Money Basics · Credit cards & CIBIL

CIBIL score

Your CIBIL score is a three-digit number between 300 and 900. It summarises your entire credit history, how reliably you've repaid loans and credit card bills, into one number that lenders check before approving any loan or credit card.

What is CIBIL?

TransUnion CIBIL is India's largest credit bureau. Lenders (banks, NBFCs) report every EMI payment, credit card payment, and loan status to CIBIL on the reporting calendar RBI sets. Monthly until 2024, fortnightly from January 2025, and weekly since 1 July 2026. CIBIL compiles this into your credit report and score.

> Your CIBIL score determines not just WHETHER you get a loan, but at WHAT rate. A 750+ score gets you a lender's best advertised rate. A weaker score is typically priced higher, illustratively 1–2% more per year, though every lender prices risk its own way and none publish a score-to-rate grid.

Score ranges

750–900Excellent. Best rates, easy approvals

700–749Good. Approved but possibly not best rate

650–699Average. May be rejected by top banks

Below 650Poor, high rejection probability

What builds your score

Roughly, in descending order of weight:

• Payment history: pay every EMI and credit card bill on time. The single largest factor.
• Credit utilization: keep credit card spend below 30% of limit
• Age of credit: older accounts help
• Credit mix: mix of secured (home loan) and unsecured (credit card) credit is good
• New inquiries: every hard inquiry (when you apply for credit) temporarily dips your score

How to check your score

CIBIL website: free once per year. Paid monthly reports also available.

Several apps and lender websites offer free score checks. Compare what each one shows before you rely on it. Some report a different bureau's score.

Check your report annually for errors. Wrong accounts, closed loans still showing as open. Dispute them directly with CIBIL.

Takeaway. Your CIBIL score determines your loan eligibility and interest rate. Pay every bill on time, keep utilization below 30%, and check your report annually for errors.