Build your credit history while you save with Loqbox
Save your way to a brighter financial future
Boost your borrowing power with your savings
Credit history is the evidence of using credit, over time. So what happens if you don’t have much of that?
The best thing to do is to start now! The sooner you start building credit history, the better your credit will be when applying for things like mortgages, credit cards and loans in the future.
Putting savings aside doesn’t contribute to your credit history — but it can with Loqbox! With Loqbox you can use your savings towards building a better financial future, today.*
What is a credit history?
If you’re just starting out with credit, Loqbox can help you build a stress-free credit history by reporting your monthly repayments*. Easy!
Credit file: There are three main credit bureaus in the US — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Each bureau gathers your financial information from the companies who you deal with (like your utility suppliers or bank) and use that data to create a personalized credit file for you.
What lenders use: Before deciding whether to approve your request to take out their financial product, lenders will use your credit file information and run it through their scoring model. It’s difficult to guarantee if their scoring system will approve your application, but aiming to get your credit scores (the numbers the bureaus give you as an indication of how lenders might view you) as high as possible will help!
Does everyone have a credit history?
It’s best to think of your credit history as a record of how you used your credit over time, how much you’ve borrowed and how well you’ve paid it all back (hopefully without any missed payments)
If you’ve never used credit, then you won’t have a credit history. When this happens, lenders and banks sometimes call this a ‘thin file’. This just means that the credit file is pretty empty because there’s not much evidence of credit use.
Loqbox knows that many people handle their money excellently, but there still needs to be a trail of evidence to prove it. And that’s what credit histories are all about! It shows what lenders like to call ‘creditworthiness’.
Having a healthy credit history matters because when a bank or lender thinks about lending to you, they are going to look for evidence to trust that you can pay them back. If there’s no evidence of how you use credit, then they could be wary to lend to you. And that wariness could mean you’re offered poorer rates on mortgages, loans and credit cards (boo!).
If you want to make a difference to your credit history today, don’t be shy — the sooner you start building your credit history, the more of it you’ll have. And getting started with Loqbox can help you build yours***, without hard credit checks or hassle.
How to find out your credit history
Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion are the three main credit bureaus in the US. They each hold a report of your credit history and this information helps to contribute toward your credit scores.
They each have their own scoring model, along with the popular FICO and Vantage models — so you have multiple credit scores, not one. FICO is so popular that people mistakenly use the term ‘credit score’ and ‘FICO score’ interchangeably.
You’re entitled to a free report of your credit from annualcreditreport.com once a year.
If you’d like to check your credit report more frequently, then you can use these links:
- Credit Karma (uses TransUnion and Equifax data)
- Credit Sesame (uses TransUnion data)
- Credit.com (uses Experian data)
Keep in mind.
Different lenders use different scoring models. Some are industry specific, or use the Vantage scoring system. But the most popular is the FICO (Fair Isaac Corporation) score. FICO scores range on a scale of 300-850, and generally speaking, 670-739 is considered a ‘good’ score.
Because you don’t know exactly which lender will use which scoring model, it’s worth building your credit history and financial health as a whole to help improve them all.
How to build credit with no credit history
✔ Become a bill payer at your household
Always try to aim for no more than one ‘hard’ credit check every six months. So if you plan to add yourself as a bill payer then spreading time between adding yourself would be smart! By doing this, you might also be declaring your financial connection with the other members of your household. This is something to think about if one of you has poor credit behavior as it could negatively affect the others in the home. Be sure to check the small print when you go to add yourself so you’re aware of what the association between you and other members of the household will be.
✔ Pay your phone bill
✔ Consider a credit-building credit card
Spend just a littlemoney on your credit card and pay it back in full before you start incurring interest.
✔ Become an authorized credit card user
✔ Get started with Loqbox***
Pay into your Loqbox responsibly every month and we’ll help your credit history grow as we report these payments to the credit bureaus*.
Not to mention the lump sum of savings you’ll get back at the end. It’s a win-win! Unlock into a new bank account with one of our partner banks for free** (they’ll pay us a commission). Or into your own account for a $40 charge for your credit-building journey. Here's how it works.
Once you’ve built your credit history, these things can keep it healthy:
✔ Always make your payments
Good to know: With time, missed payments become less important to your creditworthiness. But as a rule, always be sure to pay on time.
✔ Keep your credit file neat and tidy
Remember to remove any ex-partners or roommates that you are no longer linked to. And confirm your address is correct across all three reports.
✔ Building credit without a credit history is a long game
Does saving money help to build credit?
You’re entitled to a free report of your credit from Improving your credit history can save you $1,000s on mortgages, loans and credit card interest. But what about the other way around? Can you use savings to build your credit? Traditionally, saving money wasn’t a way to build your credit history. However if you’re a regular saver (or would like to be) read on. Because we have a way you can put your money to good use when it comes to building your credit!
Build your credit history without the hassle, with Loqbox*. And save your way to an improved credit history to get you ready for your financial future.
Read more about how it all works here.
What our Loqbox members think
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"My score went up 243 points"
"The customer service is great, they always respond and take care of any issues I may have in a timely manner."
— Michelle
**The partner bank accounts that are available are displayed on our system during the unlock process (when you withdraw your savings). The terms and conditions related to those accounts, including any applicable charges, will be provided by the financial institution during your sign-up process.
***After activating your Save account, your credit score may see a dip as you are opening a new line of credit. However, as you make your regular payments and we report them to the credit bureaus, your score should begin to rise over time.
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