The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday unveiled a master direction consolidating existing guidelines for banks and financial institutions on reporting customer credit information.

Under the new framework, credit information companies (CICs) are required to send alerts via SMS or email to customers whenever their Credit Information Report (CIR) is accessed by authorized users. These alerts will only be triggered when a CIR inquiry is recorded, according to the “Master Direction – Reserve Bank of India (Credit Information Reporting) Directions, 2025.”

Additionally, credit institutions (CIs), including banks and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), must inform customers of the reasons for rejecting their requests for data correction. This measure aims to help customers better understand discrepancies in their credit reports.

The RBI also mandated compensation of ₹100 per day if complaints filed with credit institutions or CICs remain unresolved beyond 30 days.

The master direction aims to establish a standardized framework for credit information reporting, safeguard the confidentiality of sensitive data, and enhance transparency in the credit ecosystem.