Getting a personal loan is just a few taps on a smartphone screen away these days. But when multiple loans lead to missed EMIs (equated monthly instalments) and a plunging credit score, borrowers often struggle to identify exactly what went wrong—and how to fix it.
This confusion has given rise to a growing market for paid credit health services that offer actionable advice rather than just a three-digit score.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has already raised red flags regarding mounting stress among borrowers juggling unsecured loans from multiple lenders. The central bank has also noted increasing delinquencies in small-ticket loans originated by fintech firms.
As defaults drag down credit scores and trigger recovery calls, borrowers are increasingly turning to specialised platforms to decode their . These services monitor credit profiles, pinpoint factors hurting scores, and outline the next steps for recovery. Some even provide alerts for unfamiliar credit enquiries, score simulators, and customised guidance.
Advice Gap: Data vs. Interpretation
India is home to four credit bureaus: TransUnion CIBIL, Experian, Equifax, and CRIF High Mark. While consumers are entitled to one free complete credit report from each bureau per calendar year, experts told that these reports provide raw data, not tailored advice. They detail credit scores, list active or written-off accounts, and show lender enquiries, but they lack a roadmap for score improvement.
Paid plans from platforms like BankBazaar, GoodScore, and OneScore aim to bridge this advice gap by explaining the reasons behind a score change and suggesting actionable remedies.
Parijat Garg, a digital lending consultant and former senior vice-president at CRIF High Mark, told Mint that the growth of these platforms is fueled by rising credit score awareness, a surge in first-time digital borrowers, and a growing consumer willingness to pay for digital financial guidance.
“People can get or credit reports through a lot of apps, or even directly from credit bureaus,” Garg said. “But what you get there is primarily a reflection of the score, and not everybody is comfortable reading the report or making an interpretation out of it.”
For a borrower managing a personal loan, a credit card, and a two-wheeler loan who has missed a payment, a standard report merely flags the past-due account and the resulting drop in score. It does not advise the borrower on which debt to clear first to optimise their profile.
Paid platforms, however, analyse payment patterns, credit utilisation, defaults, and credit mix to offer a step-by-step resolution plan.
What does credit health cost?
GoodScore charges about ₹99 a month for its step-by-step analytical plan. BankBazaar’s CreditStrong, launched in 2021, costs ₹1 for the first month and ₹99 a month thereafter.
BankBazaar Chief Executive Adhil Shetty said strong sign-ups, especially from non-metro and semi-urban markets. Many of these users are first-time borrowers introduced to credit through buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) schemes, only to see their scores drop below 650 due to a lack of understanding of how borrowing and repayment behaviour affect their profiles.
While credit bureaus also offer paid subscriptions—such as a ₹1,500 annual CIBIL plan featuring daily refreshes, alerts, and trend tools—they may lack the personalised recommendations provided by credit-advice platforms that make the latter attractive to struggling borrowers.
Do you really need to pay?
Not everyone requires a paid subscription, experts told Mint. For consumers with healthy credit, free alternatives are widely available. Several UPI apps and credit platforms offer free basic monitoring, though advisory features might be restricted.
FREED, for instance, offers a free “EMI Score” that assesses a borrower’s ability to manage current debts based on income, savings, and existing loans.
According to FREED Founder and CEO Ritesh Srivastava, this helps borrowers understand whether their debt burden is manageable, noting that consumers typically seek to improve their scores only after financial stress has surfaced. OneScore also provides a free “find out why” feature to explain score changes.
Borrowers should also consider these platforms’ business models before paying. Many operate as marketplaces, meaning an improved credit score becomes an opportunity to cross-sell loans and credit cards from partner lenders.
Subhankar Mishra, head of business strategy at Equifax India, suggested that constant monitoring isn’t strictly necessary for everyone.
“A consumer can stagger these reports and check one bureau every quarter. Someone with a few long-term loans and a reliable repayment record may not need to monitor their score every month,” he said.
Ultimately, paying for credit monitoring makes sense for borrowers juggling multiple loans, recovering from missed payments, or dealing with potential fraud. For those with a clean credit history, staggering free annual reports across the four bureaus provides adequate oversight.