India’s Decade Of Credit Growth Is Also A Borrower Story

By Bhavesh Jain, MD & CEO, TransUnion CIBIL

Over the past decade, India's credit ecosystem has undergone a remarkable transformation. The share of credit-active consumers has grown from 11 per cent of the eligible population in 2017 to 28 per cent by 2026, while the proportion of credit-eligible Indians who have accessed formal credit at least once has more than doubled from 35 per cent to 74 per cent. What was once a system reaching a limited segment of the population has evolved into one that supports millions of consumers across geographies, income groups and life stages.

This transformation did not happen in isolation. In 2016, India's financial story was at an inflexion point. In the span of a few short months, the country witnessed the emergence of UPI, the announcement of demonetisation, the roll-out of GST and the foundations of an integrated Digital Public Infrastructure. Ten years later, we can see the impact almost everywhere. What was once a largely cash-dominated economy has become one of the world's most dynamic digital financial ecosystems. Consumers can borrow, repay, save, invest and transact at the tap of a screen.

The decade in between brought challenges, regulatory evolution and large-scale digitisation, fundamentally reshaping access to financial services. As banks expanded their reach and NBFCs and fintechs brought more consumers into the formal financial ecosystem, credit became available to a wider section of the population than ever before.

The years that followed were not only about economic growth or financial change. It was about the evolution of India's credit ecosystem. As India’s economy grew, credit grew in parallel. Importantly, so did the profile of the Indian borrower.

The numbers tell a remarkable story. Over the decade, the share of India's credit-active population has expanded significantly. The most important development has not simply been greater access to credit. It has been the growing participation of consumers who were historically underrepresented in the credit system and the increasing maturity with which they are engaging with credit.

Today, credit growth is being led by borrower cohorts that look very different from those of a decade ago. Women now account for 30 per cent of credit-active consumers, up from 22 per cent in 2018. Younger borrowers have increased their share from 33 per cent to 39 per cent over the same time period. Consumers from Semi-Urban and Rural (SURU) regions now represent 63 per cent of credit-active consumers, compared to 53 per cent in the same time period. The credit ecosystem has become increasingly representative of India itself, extending beyond traditional urban centres and reaching a wider spectrum of consumers across geographies, age groups, and income segments. States such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar are emerging as important drivers of credit growth, highlighting the geographic diversification of India's borrower base.

In short, today the borrower is more representative of India itself, spanning genders, generations and geographies, with credit supporting a far broader set of aspirations.

This evolution in the credit landscape is driven by the dual engines of demographic diversity and credit maturity. Demographic diversity is evident in the growing participation of women, younger consumers and borrowers from emerging geographies. Credit maturity is reflected in rising credit maturity, greater borrower awareness, increased credit monitoring and stronger engagement with the formal credit system. Borrowers are not merely entering the ecosystem; they are progressing within it, moving from entry-level products to broader retail credit relationships.

This expansion matters because access to credit can unlock opportunities. However, the story of the decade is not only about who entered the system. It is about how consumers are choosing to engage with credit.

1. From Access to Awareness

This shift from access to awareness may very well be the biggest defining feature of India's credit ecosystem evolution in the last decade. One of the indicators of this change is the growth in credit monitoring. In 2018, only about 1 per cent of consumers actively monitored their credit. As of March  2026, that figure stands at 35 per cent. Between March 2017 and March 2026, the proportion of credit active consumers with more than five years of credit experience increased from 38 per cent to 54 per cent.

2. Using credit to support lifestyle choices

For many years, formal credit was largely associated with asset ownership. A home loan or a vehicle loan often represented a consumer's first touchpoint with formal credit. Those remain important aspirations, but today's credit landscape reflects a broader set of ambitions. Consumption-led credit products, i.e., consumer durable loans, personal loans and credit cards, are now present in more than 50 per cent of active consumer wallets, compared with one-third in 2018, reflecting the growing role of consumption-led credit in consumers’ credit portfolios . At the same time, business-oriented credit participation has expanded tenfold over the period, reflecting increased participation in business-oriented credit .

These shifts tell us something very important about the changing consumer aspirations. Credit is no longer viewed only as a means of acquiring long-term assets. It is now supporting education, lifestyle needs, household purchases and entrepreneurial ambitions. A consumer may use credit to purchase a smartphone that supports work, finance an appliance that improves daily life, invest in skills that enhance employability or support a small business venture. Credit has become deeply woven into everyday economic activity.

3. More Informed Borrowers, Better Outcomes

These trends show that consumers are becoming more engaged and informed. They are no longer viewing credit as a one-time transaction. They are increasingly recognising that repayment behaviour, credit history and credit monitoring can influence future financial opportunities.

The benefits of this awareness are also beginning to appear in outcomes. Consumers who monitor their credit have demonstrated better cure rates than those who do not, with cure rates of 46% compared with 38% among non-monitoring consumers. While this association does not establish that credit monitoring  itself causes better financial outcomes, it may reflect a greater engagement with credit management and financial responsibility.

The most important transformation has occurred not in borrowing behaviour but in borrower awareness. A decade ago the question for consumers was straightforward: Can I access formal credit? Increasingly, the question today is: How far will credit take me?

The past decade has also demonstrated the importance of balancing growth with sustainability. Rapid expansion inevitably created pockets of elevated leverage within the system. However, recent years have shown encouraging signs of moderation. The share of leveraged-consumer originations increased from 5 per cent in FY2017 to 18 per cent in FY2024 before moderating to 15 per cent in FY2026. This reflects an ecosystem that is increasingly capable of balancing inclusion and growth with prudent credit behaviour and risk management.

Taken together, these developments point to a broader story about maturity. India's credit ecosystem has expanded in size, depth and diversity. Technology, financial institutions and policy frameworks have all played important roles in that journey. Yet the real progress can be seen in the behaviour of millions of consumers who are building credit histories, monitoring their financial profiles and using credit more thoughtfully than ever before.

The biggest story of the last decade is not simply that more Indians gained access to credit. It is that more Indians learned how to use credit, monitor it and integrate it into their financial journeys. India's credit story is therefore not only a story of expanding access. It is also a story of growing awareness, evolving aspirations and increasing borrower maturity.

And that may be the clearest sign yet of how far India's credit ecosystem has come. The last decade has truly been the defining decade for India’s credit ecosystem – the decade when it came of age.

(Disclaimer: Views expressed are the author’s own, and Outlook Moneydoes not necessarily subscribe to them. Outlook Money shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any person/organisation directly or indirectly.)