The Full form of CIF is Customer Information File. CIF is an electronic file that contains all pertinent information about a customers’ personal and account details. It consolidates a customer purchase history, account information, etc. and adds to the basic demographic information to create a current snapshot of a customer. It provides a comprehensive snapshot to the bank about how a customer has interacted with it in the past.
In simple words, it provides the business with transaction details and summary of all the activities of an account holder. The details are held in a computerized or an electronic format. However, a CIF can also be a folder or a paper file containing all the important and relevant documents of a customer. The CIF (Customer Information File), which contains a CIF number, allows the bank or a business to view its customer accounts not strictly by account type, but by relationship.
Although many businesses and industries have the data related to the customers, CIFs have been traditionally associated only with the banking industry. A CIF at a bank might include accounts owned by a customer, a client’s credit relationships, and ownership information. CIF is also a part of CRM (Customer Relationship Management), wherein the banks or businesses make planning and strategies to maintain and improve the relationships with their clients.