The shift reflects how credit underwriting in India is becoming more data-driven, layered, and focused on real-time financial behaviour rather than past repayment history alone.
Score alone is no longer enough
Piyush Bagaria, Co-Founder of SalarySe, said lenders are no longer treating credit scores as a standalone decision tool.
“A good credit score is just one part of the picture, but the real signal lies in the underlying components. Credit risk models in India are becoming more sophisticated and are no longer relying on the headline score alone,” Bagaria said in a CNBC TV18 interaction.
He explained that internal scorecards now assign differentiated importance to variables like credit utilisation, credit tenure, and income consistency. Because of this, borrowers with strong scores may still be declined when deeper indicators point to higher risk.
Cash flow and repayment pressure take centre stage
Jayant Upadhyay, COO & Co-Founder at Olyv, said lending decisions are shaped by present financial capacity rather than past behaviour.
“A high credit score often creates a perception of easy eligibility, but lending decisions today are far more nuanced and forward-looking,” Upadhyay said.
He highlighted that income stability, ongoing EMI burden, cash flow predictability, and repayment capacity are now core filters in credit evaluation. Even borrowers with strong scores may be flagged if their financial structure appears stretched.
He also pointed out a growing challenge around thin credit files, where limited borrowing history restricts lenders from accurately gauging behaviour.
Lenders building a 360-degree view
Raj P Narayanam, Founder and Executive Chairman of Zaggle, said credit scoring is being supplemented by broader data ecosystems.
“A CIBIL score is a rearview mirror, it tells you where a borrower has been, not where they are headed,” Narayanam said.
He added that lenders are combining banking data, GST records, and transaction-level insights to understand real financial behaviour.
“The future of credit decisioning isn’t about penalising borrowers, it’s about understanding them better,” he said, noting that credit scores are now just one input in a wider analytical framework.
Debt load reshaping approvals
Vijendra Singh, CEO of Choice Finserv Private, said approval outcomes are often determined by current leverage rather than credit history alone.
“A CIBIL score is essentially a rearview mirror. It tells you how a borrower behaved in the past, but it says nothing about how much financial fuel they are running on today,” Singh said.
He explained that even borrowers with strong repayment records can be declined if their debt-to-income ratio leaves little room for additional obligations. He also noted that depth of credit history matters—diverse, long-term credit usage often signals stronger financial resilience than limited credit activity.
From static score to dynamic assessment
Shakti Shekhawat, Business Head at BharatLoan, said credit evaluation is focused on repayment headroom.
“A high CIBIL score opens doors, but it doesn’t walk you through them,” Shekhawat said.
He added that lenders closely examine whether income after expenses and EMIs leaves enough flexibility to support new borrowing.
Kuldeep Yudhuvanshi, Business Head at Rupee112, said credit assessment is shifting toward behaviour tracking rather than isolated scores.
“Credit decisions today are far less about a single number and far more about patterns,” he said, highlighting that fluctuating balances, borrowing frequency, and income stability are now closely monitored in lending models.
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