It only takes one slip to fall into a debt spiral and yet the climb back to financial stability requires flawless execution. This is why credit builders like Self are invaluable for those who struggle with rebuilding their credit.
What is Self Financial?
Self Financial, more commonly known as Self, is a company that offers these credit-building services:
Self Credit Builder Loan
This service is designed to help users build a positive payment history. It may be called a loan but you don’t receive the loaned amount until you’ve completed the repayment process.
This means that the Self Credit Builder Loan acts more like a time deposit that charges you interest instead of the other way around.
On average, you’ll have to pay Self 17% of the total amount that you deposit in their Credit Builder Account.
Self Secured Credit Card
The Self Visa® Credit Card is an extension of their Credit Builder Account. Unlike other secured credit cards, Self uses the money deposited in a user’s credit builder loan to secure the credit card.
The upside is that you get two tradelines for what is essentially one service. However, this also means that you need a Self Credit Builder Loan to apply for this secured card.
Another downside is the fact that this credit card can never be converted into an unsecured one, regardless of your progress as a credit builder. Worse yet, closing the account could negatively impact your credit by increasing your credit utilization and reducing your credit mix.
Aside from these caveats, the Self Secured Credit Card acts like any other secured credit card in the market. There are no rewards or perks for using it. It has an annual fee of $25. And it has a high variable APR of 28.24%.
Rent and Bills Reporting
For this service, Self connects to your bank account to find and verify rent and bill payments and then reports those payments to the credit bureau/s.
Your rent payments will be reported to all three credit bureaus: TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. While your bill payments will be reported to TransUnion only.
This service costs $6.95 a month but you could also retroactively report the last two years of rent and bill payments by paying a one-time $49.95 flat fee. The app also comes with a credit monitoring service that’s based on your TransUnion report.
It’s also important to note that this isn’t a bill-pay service. You still have to use your bank’s bill-pay or auto-pay service to get a record of your rent and utility payments that Self will report to the credit bureaus.
Why Consider Credit Building Alternatives?
Investigating the details of fintech apps is a great way to get a better deal. Or at the very least, find the service that’s more suitable for your situation.
Bill Pay is a good example of what’s missing from Self’s services. Their Rent and Bills Reporting service hinges on the user’s own bill-pay or auto-pay service.
In fact, fintech is such a constantly evolving industry that it’s always worth a look to see which new features and services would perfectly fit your financial needs.
What Are The Best Credit Building Apps Like Self?
1. Cushion
Cushion only overlaps with one of Self’s services: Bill Reporting. However, Cushion’s Bill Pay service is much more robust than what Self offers.
With Cushion, you can organize and pay all of your bills, subscriptions, and even Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) payments all in one app. And all of these transactions will be reported to Experian.
Requirements
Cushion requires you to link your bank account and email to your account in order to automatically detect and organize your bills and BNPL payments.
You’ll also be provided with a Cushion Virtual Card of your choice that you would need to put on file with billers so that you can start building credit with those payments.
Services
Cushion’s service has two tiers: Builder and Pro.
Cushion Builder allows you to centralize all your BNPL payments in on app and build your credit history when you pay them.
Cushion Pro organizes all of your bills AND BNPL payments and then reports all of these transactions to Experian.
The main advantage that Cushion has over Self is that the Cushion App is a one-stop shop for all your bill and BNPL payment needs.
The value of Bill Pay apps comes from the sheer number of bills and subscriptions that we have to juggle on a daily basis.
But if we need a separate fintech app for reporting credit, a specific one for bill pay, and another for BNPL, then we now have to juggle fintech apps instead.
This is the problem that Cushion solves.
Pricing
| Service | Pricing |
| Cushion Builder | $4.99/month |
| Cushion Pro | $12.99/month |
2. Kikoff
Kikoff isn’t the best credit-building app on this list. But it has earned the number one spot since it’s the service that has the most similarities to Self.
Kikoff offers two of the three services of Self: Credit Builder Loan and Secured Credit Card. Both alternatives are better in terms of requirements, pricing, and interest rates.
Requirements
Kikoff has no requirements whatsoever. They don’t do any credit checks and claim to instantly approve any sign-up application.
Services
Kikoff’s main service is something that Self doesn’t actually offer: financial education.
Kikoff offers a line of credit worth $750 a month, but it’s limited to purchases in their store. Which only offers items on financial literacy.
However, anything you purchase in Kikoff’s store, using their credit account, is reported to all three credit bureaus.
Kikoff also has two optional services: Credit Builder Loan and Credit+ Cash Card.
Their credit builder loan becomes available after you make your first successful payment. And unlike Self, their credit builder loan doesn’t charge users any interest or even late fees.
Their secured card requires a $50 deposit before they start reporting your data to the credit bureaus. However, unlike Self’s secured card, Kikoff’s Cash Card provides cash-back rewards and even overdraft protection. Best of all, it has 0% APR and no annual fee.
