The Reserve Bank of India has required covered credit institutions to report borrower information against four monthly reference dates since July 1, 2026, while leaving credit-score recalculation schedules unspecified.
The reference points are the 9th, 16th, 23rd and the month's final day. Covered credit institutions, including commercial banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), must file interim updates tied to the first three dates within four calendar days. These updates cover incremental account records, including borrower-initiated repayments or balance changes, and overdue amounts. A complete file for month-end data is due by the fifth day of the following month. Credit information companies must ingest full and interim files within three calendar days of receiving them.
The RBI's directions set deadlines for sending and processing account information, but do not require bureaus to recalculate scores on each reference date. TransUnion CIBIL identifies payment history, credit utilization, age of credit and enquiries as main factors in its score calculation. An on-time payment contributes to payment history, while the balance recorded on an account can also affect utilization. The schedule does not guarantee a score increase after a payment.
The new cadence follows the RBI's switch to fortnightly reporting on Jan. 1, 2025, using data as of the 15th and the final day of each month. The central bank said the more current reports were intended to help lenders make decisions as digital underwriting shortened credit decision timelines.
The RBI's Digital Lending Directions, 2025, require regulated entities to report certain structured digital-lending products involving short-term credit or deferred payments on merchant platforms to credit information companies. Similar reporting requirements appeared in 2022 guidance, so the 2025 directions continued an earlier rule. EconoTimes previously covered how some BNPL plans appear on credit reports.
Credit information companies must report lenders that miss submission deadlines to the RBI's Department of Supervision twice a year, as of March 31 and Sept. 30. The next scheduled reporting checkpoint is March 31, 2027.
