If you are planning to take out a loan or apply for a credit card in 2021, then you might want to know the best credit score checker. A credit score is assigned by a credit bureau, an agency or a large company that gathers and maintains all account information of consumers. Through this, they get a detailed history of a customer’s past credit behaviour. Banks and other lending institutions often use credit bureau reports to determine the creditworthiness of an individual. Every time a bank provides a loan, they are undertaking some amount of risk because there’s a possibility that the customer might not pay it back. A reliable credit score report can help mitigate this risk by providing banks with a complete credit history of the customer, including the frequency with which they’re paid past loans, the regularity of credit card payments, etc. This is why a credit score is so important.
When you apply for a loan or a credit card, then a credit score report is mandatory. Largely there are four major credit bureaus in India through which you can get a credit score. Here are the main features of each to help you decide the best credit score checker.
Overview of CIBIL, Equifax, Experian, and CRIF:
India has four credit bureaus, namely: TransUnion CIBIL, Experian, Equifax, and CRIF High Mark. Financial transactions of each individual are sent to these bureaus on a monthly basis to evaluate their credit score.
TransUnion CIBIL:
Founded in 2000, TransUnion CIBIL (Credit Information Bureau India Limited) is part of the American multinational group, TransUnion. It is a credit information company that operates and manages credit files of around 600 million individuals and about 32 million business entities. The company is dedicated to recording all credit-related information and Transunion credit reports of companies and individuals for the purpose of loans and other financial support. The CIBIL score of an individual is usually considered the most important among these. CIBIL credit score check can be done easily on their website by just following simple-to-execute instructions. CIBIL credit score check is also possible on other free websites too.
Equifax:
Equifax is an information solution company that uses data, analytics, technology, and industry to help individuals and businesses to make informed decisions across the globe.
Equifax India is certified as Equifax Credit Information Services Private Limited (ECIS) and is a joint organization between Equifax Global Inc., and seven different leading financial servicing companies in the country. The company is licensed under the Reserve Bank of India and the Credit Information Companies Act, 2005. In 2011, Equifax also launched a Micro-Finance bureau in India. An Equifax free credit report can easily be acquired by just visiting their website. The report is the result of consideration and calculation of different facets, including credit history, credit utilisation, credit mix, etc. Its website has a comfortable user interface, and most of its services can be accessed within a few minutes. This makes Equifax not only one of the best credit score checkers but also one of the best sites to check credit score.
Note: All credit reports of the four agencies are valid, though the CIBIL score is often considered the best credit score checker as it has been in the market for longer than the rest and has more historical data. Both Equifax credit score vs CIBIL score ranges the same, around 300-900, and both Equifax score and CIBIL score take 30-45 days to resolve errors shown on the credit report.
Experian:
Experian is one of the best credit score information companies and is globally reputed. It is considered the best credit score checker for a myriad of reasons. Experian credit score check can either be done on the Equifax website or other platforms; it is calculated after the consideration of numerous factors. It offers innovative business tools like Powercurve originations, MarketSwitch, and Tracing to clients. The Reserve Bank of India licenses the company, and is one of the first companies of its kind to be licensed by the Credit Information Companies Act 2005. It currently operates two entities in India named as:
Experian Credit Information Company of India Pvt Limited
Experian Services India Pvt Limited
Experian is also ranked as one of the most innovative credit check companies in the world by Forbes Magazine. Experian credit score check can easily be done online on their website with just a few simple clicks, making it also one of the best sites to check credit score.
CRIF High Mark:
Founded in 2007, High Mark is a credit information company that is predominant in India and Europe. After acquiring a major stake in High Mark in 2014, the company was renamed CRIF High Mark. The company serves sectors like commercial, retail, rural, microfinance, and agriculture. CRIF High Mark offers services like free CRIF score check, free credit information reports and micro-finance credit reports for consumers and commercial CRIF credit score, identification, and anti-fraud services to companies. CRIF score check can be done online through a plethora of platforms, making it possible to check your credit score in an instant.
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Comparison of credit bureau report on the following parameters:
| Parameter | CIBIL | Experian | Equifax | CRIF |
| Price of getting a report | Rs.550 (Credit report and score) | Rs.400(Including GST) for report and score | Rs.399 (Report and Score) | Rs. 399 (Including GST) for report and score |
| Duration of report | 7 years | 7 years | 7 years | 1 year |
| Range of services offered | For Consumers:-TransUnion Score -Credit Information report -Market Insights For Companies:-CIBIL Company credit information report -CIBIL Bureau Analyser -Portfolio Review Report. |
For Consumers:-Experian Credit Information report For companies-Customer acquisition -Collection and money recovery -Customer management -Data and Analytics -Customer targeting and engagement |
For Consumers:-Credit information report -Equifax alerts -Equifax portfolio review -Equifax risk score For companies:-Credit risk and fraud management -Portfolio management -Industry diagnostics, etc. |
For Consumers:-CRIF High Mark Credit Information report -Microfinance credit reports For Companies:-Commercial ScoreIdentification and Anti-Fraud services -Predictive Analytics & Scorecards |
| Number of tie-ups with banks and NBFCs | 35 bank and NBFC partnerships. | 2,900 Financial institutes | 7 leading financial institutes (Sundaram finance limited, Religare Finvest Limited, State bank of India, and Kotak Mahindra Finance Limited to name a few) | Over 1000 cooperative banks and insurance companies. |
As noted above, each bureau has extremely contrasting characteristics and results. The price of getting a report is much higher in CIBIL vs Equifax vs Experian. The duration of the report, that is, the number of years the default would be recorded in the report, is 7 years for the first three bureaus and one year for the CRIF High mark. When comparing CIBIL vs Equifax, it’s important to remember that the latter has comparatively lower tie-ups with banks and NBFCs. Experian and CRIF also have a larger number of such tie-ups. Similarly, payments can be made only through demand drafts in Equifax, whereas in CIBIL, payments can be made through net banking, credit, or debit cards. There are many comparisons and deliberations to be made before coming to the conclusion of the best credit score checker.
Each credit bureau has its own algorithms that they use to determine your credit score, thus making reports from any of the above bureaus valid.
Financing institutes and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) send your credit information to all the above credit bureaus without differentiating between them.
All above-mentioned bureaus get a credit score of an individual after considering the following factors:
- History of repayment
- Credit Inquiries
- Credit Exposure
- Age of credit
Having low credit, whether it be a CIBIL score or CRIF credit score or any other score, or a history of low credit score in your reports could affect you financially, as lenders may refuse to lend you money if you are a high-risk borrower. It can be very difficult to get a personal loan with a low credit score. However, under these circumstances, you can still use ZestMoney. All you have to do is sign up and create your profile, and ZestMoney will assign you your free credit limit. So sign up on ZestMoney now and get access to no-cost EMI across multiple partner websites like Flipkart, Amazon, and more!
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