What is CIBIL score? How to check CIBIL score? How to improve CIBIL score?

In the modern age, we rely mostly on credit cards and loans from banks or take credits from financial institutes in order to meet our financial requirements. Our requirements may vary from home loans to education loans and from short-term personal loans to car loans. Apart from loans, other financial instruments such as credit cards are offered to people by banks and various other financial institutions. And these loans are only disbursed when the applicant has a good credit score rating.

Now you must be wondering what is the CIBIL Score?

CIBIL score is a three-digit score  between 300 and 900, a numeric summary of a consumer's credit history and a reflection of the person's credit profile. This score is based on your past credit behavior, such as repayment and borrowing habits that are shared by banks and lenders with CIBIL on a regular basis (the details of which can be found in the consumer's CIBIL Report). If you have a CIBIL Score closer to 900, the higher are your chances of getting a credit card or loan application approved.

India's leading credit information company is TransUnion CIBIL (formerly Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited) This Indian company has one of the largest collections of consumer information that has all the access to your credit information. This credit information refers to all your financial transactions where you have borrowed or repaid money. TransUnion CIBIL  was established in 2000. One of the most trusted and the first credit bureaus in India is the CIBIL. The accuracy level of CIBIL and its scoring technique is trusted by most banks and other financial institutes and is also considered far better than other credit bureaus operating in India. Apart from the access to credit information of around 600 million people in India,CIBIL has 2,400 members that include lenders of all varieties. Its score is referred to as your credit score and used by many lenders across India.

Now How can you check your CIBIL Score?

To check your CIBIL Score 

You need to check in at the TransUnion CIBIL website https://www.transunioncibil.com/ and request for a CIBIL score.Provide your personal details, including such as name, phone number, email address, date of birth, and PAN.Once you fill in the above details click on the 'Submit' button. You need to pay a nominal fee to know your TransUnion credit report along with the score.Once the payment is completed your  CIBIL score and CIR or credit information report will be sent to the registered email address.

How can you improve and maintain a good  CIBIL Score ?

You can improve and maintain a good  CIBIL Score by following these steps

• You should pay your EMIs on time to create a proper track record.
• You should avoid having a credit card which you don’t use; cancelall your inactive credit cards.
• Make sure you don't make a lot of loan applications in a short span of time
• Make sure that you avoid continuously re-applying for loans or credit cards that you did not get approved, that could create a negative impact.
• Maintain a healthy credit mix of secured loans (like auto  loan and home loan) and unsecured loans (like credit cards and  personal loans ) because too many unsecured loans may be viewed negatively.
• Carefully manage your credit cards carefully by setting in payment reminders or limiting your use to one credit card
• Make sure that you choose lengthy loan tenors with care and try to make down payments whenever you can and always pay your dues on time as lenders take in late payments negatively.
• Always monitor your guaranteed, co-signed, and joint accounts monthly. Remember that you hold equal  liability for missed payments in co-signed, guaranteed or jointly held accounts, and negligence from your joint holder's (or the guaranteed individual's) could also create a negative effect on your ability to access credit when you are in a need of it.
• Make sure you review your credit history frequently throughout the year. If you wish to avoid unpleasant surprises (like a rejected loan application) make it a habit to monitor your CIBIL Score and Report regularly.
• Checking your CIBIL score and report regularly will also help you to find if there are any inaccuracies, if any. If you spot any discrepancy with your score then you can request the lender to report the correction to CIBIL or log a dispute on the CIBIL website.

A positive and  good credit profile can make you a good candidate for the lender and pave the way for access to credit. Remember to monitor your credit profile regularly to make sure you are credit-conscious and loan-ready when you need it the most.