Credit scores & credit history

A credit score is a number that is determined by your credit history, a measure of your ability to responsibly repay a loan on time. Companies and individuals use this score to help make decisions about you. For example, if you should be approved for a credit card, auto loan, or apartment lease. However, it's a bit of a Catch-22: To have a good credit score, you need to get access to credit. And in order to get access to credit, you need a credit score.

Credit bureaus & credit reporting

When you open a line of credit or receive a loan, your information is usually reported to one or more of the three major credit bureaus (Fizz currently reports to both TransUnion and Experian). These companies keep a record of how good you are at managing your credit and paying your debts on time. If you are late to repay a loan or don't pay it back at all, your credit score will likely be negatively impacted. You can read more about missing payments as it relates to Fizz, here.

When you sign up for a Fizz account, you are also applying for a line of credit offered by our bank partner, Lead Bank. This line of credit is what can help build your credit profile and your credit score.

When you purchase something using a traditional debit card, your funds will instantly be sent to the merchant to cover the purchase. In this scenario, there is no credit or loan provided, so you cannot build your credit.

When you use a Fizz card to pay for something, you do so using the line of credit that you got from Lead Bank when you signed up for your Fizz card. By making purchases using this line of credit and paying them back on a daily or even monthly basis, you're responsibly using credit. And when you enable daily Autopay, you don't even have to think about building credit! Just spend normally and your purchases will be automatically paid off from your connected bank account.

When you apply for a Fizz account, we will attempt to provide you with a credit score. If you have one available, you'll see it within the app. Some members won't be able to see their scores right away. This may be due to the fact that some individuals simply don’t have enough credit history to generate a score. But don't worry! It may take a few months, but we'll alert you as soon as yours is available.

How does Fizz affect my credit score?

If you use your Fizz card as intended, keep money in your bank account, and turn on daily Autopay, it's easy to build your credit history without even having to think about it. As you use your Fizz card, your data will be reported to the credit bureaus every month, building your credit. Daily Autopay is the best way to use your Fizz card, and we highly recommend using it to help your credit and keep you on top of your finances.

Because you're accessing a line of credit using your Fizz card, you can hurt your credit score if you don't pay off your purchases. Every month after your statement closes, you'll have three weeks to pay off any outstanding purchases. After three weeks, your card will lock automatically. You'll then have an additional thirty days to make a payment before a missed payment is reported to the credit bureaus. Don't worry - we'll make sure to notify you via email or notifications before taking any action that could have a negative effect on your credit.

Does unlocking my credit score impact my credit score?

No. When you unlock your credit score, there is no impact to your credit score.

Do you check my credit history?

No, we do not check your credit history.

How often does my credit score update?

Typically once per month. If you are not provided a credit score immediately, we will alert you as soon as one is available.

What is a "good" credit score?

Each credit score is different, but the Experian VantageScore 3.0 ranges from 300 to 850. The closer to 850, the better your score. A good score is typically thought of as being above 660.

What factors impact my credit score?

Many factors impact your credit score, but here are the big ones: payment history, credit utilization, derogatory marks, length of credit history, hard inquiries, total accounts, and credit mix. You can learn more about each in the "Credit" section of the app.

What is Credit Utilization?

Your credit utilization is the total amount of credit you’re using, divided by the amount of credit available to you at a given time. If your total credit limit is $1000, and you have a $100 balance on your card (assuming it’s the only card you have, ignoring loans, etc.), your utilization is 10% ($100/$1000).

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