What is the Credit Score?
Your credit score is a number from 0 to 100 that tells lenders how reliably you repay loans. A higher score means lenders are more confident lending to you — which means better offers, lower interest rates, and faster approvals.
It is calculated entirely from your borrowing behaviour — how you repay, how much you currently owe, and how your income compares to your debt. It has nothing to do with how active you are on Community+; that's tracked separately as your community score.
Score Tiers
Your score maps to a label that lenders see when reviewing your application.
| Label | Score Range | What it signals |
|---|---|---|
| Excellent | 80 – 100 | Outstanding repayment record, low debt, strong income ratio. Easiest time getting approved. |
| Good | 65 – 79 | Solid history with minor gaps. Most lenders will approve. |
| Fair | 50 – 64 | Some late payments or moderate debt load. Approval is possible but terms may be stricter. |
| Poor | 35 – 49 | Missed payments or a default on record. Lenders will look closely before approving. |
| Very Poor | 0 – 34 | Significant defaults or high debt. Hardest to get approved. Focus on rebuilding first. |
The 4 Components
Your score is made up of four weighted components that add up to 100. Each one measures a different dimension of financial health.
Repayment History — 40 points
The biggest component. It measures whether you have completed your loans cleanly — no defaults, no unresolved balances.
| Situation | How it's counted |
|---|---|
| No loan history | 10 points (conservative baseline — not penalised, not rewarded) |
| Clean completion | Full 1.0× weight — counts completely toward your score |
| Recovered default | 0.6× weight to start. Improves over time as you rehabilitate (see below) |
| Unresolved default | 0× weight + −8 flat point penalty per outstanding default |
- • 6 paid installments → max 10 pts (25% maturity)
- • 12 paid installments → max 20 pts (50% maturity)
- • 18 paid installments → max 30 pts (75% maturity)
- • 24+ paid installments → max 40 pts (fully matured)
Payment Behavior — 30 points
This component looks at your individual installment payments — not just whether you finished the loan, but whether each payment arrived on time. Like repayment history, it matures with evidence: one on-time payment does not earn full marks.
| Behaviour | Effect |
|---|---|
| Early payment | Counts as on-time. If 50%+ of your payments are early and you have at least 6 paid installments, +3 bonus points |
| On-time payment | Full credit toward your on-time rate |
| Late payment (≤7 days) | Reduces your on-time rate, mild score impact |
| Very late payment (7+ days) | Heavier reduction — double penalty on top of the late rate |
| Currently overdue installment | −4 points per overdue installment right now |
- • 6 paid installments → max 8 pts (25% maturity, includes early bonus)
- • 12 paid installments → max 16 pts (50% maturity)
- • 18 paid installments → max 24 pts (75% maturity)
- • 24+ paid installments → max 33 pts (fully matured, with early bonus)
Debt-to-Income Ratio — 15 points
Answers the question: "Can you afford the monthly payments on your current loans?" It compares your total monthly loan payments against your declared monthly income.
| Monthly payments ÷ income | Points |
|---|---|
| Under 30% — comfortable | 15 / 15 |
| 30 – 39% — manageable | 12 / 15 |
| 40 – 49% — stretched | 7 / 15 |
| 50 – 59% — strained | 3 / 15 |
| 60%+ — high risk | 0 / 15 |
Total Debt Load — 15 points
Answers the question: "How much do you already owe, relative to your annual income?" This is completely objective — zero active debt always earns full marks, regardless of history.
| Total outstanding debt ÷ annual income | Points |
|---|---|
| No active debt | 15 / 15 — perfect |
| Under 20% | 15 / 15 |
| 20 – 39% | 11 / 15 |
| 40 – 59% | 8 / 15 |
| 60 – 79% | 4 / 15 |
| 80%+ | 0 / 15 |
Defaults & Recovery
Defaulting on a loan is serious — but it isn't permanent. Urgent2K distinguishes between borrowers who defaulted and never paid versus those who defaulted but eventually recovered. Recovering your default is far better than leaving it open.
Rehabilitation — Earning Back Trust
Once you've repaid a defaulted loan, the recovery is recorded — but the slate isn't wiped clean immediately. Instead, you earn your way back through a rehabilitation system that rewards consistent good behaviour after recovery.
| Stage | Weight | How to get here |
|---|---|---|
| Just recovered | 0.6× | Loan repaid — recovery starts here |
| On track | 0.8× | 6+ months since recovery AND 1+ clean loan repaid after |
| Cleared | 1.0× | 12+ months since recovery AND 2+ clean loans repaid after |
- • 3+ clean loans after recovery → On track gate drops from 6 months to 4 months
- • 5+ clean loans → gate drops to 3 months (floor)
- • 4+ clean loans after recovery → Cleared gate drops from 12 months to 9 months
- • 6+ clean loans → gate drops to 8 months (floor)
When Does My Score Update?
Your credit score is recalculated automatically whenever something meaningful changes about your loan history. You don't need to do anything.
New loan disbursed
Score recalculates immediately — active debt load increases.
Loan fully repaid
Score recalculates — clean completion added to your history.
Payment goes overdue
Score recalculates — overdue penalty applied per installment.
Loan marked defaulted
Score recalculates — full default penalty applies.
Monthly income updated
Score recalculates — affects DTI and debt load components.
How to Improve Your Score
The most effective actions, ranked by impact:
Resolve any outstanding defaults
An unresolved default costs you the most. Pay it off — even if the repayment rate penalty stays for a while, the flat −8 point penalty disappears immediately.
Never miss an installment
Payment behavior is worth 30 points. Consistent on-time payments are the most reliable long-term builder. Even one very late installment costs you.
Complete loans cleanly
Finishing loans without defaulting is the foundation of the whole system. Each clean completion raises your history weight.
Keep your income updated
Both DTI and debt load components are calculated using your declared monthly income. If your income has increased, update it in your profile — it directly improves your score.
Take clean loans after a default
If you have a recovered default, taking new loans and repaying them cleanly is the fastest path to rehabilitation. Volume matters — the more clean loans you repay, the faster you move through the tiers.
Reduce active loans when possible
Having fewer active loans simultaneously lowers your total debt load and DTI ratio. If you have multiple active loans, focus on paying them down before taking new ones.
FAQ
Does my credit score affect what loan offers I can see?
Not directly — all marketplace offers are visible to everyone. But lenders can see your score when reviewing your application, and many will factor it into their approval decision.
I just joined and have no loans. What's my score?
New users start with a baseline of around 25–30 depending on whether income is on file. There's no punishment for having no history — the system simply has nothing to work with yet. Your first successfully repaid loan will move you significantly.
I repaid a defaulted loan. Why is my score still low?
Recovery sets your repayment weight to 0.6× — not zero. Your score will improve compared to having an unresolved default, but it won't jump to where it would be if you'd never defaulted. Use the rehabilitation path: take clean loans and repay them to move to 0.8× and eventually 1.0×.
I paid on time every month but my score barely moved. Why?
If your loan is still active, the repayment history component hasn't fully updated yet — it reflects completed loans most strongly. Payment behavior is updating, but the biggest score jumps come when a loan is fully repaid.
Does KYC verification affect my credit score?
KYC is a gate requirement for creating a virtual account and receiving disbursements. It doesn't directly add points to your credit score, but without it you can't take loans — so it indirectly blocks you from building history.
Can I see a full history of my score changes?
Yes. Your Profile page shows the last few score change events with the old score, new score, and the reason for the change.