I sit on the credit side of Securis. Every working day I see somewhere between 30 and 80 applications, and the question that comes back the most over WhatsApp is some version of “what rate will I get?” People expect a single number tied to their CIBIL. The honest answer is messier: credit score moves the rate, but it isn’t the only lever, and for our typical applicant — college student or early-career professional borrowing ₹25,000 to ₹2,00,000 — it’s often less decisive than people think.
Here’s what’s actually happening behind the scenes, what each credit-score band buys you, and where the score matters less than you’d expect.
The actual rate bands, by CIBIL
Securis APRs for personal loans in our typical small-ticket range (₹25K-₹2L, 6-24 month tenure) sit between roughly 14% and 24% per annum depending on profile. Here’s the shape of what credit score does to that range, holding everything else constant:
| Credit score | Typical APR band on a Securis loan |
|---|---|
| 800+ | 14% - 16% |
| 750-800 | 15% - 18% |
| 700-749 | 17% - 20% |
| 650-699 | 19% - 22% |
| 600-649 | 21% - 24% (often with co-borrower) |
| No score / first-time borrower | Evaluated on parent / co-borrower’s score, not yours |
These are the bands I work with day to day, not marketing copy. Two things to call out:
1. The bands overlap. A 770 with stable salaried income at a known employer can land at 15.5%; a 770 with a freelance income paid partly in cash can land at 18%. CIBIL is a starting point, not a verdict.
2. Sub-700 isn’t a no. A lot of personal-loan ads in India quietly cut off below 700 or 720. We don’t. Below 700 we look harder at income stability and may ask for a co-borrower, but we approve a meaningful chunk of these.
What does that rate difference actually cost you?
Let’s make this concrete with EMI math. Take a fairly typical ask: ₹85,000 over 18 months — the rough cost of a mid-spec laptop or a CFA Level 1 prep + exam combo.
At three different APRs (assuming standard reducing-balance EMI):
- At 15% APR → EMI of about ₹5,287/month, total payback ≈ ₹95,170
- At 18% APR → EMI of about ₹5,401/month, total payback ≈ ₹97,220
- At 22% APR → EMI of about ₹5,556/month, total payback ≈ ₹100,000
So between a 15% and a 22% rate on the same ₹85K, 18-month loan, you’re paying roughly ₹4,830 more in total interest over the life of the loan — about ₹268 a month. That matters, but it isn’t life-altering on a small-ticket loan. It’s the kind of gap where, if your credit score is borderline, fixing it before applying might or might not be worth the wait.
On larger loans or longer tenures, the same percentage spread starts to bite harder — that’s where score-driven repricing becomes a real argument for waiting a few months and applying with a stronger score.
Where credit score matters less than you’d expect
Three situations come up so often I’ve started warning applicants about them up front:
You’re a college student with no credit history. This is the norm, not a problem. We evaluate your parent (or guardian) as the primary applicant and price the loan on their score and income. Your missing CIBIL is irrelevant. People sometimes apply for a credit card “to build credit before the loan” — for the timelines we work in, this rarely helps. A two-month-old card with one transaction doesn’t change the underwriting picture.
You’ve got a 720+ score and you’re upskilling on a steady salary. Above 720 the marginal benefit of going higher is small in our small-ticket range. Spending 6 months ferociously optimising from 740 to 790 to “get a better rate” is usually not worth the delay if you’re trying to register for a CFA window or grab an internship laptop. The rate improvement might be 1-1.5 percentage points.
You have one missed payment from years ago dragging down your score. Be honest about it on the form. We’ve seen the file. We’d rather price the risk than be surprised. Hiding it doesn’t help — it shows up the moment we pull your CIBIL.
Considering a small loan and not sure where your score lands? Apply for a Securis loan — typical disbursement is 1-2 working days, and you’ll see your offered rate before you commit.
What else moves the rate
If credit score is one lever, the other levers we actually pull on are:
- Income stability — bank-transferred salary at a known employer is the cleanest signal. UPI and cash income are fine but priced slightly higher because they’re harder to verify.
- Tenure of employment — six months at the current employer reads very differently from six weeks.
- Existing EMI load — RBI now caps total EMIs at 50% of net income. We respect that cap with a margin, so if you’re already running heavy EMIs elsewhere, your effective rate is higher (or amount is lower) regardless of CIBIL.
- Co-borrower strength — a 600 score paired with a parent at 800 is a very different file from a 600 standalone.
- Loan tenure — shorter tenure usually means a slightly cheaper APR, because we hold the risk for less time.
Where you might do better elsewhere
For 800+ scores borrowing larger amounts (₹3L+) over 36+ month tenures, HDFC, ICICI, or Axis personal loans will usually beat our rate. We don’t pretend otherwise — those banks have a cost-of-funds advantage on large, long, prime-credit loans. We’re competitive in the small-ticket, fast-disbursement, less-than-perfect-credit zone, and not everywhere.
If you’re a 750+ salaried professional borrowing ₹1.5L for 12 months, run a quick comparison with Bajaj Finserv or Tata Capital before you commit to anything. We’d rather you take the right product than the closest one.
For traditional ₹5L+ tuition financing to colleges, HDFC Credila or Avanse are still the right answer — that’s not what Securis is built for.
If you want a second opinion on your specific situation, WhatsApp us — we’ll be honest about whether Securis fits or someone else is better.