First-time credit monitoring rises 27%; user base hits 183 mn: CIBIL report | Finance News – Business Standard

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First-time credit monitoring in India rises 27%, with user base reaching 183 million, driven by Gen Z, women and non-metro consumers, says CIBIL report

India sees a surge in credit awareness as 183 million track CIBIL scores, with Gen Z, women and non-metros driving growth and improving credit behaviour.

As of December 2025, the number of Indians who had self-monitored their CIBIL score rose to 183 million across age groups, marking a 27 per cent year-on-year increase in first-time users, according to a report by TransUnion CIBIL.

According to the report, credit monitoring is increasingly becoming a regular consumer-led practice, with non-metro regions, younger borrowers and women driving growth in participation and credit quality.

Nearly 45 per cent of monitoring consumers improved their credit score within six months of monitoring, while the average CIBIL score among such users stood at 728. 

Millennials and Gen Z accounted for 77 per cent of all monitoring consumers, with Gen Z alone constituting 29 per cent of the base and recording 1.41 times growth in monitoring activity compared to other segments. Among self-monitoring Gen Z consumers, gold loan originations rose 61 per cent year-on-year, while two-wheeler loans in semi-urban and rural areas increased 23 per cent.

Non-metro regions accounted for around 75 per cent of all monitoring consumers, registering a 28 per cent year-on-year growth. These regions also accounted for 78 per cent of new-to-credit consumers, while 73 per cent of prime score (731+) consumers were from non-metro locations.

Women recorded a 38 per cent rise in credit monitoring, compared to 25 per cent among men, increasing their share to 21 per cent from 19 per cent earlier. Around 63 per cent of monitoring women had prime credit scores. Among self-monitoring women, gold loan originations grew 38 per cent.

The report also highlighted that gold loan originations increased 25 per cent within three months of monitoring, with a two-fold rise in disbursals to Gen Z consumers and a 26 per cent increase in semi-urban and rural areas. Two-wheeler loans saw a 6 per cent year-on-year increase within three months of monitoring, while 17 per cent of monitoring consumers availed a consumption loan within the same period.