Obtaining credit has become a way of life all over the world. For the banks and financial institutions, credit bureaus act as indispensable sources of prospective customer's credit history thereby helping in effective decision-making and prevention of frauds.

In recent years, the Indian economy has been growing rapidly due to stable political atmosphere and industry friendly initiatives of successive governments from the 1990s. In addition to the growth witnessed in the IT and ITES sector, the manufacturing and industrial sectors are also showing an upward trend. The rise in the income levels due to the economic boom has created the demand for goods and services at an unprecedented level. Due to the entry of multinational brands in the consumer, electronics, industrial and almost all the sectors, a huge rise in consumerism is being witnessed with the help of borrowed funds. Another major trend that is being witnessed is the retail spending being spearheaded by the young generation in their 20's and 30's due to rising income levels created by the surplus opportunities in the IT and ITES sectors.

The rise in consumerism is supported in a large way by the banks and financial institutions that have been liberal in granting a variety of loans such as home loans, property loans, credit card loans and vehicle loans. The paper work involved in the disbursement of loans is minimal or altogether done away with in the case of credit card loans which are granted on a phone call. Due to the entry of private and foreign banks with their well developed IT infrastructure, there has been heavy competition to sell banking products such as credit cards and loans and achieve the number one position in this field.

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