Whenever you approach a bank or any other financial institution to apply for a loan or even a credit card, there is one thing they will always have a look at. That is your credit report, and specifically your credit score, that is a crucial part of that report. This is also sometimes called your CIBIL score - a three-digit number that can fall anywhere between 300 and 900. Lenders look at your credit report and credit score because they reveal your entire credit history. Your credit report tells them about your past financial habits such as how punctual you have been with your loan and EMI payments, what is your credit utilisation ratio, how many credit inquiries you have made, how dependent you are on credit, etc. All this information helps them decide your creditworthiness and, in turn, impacts your eligibility for getting loans and credit cards.

Naturally, there are millions of people who apply for loans and credit cards. Don't you wonder how banks manage to keep a record of all these millions of people, their applications and their respective credit reports? This is where the ECN number comes into play. It is a unique nine-digit number that belongs exclusively to you, just like a thumbprint and helps banks keep track of millions of applicants and their reports. You can think of it as a reference ID. It makes it convenient for banks to quickly access your specific credit report out of millions of others. Let us understand what is ECN number is in more detail.

What is an ECN Number?

ECN is an initialism. Its full form is Enquiry Control Number. Another commonly used name for ECN is the Consumer Credit Information Control Number (CCI Control Number). As the name itself suggests, ECN is generated whenever you make a credit enquiry and is used by the financial institution to control the enquiry and keep track of all your credit information. Let us simplify this for you. As informed earlier, your ECN is a nine-digit number that will be unique to you. No other person can ever have the same ECN number.

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How Is ECN Number Generated and Who Generates It?

A person's ECN number is generated when the bank requests CIBIL and accesses their credit report. As mentioned earlier, banks might do it for a variety of different reasons. Basically, it informs them of your creditworthiness. As the banks access your credit report, they are also provided with this unique number by the Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited (CIBIL).

This number will be generated every time a credit report is accessed, so CIBIL needs the control number to retrieve the exact details that the lender viewed or referred to when the credit report was pulled. In short, this number acts as a reference ID for specific credit inquiries.

Every time a credit inquiry is made, a new ECN number is generated. Therefore, these numbers cannot be reused and are unique to each specific inquiry.

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Importance of ECN Number

More than the consumers, the ECN hold importance for banks and other lenders. The Enquiry Control Number is an indispensable tool in the hands of banks and other financial institutions when it comes to the efficient management and organisation of credit reports and information. ECN serves the following purposes:

1. Lenders can access credit reports: The first and foremost purpose of ECN is that it makes it quick, easy and very convenient for lenders such as banks to access the credit reports of borrowers from CIBIL. Since it is a unique identifier, a reference ID, banks can pull out specific credit reports easily. Throughout the process of loan and credit card approval, banks need to check the CIBIL report of the borrowers many times. With access to the ECN, banks can access the right information quickly.

2. Facilitates Organisation and Tracking of Millions of Reports: Banks are constantly receiving applications for loans and credit cards, and therefore, they have to pull out the credit information of thousands of people every day. To organise all this information properly and to avoid any confusion, there must be some sort of organisational tool. This is exactly what ECN does. It allows lenders to organise the vast volume of CIBIL reports of their customers. With every inquiry having its unique identifier, it becomes extremely easy for lenders to track each individual credit inquiry and also enables the credit bureau to locate specific credit reports .accurately.

Since ECN is generated every time an enquiry is made, it becomes extremely helpful if there are multiple reports within a short span of time or if inquiries are made by multiple different institutions.

3. Access to the Latest Version of Credit Report: An individual's credit report is not something that is constant and unchanging. As your financial habits transform, so does your entire credit report. Therefore, ECN becomes a way for lenders to make sure that they are getting the latest version of someone's credit report, the version associated with their enquiry.

As informed earlier, the ECN is not associated with an individual but with a specific credit inquiry of an individual. This means that each time a credit inquiry is made and the lender pulls out a credit report from CIBIL, a new ECN will be generated to help keep track of that particular inquiry and the version of your credit information at the moment of making that inquiry.

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How Can You You Get Your ECN Number?

