How to maintain a good credit score

A bad credit score can ruin a person’s future plans in case he/she plans to take credit cards or loans later in life for life goals. The Money9 Helpline hosted Paisabazaar’s chief product officer, Radhika Binani to explain how to keep the credit score healthy and improve it over time.

Edited excerpts

Sharmistha Ghosal, Kolkata: I paid off an auto loan earlier this year without a single default on payment. How will this affect my credit score? Where I can check my credit score?

Binani: There are 4 credit bureaus, to which RBI has mandated to show free credit score to customers once a year. So whether it is CIBIL, Equifax, Experian, and Highmark, you can check from these bureaus. You can also check at Fintech spaces as they also offer to display scores. Bank websites also showcase free or paid credit score.

Arun Singh: I have 5 credit cards, I use them all to collect points. I make all the payments within the due date. Does this affect my credit score badly? Kindly advise

Binani: You are doing the right thing. As long as you pay on time, then there is no issue. It will be positive if you have a higher credit limit and the utilisation is low. It will show the banks that this person is not hungry for credit which is good for your credit score.