CRIB empowers Sri Lankans with digital access to services

 The senior leadership of CRIB at the launch of the Bureau’s awareness campaign: 

From left: CRIB Manager Business Development – Digital Marketing Hancy Wickramarathne, Assistant General Manager ICT Nihal Piyasiri, Deputy General Manager Janaka Lakmal, Director General Manager Pushpika Jayasundera, Chief Manager HR, Admin and Finance Nilmini Herath, Head – Information Security, Risk and Compliance Shiroma Dassnayake, Assistant General Manager Operations Sanjeewani Rathnayake, and Manager Business Operations Indika Dissanayake

• Promotes individual credit health through CRIB “MyReport” and other value added products

Following the success of its digital revamp agenda announced in January this year, the Credit Information Bureau of Sri Lanka (CRIB) encourages Sri Lankans to stay better informed about their credit status and improve their credit health by utilising digital facilities and other customer services made available by CRIB Sri Lanka to manage the credit standings of individuals and corporates.

Playing a crucial role in bridging the information gap between lenders and borrowers for credit inclusivity and responsible borrowing, CRIB Sri Lanka utilises a state-of-the-art Credit Information Management System. This system ensures seamless integration with all financial institutions, which are legally mandated to report all credit information, including term loans, credit cards, leasing, gold loans, pawning, and more.

This collection of credit information, aligned with global practices, has now been extended to include non-traditional data. The objective is to provide access to credit for marginalised citizens who do not have existing credit data. Having records of utility payments, telecommunications, and insurance creates a valuable opportunity for almost half of the Sri Lankan population to access credit from the formal finance sector with better terms and conditions.

This initiative will promote responsible borrowing, improve credit behavior, and instill credit discipline among Sri Lankans. By broadening the spectrum of data collected, CRIB aims to integrate more individuals into the formal financial system, ensuring fair and equitable access to credit for all.

Individuals can now access their CRIB credit report and credit score from the Self Inquiry Credit Report option, known as the CRIB MyReport, which can be requested by both registered users as well as unregistered users (through the Customer Access Portal) of www.crib.lk. The credit score is calculated based on each individual’s credit aspects, including but not limited to payment behavior, over indebtedness, demographic details, utilisation of available credit, and status of credit facilities. The CRIB credit score is a 3-digit number ranging from 250 – 900, where higher the score, lower the credit risk.

With the ability to access their own credit report and CRIB score, individuals and corporates can understand their credit worthiness and eligibility with lending institutions. This also enables individuals to organise spending behaviors, repayment habits, exposure levels that will help them to obtain credit facilities faster, efficiently with favorable terms and conditions. The ability to regularly review their credit report allows individuals the opportunity to identify any incorrect reporting’s, and take required measures to correct the report in a timely manner.

An educational campaign under the tagline ‘Care for Your Credit Health’ was launched in June to create awareness and educate citizens on managing and using credit for the productive development of individuals and corporations. This campaign aims to generate interest in maintaining credit discipline, supporting economic stabilisation, and meeting evolving lifestyle demands.

The education and awareness campaign emphasises the importance of maintaining strong credit discipline and boosting credit eligibility with formal financial institutions. It also includes tips on improving credit health, from smart debt management to regular credit score monitoring, to access better credit opportunities and enjoy long-term financial stability for both individuals and corporations.