New Delhi. Taking a major step towards further strengthening the country’s credit structure, the Reserve Bank of India has issued draft guidelines to weekly credit score update. Till now the reporting of credit data of customers to credit bureaus by banks and financial institutions is done once every fortnight or month, but this amendment will happen every week once the new proposal is implemented. The move is aimed at making credit information more transparent and accurate.
Under the new draft, banks and other lending institutions will provide data every week to credit information companies like CIBIL, Experian, Crif High Mark, Equifax. Reporting dates will be fixed for this. It will be mandatory to send the data of 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th and last day of every month to the credit bureau.
This will continuously update all key information like borrowers’ payment behaviour, new loan activity, credit card usage, outstanding balance and account closure.
Only changes since the last update need to be sent in the weekly revision. For example, if a customer has paid a monthly premium, taken a new loan, paid a credit card bill or closed an account, that data will be reported in the same week. At the same time, a complete report of all active accounts and recently closed accounts will be mandatory at the end of the month.
When will the new system start working?
RBI has said in the proposed guidelines that the target has been set to implement the new system from April 1, 2026, provided that all banks and institutions are technically ready after the final guidelines are issued. All credit institutions will have to prepare system upgrades, data-sync and reporting framework at weekly frequency.
What is credit score?
A credit score is a three-digit number based on your borrowing and payment history that indicates your creditworthiness. On the basis of this score, banks and financial institutions decide whether to give you a loan or not and at what interest rate.
Scope and meaning of credit score
It usually ranges between 300 to 900.
750–900 : very good
Loan is approved quickly and interest rate is low.
700–749: good
Most loans are available, but the interest rate may be a bit high.
650–699: Fair
It can be difficult to get a loan, sometimes additional documents are asked.
550–649: weak
Loan opportunities and interest rates are quite high.
300–549: very bad
Banks and NBFCs do not approve most of the loans.
benefits to consumers
Common consumers will get the biggest benefit from weekly credit score updates. Now, if you pay the loan installment, credit card bill or any dues, its positive effect will be visible soon. Where earlier it would take two to three weeks for the scores to be updated, now it will be reported within a few days. This will make the credit profile of the customers look stronger and it will be easier for them to get approval for a new loan or credit card. Besides, it will also become easier to get any wrong or incomplete information corrected in time.
Benefits to banks and financial institutions
Banks, NBFCs and other lenders will now get credit data of borrowers more fresh and reliable. This will make it easier for them to understand how the customer’s financial situation is now, whether he has taken any new loan recently, is making the payments on time or is overusing the credit limit. This will make the risk assessment and loan approval process more accurate and secure. The possibility of loan default will also be reduced because the miscalculations that used to occur due to delay in data will now be reduced.
In the interest of the entire credit environment
Weekly reporting will make the entire credit structure of the country more transparent. Credit bureaus will get regular, accurate and timely data, which will increase the credibility of the credit scoring system. Incidences of fraud, misreporting and data discrepancies will be reduced. Overall, the move will make India’s financial ecosystem more modern and in line with global standards.
