Millennials keep a tab on credit score

Chennai: Millennials are increasingly become conscious of their credit score and keep monitoring their score. They also try to improve their score after checking them, finds a study by TransUnion Cibil.

Millennials are the one of the most credit-conscious consumer segments in the country. Credit score monitoring millennials account for 67 per cent of the entire credit self-monitoring consumer base. The number of score monitoring Indian millennials grew by 58 per cent between 2016 and 2018, while credit-conscious non–millennial consumers grew by just 14 per cent.

These credit-conscious millennials self-monitor their credit scores regularly and have an average Cibil Score of 740, higher than the non-millennial average of 734.

On an average, self-monitoring millennials view their Cibil report or view updates about 6 times in a year. They also demonstrate a conscious effort to work towards improving their Cibil score. Within six months of checking their score, 51 per cent of those millennials with a score below 700 have improved their Cibil Score by an average of 65 points.

While 64 per cent of them apply for credit within three months of checking their score, 34 per cent actually avail of a new credit card and/or open a new loan account. They realize the importance of building and maintaining a positive credit footprint and high Cibil Score. This credit awareness will help them be ready to take advantage of lenders’ offers such as lower interest rates while applying for large ticket loans such as home loans.

They show a preference for unsecured loans, with credit cards, personal loans and consumer durable loans contributing to 72 per cent of all loans availed by this consumer segment. Among secured loans, two wheeler loans and auto loans had the highest demand.