RBI takes notice as consumers suffer due to faulty credit scores

A credit score is a powerful thing. A high enough score affords you access to cheap and easy finance. A low enough score, however, effectively excludes you from accessing traditional finance altogether. In some cases, such as public bank jobs, candidates can be disqualified from selection simply on the basis of their credit scores.

Sushant M found this out the hard way when he applied for a car loan from a nationalised bank earlier this year. Despite Sushant being employed as a data engineer at a multinational tech services firm, the bank rejected his loan application outright. His credit score, the bank said, was extremely low due to a foreclosed loan account from four years ago that was linked to his personal account number (PAN)—a unique alpha-numeric identifier assigned by India’s Income Tax department.