We are sure that by now, you must have realised that an ECN number is considered highly sensitive and confidential information. This is because it gives access to a person's entire history of credit. This information itself is extremely confidential and must not be known by anybody and everybody. Therefore, an ECN is related to many security concerns. This is why it is not very easy to obtain your ECN Number. However, even though it might be a little challenging, it is not entirely impossible because under the Credit Information Companies Regulation Act (CIRCA), 2005, consumers have been granted the right to acquire their ECN number and credit report. So you won't outright be denied your ECN. If you wish to know your ECN number, you can do so in the following ways:

1. Get Your CIBIL Report: One of the most popular ways to know your ECN number is to get access to your CIBIL report. The ECN is always mentioned in the top right-hand corner of a CIBIL report. To get your CIBIL report, you can visit the official CIBIL website. You are entitled to one free CIBIL report every calendar year. To get more than one credit report every year you have to take a paid subscription plan available on the website. This way, you can get regular CIBIL reports and, hence, ECN numbers as well.

2. Call CIBIL Helpline: If you do not want to go through the hassle of checking your CIBIL report first, or if you are interested only in getting the ECN number and not the detailed credit report, you can opt for a more direct method, which is to call on the CIBIL helpline number - 1800-224-245 and request for your ECN number.

3. Ask the Bank: Since ECN is generated when banks or lenders ask CIBIL for your latest credit report, they obviously have access to it. Therefore, you can also request your lender to let you know your ECN or provide you with your detailed credit report where you can then see the ECN mentioned on the top right-hand corner.

4. CIBIL Subscription Plans: Consumers are entitled to only one free credit report by CIBIL every year. However, there are paid subscription plans available on the CIBIL website. If you subscribe, you can receive regular credit reports and, consequently the ECN number as well. This is also a great way of staying updated with your credit records so that you can take the required measures to maintain and improve them for the betterment of your financial health.

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Conclusion

Every time you make a credit inquiry, in other words, apply for a loan or a credit card, the lenders request CIBIL for your credit report. This report gives them all the information about your previous credit usage, and they can easily gauge your capacity to repay the loan or credit amount. Banks receive millions of such inquiries. Therefore, they have to keep a record of millions of credit reports. They are able to do this because of ECN. The Enquiry Control Number is generated when banks access a customer's CIBIL report. This number is a unique identifier, and no two people can ever have the same ECN. It is almost like a reference ID that banks can use to pull out the latest version of your credit report associated with your inquiry. Since ECN is connected to such highly confidential information as the entire credit information of an individual, it is not easy to obtain it. However, consumers have the right to know their ECN, and they can do so by visiting the CIBIL website to get their credit report that also contains the ECN, calling the CIBIL helpline number, requesting their lender for their CIBIL report or subscribing to a paid plan on the CIBIL website to receive regular credit reports.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Is the CIBIL score and ECN number the same thing?

No. CIBIL score and ECN number are two entirely different things. Your CIBIL score is a part of your credit report. It is a three-digit number that can fall anywhere between 300 and 900 and shows how you have managed credit in the past. Lenders use it to assess the risk of default payments and gauge your creditworthiness. The ECN is the Enquiry Control Number, which is generated every time you apply for credit, and the banks request CIBIL for your credit report. It is basically like an organisational tool that helps banks maintain records of millions of credit reports and access them easily without any mix-ups.

2. Can two people have the same ECN?

No. Two people can never have the same ECN. Just like your thumbprint, your ECN is exclusively yours. That is the entire purpose of the ECN. It lets banks and lenders access your specific credit report. It is basically like a reference ID.

3. Can I ask CIBIL for my ECN number?

Yes. Under the Credit Information Companies Regulation Act (CIRCA), 2005, you have the right to know your credit report and ECN. You can call the CIBIL helpline or log in to access your credit report if you wish to know your ECN. It will be mentioned in the top-right-hand corner of the credit report.

4. Should I share my ECN with others?

ECN is a number that is linked to highly confidential information. Access to your ECN means access to your entire credit information. Naturally, sharing your ECN poses a security risk. Therefore, you must never share your ECN number with anyone.

5. Is ECN and CCI Control Number the same?

Yes. ECN and CCI Control Number are the same thing. ECN is short for Enquiry Control Number, and CCI Control Number is short for Consumer Credit Information Control Number. Both of these are just different names for the same nine-digit number that is generated when banks request CIBIL for access to your credit report.

6. Do I need an ECN to apply for a loan?

No. You do not need an ECN to apply for a loan. An ECN will be generated once you have applied for the loan and the bank has accessed your CIBIL report. This number will now help the bank to manage and control your specific inquiry.

7. Can ECN impact my credit report?

No. ECN is not something that can impact your credit report or your credit score. It is only there to help lenders keep track of your credit inquiry and the latest version of your credit report. The number that impacts your credit report is your credit score.