Credit Bureaus

               Credit bureaus are also known as Credit Information Companies (CICs) in India, are organizations which collect credit data related to loan and debt repayment history for individuals, businesses, and firms. They provide this data to financial institutions such as banks and NBFCs as personal credit score and credit report whenever an individual approaches a bank/financial institution to avail loan and as a business credit score and credit report whenever a business or a firm approaches a bank/financial institution seeking a new credit facility.                 A credit bureau in India is licensed by the Reserve Bank of India and governed under The Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005 also known as CICRA 2005. The Act of 2005 was enacted to regulate CIC’s in India and facilitate efficient distribution of credit and for matters concerned with it. RBI has licensed four credit info...

According to a 2013 report published by the ICFE Fraud Magazine, 46% of the identity fraud  reported globally involved breaches of government documents. 20% of all complaints were related to breaches of data of financial institutions. An RBI circular of November 2014 reported that in some cases, even though the original cheques were in the custody of the customer, cheques with the same series had been presented and encashed by fraudsters. According to the National crime records bureau statistics, the total number of cases of cybercrime registered in India in 2013 was around 4,356 and 2098 arrests were made in this regard. In India alone, frauds worth 11,022 crore INR were reported in public sector banks between April – December 2014 and over 2000 cases of fraud were reported to the RBI. Government Regulations to prevent frauds The regulations and laws governing the financial services sector in India are gradually developing. With new and robust ways replacing old and tradit...