MUMBAI: Who knew a credit score could be comic gold? As Transunion CIBIL celebrates 25 years of building India’s credit backbone, it has teamed up with Amar Chitra Katha’s Tinkle to launch ‘CIBIL Ki Kahaniyan’, where everyone’s favourite dim-witted genius Suppandi moonlights as a financial literacy guru.
The special comic sees Suppandi joined by Simran, his finance-savvy friend, and MyCIBIL, a personification of the credit score itself. Together, the trio use humour to unravel how credit works, why scores matter, and how responsible borrowing can shape futures. With nostalgia for grown-ups and fun for first-time earners, the campaign turns credit literacy into light reading.
The comic book is just one part of a larger silver jubilee push. The outreach spans print, social media, and a multi-city radio campaign, all tied together by the tagline: “Sahi CIBIL Score, Badhaaye Khushi Ka Score”. The message is clear: a healthy score isn’t just a number, it’s a ticket to dreams, from a first home to higher education.
And CIBIL’s track record is as impressive as its storytelling makeover. In 25 years, the bureau has partnered with 7,000 plus institutions, with over 164 million Indians self-monitoring their credit scores as of July 2025. Across two decades, more than 700 million individuals have gained access to formal credit, alongside 36 million commercial entities and 85 million active microfinance borrowers.
Perhaps most striking is the gender shift: in just 10 years, 118 million women have entered the formal credit system, fuelling financial independence across households. Younger borrowers are also surging, thanks to targeted outreach and digital onboarding.
“This milestone is not just about time, it’s about trust,” said Transunion CIBIL MD & CEO Bhavesh Jain who called the campaign a way to blend progress with personal stories of resilience and aspiration.
Meanwhile, Tinkle editor-in-chief Gayathri Chandrasekaran admits her own team now checks their CIBIL scores after crafting the comic: “Suppandi was the perfect pick to make finance fun.”
For a nation where finance often feels intimidating, Suppandi’s misadventures may just make credit confidence the next household story.
