Credit bureaus to be brought under RBI’s Ombudsman

The Reserve Bank of India said it will bring Credit Information Companies (CICs) under the aegis of the RBI Integrated Ombudsman Scheme. Doing so could penalise such firms for delays in updating credit information while limiting the indiscriminate use of customer data by lenders.

“The CICs have been brought under the aegis of the Reserve Bank Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (RB-IOS),” the regulator said in a statement. “It is also proposed to put in place a compensation mechanism for delayed updation and rectification of credit information.”

The regulator said there will also be a provision for SMS and email alerts to customers when their credit information is accessed from CICs. The RBI said it will also bring in a time frame for ingestion of data received by CICs from Credit Institutions and disclosures relating to the number and nature of customer complaints received on the website of CICs.

The regulator said these rules are being put in place after the increase in the number of customer complaints regarding credit information reporting and the functioning of CICs.