Recently, I came across an interesting article in Mint about accessing your CIBIL score on WhatsApp. Your credit score is a measure of your credit worthiness. Higher your score, greater your credit worthiness. TransUnion CIBIL is one of the credit bureaus and the credit score CIBIL provides is known as CIBIL score. We have seen earlier the crucial role your credit score plays in your loan application. A bad credit score can get your loan application rejected. Even if your loan is approved, a mediocre credit score can also result in a higher rate of interest for your loan. Therefore, it is important to keep track of your credit score if you are planning to apply for a loan or a credit card in the near future. If you have a low credit score, you can take steps to improve your credit score.
Accessing your credit score regularly does not necessarily cost you any money. You can download 1 credit report per credit bureau per calendar year directly from the credit bureau websites. You will have to register on their websites to access your latest credit score and reports. Many other financial services company such as BankBazaar and PaisaBazaar offer you credit score for free. These companies have tied up with one of the credit bureaus to access and provide your credit score. For instance, BankBazaar has tied up with Experian. To access your credit score, you will either have to go to their websites or use their apps.
Recently, a fintech firm has launched a free service that allows you to download your CIBIL score through WhatsApp (not app or website). This facility is offered by a financial services firm, WishFin. WishFin is one of CIBIL’s official partners to distribute CIBIL score and report. With other entities, you needed to do it on their websites or app. The difference with WishFin is that it allows you to access your credit score via WhatsApp. Let’s find out the steps you need to follow.
How Do I Check Credit Score (CIBIL Score) on WhatsApp?
You need to follow the following steps to get your score.
- Give a missed call to 8287-151-151. Your number will be automatically added on WhatsApp chat.
- You will be asked to enter you name, gender, date of birth, PAN, residential address and e-mail id. The information will be sought one by one. As I understand, this information provided must match with the information in the CIBIL Database.
- You will receive an OTP on your mobile number and e-mail id.
- Enter OTP to access your CIBIL score.
For detailed credit report, you will have to register on WishFin website. The detailed report will not be available on your WhatsApp. There is another way to do it too (without missed call). You can enter your mobile number on WishFin website. Subsequently, you will have to follow the same steps as mentioned above. By the way, you can view your CIBIL score on desktop too. You will need to follow steps as mentioned on the WishFin website.
Why Does WishFin Do It?
Fair question. Well, WishFin gets access to your contact details and can use these details to market/cross-sell products. It may also share your information with its partners. Therefore, be prepared for a flurry of marketing calls if you avail the service. From the perspective of the company, it is not unwise to assume that a person checking his credit score may also be looking for a loan, credit card, balance transfer or credit improvement services (if the score is bad). Therefore, there is clear potential to cross-sell other products or services.
WishFin is not alone. Expect similar approach from other sites offering free credit reports such as BankBazaar or PaisaBazaar. There is no free lunch. I do not see anything wrong in such approach from companies. They are, after all, running a business. You have to decide if you wish to avail their services.
Should You Use This Service?
It is your choice. Downloading your CIBIL score through WhatsApp is clearly convenient. However, it is not the only website that offers you free credit report. As mentioned earlier, you can download the free reports directly from credit bureau websites. For instance, you can download your free credit report from CIBIL, Experian and Equifax websites. And providing such free credit report is mandated by the Reserve Bank. I prefer direct download from the credit bureau website but that’s a personal choice.
If you don’t mind such sales/marketing calls or in fact want banks to approach you with their offerings, you can access your score through fintech websites such as WishFin, BankBazaar or PaisaBazaar. However, if privacy is a concern, go ahead and access your score directly from credit bureau websites.
Disclosure: I am not associated with WishFin. I did not avail free CIBIL score download facility from WishFin.