India's credit self-monitoring grows by 51%: TransUnion CIBIL report

There has been a significant increase in credit self-monitoring among Indians, with 119 million people monitoring their CIBIL scores as of March 2024, marking a 51 per cent year-on-year growth in FY24, according to a report by TransUnion.

The report, titled ‘Empowering Financial Freedom: The Rise of Credit Self-Monitoring in India’, stated that the rise reflects heightened credit awareness, especially among Gen Z and millennials, who make up 77 per cent of the self-monitoring population.

Notably, 81 per cent of consumers from non-metro regions began monitoring their credit within six months of their first credit product.

“Approximately 119 million Indians have monitored their CIBIL Scores as of March 2024. The report shows that the number of consumers monitoring their credit profile grew by 51 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in FY24, reflecting that 43.6 million more consumers are intentional about knowing their credit status,” the report said.

 According to the report, women are increasingly prioritising financial planning, with a 70 per cent growth in credit score monitoring among women, 72 per cent of whom are from beyond metros. The report also shows that credit-conscious consumers are improving their scores more rapidly and are more likely to explore new credit products, particularly two-wheeler loans, consumer durable loans, and gold loans.

In the commercial sector, entities checking their Company Credit Report (CCR) for the first time grew by 12 per cent 

Y-o-Y, with a significant portion maintaining strong credit rankings.

The report highlights a stronger trend of self-monitoring in non-metro regions, with these areas seeing a 57 per cent increase in credit awareness compared to 33 per cent in metros. States that led this growth included Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal.