The Reserve Bank of India issued the Master Direction on Credit Information Reporting Directions, 2025, consolidating requirements for credit institutions and credit information companies on how credit data must be reported, maintained and shared, alongside strengthened consumer access and grievance redress expectations. The directions are effective immediately and apply across banks (excluding payment banks), co-operative banks, regional rural banks, all-India financial institutions, non-banking financial companies including housing finance companies, asset reconstruction companies and all registered credit information companies. The framework mandates that all credit institutions become members of all registered credit information companies, with caps of INR 10,000 on one-time membership fees and INR 5,000 on annual fees per credit information company. Credit information must be submitted to all credit information companies using a non-proprietary Uniform Credit Reporting Format for consumer, commercial and microfinance segments, with data updated fortnightly (as of the 15th and month-end) and submitted within seven calendar days of each reporting date. Credit information companies must ingest received data within five calendar days, issue rejection communications with reasons within seven calendar days, and provide monthly Data Quality Index scores for each segment, including industry benchmarks, supported by half-yearly data quality reviews by credit institutions. On dissemination and customer outcomes, credit information companies must standardise credit report terminology and include mandatory key fields, calibrate credit scores to a 300–900 scale, and provide individuals with one free full credit report including score once per calendar year. Customer service measures include alerts to customers when their credit report is accessed (where contact details are available), alerts from credit institutions when default or days past due information is reported, complaint disclosures on credit information company websites, and a requirement to operationalise a full-fledged online data correction mechanism. A compensation framework requires payment of INR 100 per calendar day when a complaint is not resolved within 30 calendar days, with apportionment between credit institutions and credit information companies based on the source of delay and payment within five working days of resolution. The directions also set detailed controls for sharing credit information with non-specified users based on individual consent, including due diligence, India-based processing and storage, time-limited retention and annual information systems audits, and require implementation by 10 April 2025 of a reporting mechanism to address borrower credit records following cancellation of a bank or non-bank licence or certificate of registration.

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