Financial DNA: Why your credit score is the new social currency

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Credit score has evolved into a vital part of an Indian’s digital “DNA". That was the central message from Ramkumar Rajashekaran, whole-time director of CRIF Highmark, at the Mint Money Festival 2026.

Speaking at the event held on 14 February at the NSE Atrium in Mumbai, Rajashekaran highlighted a larger cultural shift—one that has made an individual’s credit score more important than ever before. Rajashekaran opened with a striking statistic: nearly 45 crore Indians are now “credit active" in the formal system. Credit, once largely an urban phenomenon, has penetrated Tier-5 markets, semi-urban hubs and rural pockets.

“Awareness has become much better," he noted. “Today, you see youngsters proud to share a credit score over 750. It’s become a part of the DNA, a social status that gives you credibility and the ability to be independent." What was once a back-office banking metric is now social currency.

Most consumers still associate credit scores only with bank loans. But Rajashekaran explained that their utility has expanded significantly. Within finance, credit scores influence market entry strategies—banks assess the credit health of a geography before opening branches.

Scores also power pre-approved top-up offers and even loan recovery segmentation. The spillover into non-financial sectors has been equally significant. In insurance, companies use scores to assess the “persistency" of customers—whether they are likely to pay premiums on time.

In employment, credit screening is increasingly standard for roles involving fiduciary risk. Fittingly for a Valentine’s Day event, the most talked-about shift was in matrimony. Rajashekaran advocated checking a prospective partner’s credit