cards too.
Both CIBIL and Equifax does not include your savings and investment information. Your credit score by both the bureaus are independent of all these savings including fixed deposits, savings account and all.
Equifax allows you to get the Credit report 4 time in a year so that you can keep eye on your credit worthiness and CIBIL whereas with CIBIL you can get the credit report whenever you wish.
CIBIL have more number of clients and partner as financial intuition as compared to that of Equifax.
There is a myth persisting among many people that CIBIL decreases if checked frequently. Lenders check for the CIBIL only if you apply for a loan and if you feel need you can do so without any fear.
The credit report provided by CIBIL and Equifax can’t be edited or modified without the individual’s effort. If one want to increase his/her CIBIL he/she need to be timely for the repayments of their borrowing. If case if the credit report is wrong then only it can be edited, for that you need to inform the agency and request them to verify it again.
Your credit score denotes the financial history of only past three years monthly repayments only, not more than that.
You must be logged in to post a comment.