So even if you’re not interested in Kikoff’s main service, both its optional services are superior to what Self offers. Unfortunately, they don’t have a service similar to Self’s Rent and Bill Reporting, so you need to look elsewhere for that feature.
Pricing
| Service | Pricing |
| Kikoff Credit Account | $5/month |
| Credit Builder Loan | 1 successful payment on a Kikoff item |
| Credit+ Cash Card | Free with Credit Account* |
*The Credit+ Cash Card requires a direct deposit to unlock features like overdraft protection and credit data reporting.
3. Ava
Ava is an app that provides two distinct features: Credit Builder Card and Save & Build Credit. However, the credit card they offer has multiple restrictions.
For example, it can only be used to pay for select online subscriptions, such as Netflix, Xbox Live, and Nintendo Switch Online. While its Save & Build Credit service is similar to the other Credit Builder Loans in this list.
Requirements
The only requirement to sign up for an Ava account is linking the bank account that you use for depositing your pay. Just like Kikoff, Ava doesn’t do any credit checks and claims to instantly approve applications.
Services
Ava’s Credit Builder Card can be quite confusing so let’s clarify all the details and caveats.
The credit card has a $2,500 credit limit on paper. However, users are only allowed to use $25 a month, which can only be used to pay for online subscriptions. There is a reason for the $2,500 credit limit that you can’t access though. And that is for when they report your credit history to the credit bureaus.
Credit utilization accounts for 30% of your credit score. If you use less than 30% of your available credit limit, then credit utilization becomes a positive factor. Use more than 30% and it pulls your credit score down.
The Ava Credit Builder Card forces you to have 1% credit utilization at most. Since it gives you a $2,500 credit limit on paper despite only having access to $25 a month. The $25 limit can also be increased by making your payments on time.
Ava’s Save and Build Credit service is for all intents and purposes, a credit builder loan. Although they market it as a locked savings account (which is honestly a much better descriptor for a credit builder loan).
And much like Kikoff’s Credit Builder Loan, Ava doesn’t charge any admin or interest fees. You basically deposit $21 a month into a savings account for 12 months then get all $252 back.
Pricing
| Service | Pricing |
| Ava Credit Builder Card | $9/month or $72/year |
| Save and Build Credit | Free |
4. Experian Boost
Experian Boost is a free service offered by Experian, one of the three credit bureaus. This service is identical to Self’s Bill Reporting service. They only differ in cost and the credit bureaus that they report to.
Experian Boost is free while Self’s Rent and Bill reporting costs $6.95 a month. Self reports bill payments to TransUnion. While Experian Boost only applies to Experian.
Requirements
Experian only requires users to connect the bank accounts that they use to pay bills and then verify the transactions that they want to add to their Experian file.
Services
Experian Boost is essentially a way for Experian, one of the three credit bureaus, to update their records using information from a user’s bank account. And since the data is transferred directly to Experian, users can expect their FICO scores to be updated within minutes.
Pricing
| Service | Pricing |
| Experian Boost | Free |
5. StellarFi
StellarFi also overlaps with Self’s Bill Reporting service. And like Cushion, StellarFi also allows users to pay their bills using the app. The biggest advantage that StellarFi has over Self is that it furnishes data to all three credit bureaus.
Requirements
StellarFi only requires users to link the checking account that they use to pay their bills. And then manually add the bills that they want to pay using StellarFi.
Services
StellarFi’s service is pretty straightforward. Pay your bills using this app and they will report those transactions to the three credit bureaus, increasing your credit score in time.
It’s important to note that the lowest pricing tier of StellarFi only allows users to report up to $500 worth of bill payments. So if you have more than $500 of bills to report, you need to apply for StellarFi Prime.
Pricing
| Service | Pricing |
| Lite | $4.99/month |
| Prime | $9.99/month |
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Are these apps safe to use with my personal information?
Yes, all the apps mentioned in this article prioritize data security and employ encryption to safeguard your personal information.
2. Can these apps guarantee an increase in my credit score?
While these apps provide valuable tools and recommendations, your credit score ultimately hinges on your financial habits and history.
3. Are there any fees associated with these credit-building apps?
Many of these apps offer free versions with basic features, but premium versions with advanced tools may come with subscription fees.
4. How long does it take to see improvements in my credit score?
The timeframe for seeing improvements can vary depending on your unique financial situation. Consistently following sound financial practices is crucial.
5. Can I use multiple credit-building apps simultaneously?
Only if they offer differing services. Doubling up on a specific service isn’t recommended.
6. Do these apps work for people with no credit history?
Yes, many of these apps are designed to assist individuals with limited or no credit history in initiating their credit journey.
Cushion’s Offer
Paying your bills may seem like a mundane task but it’s one of the most common financial pitfalls. Utilities are some of our biggest expenditures and putting everything on autopay without a bullet-proof budget is a good way of drowning in overdraft fees.
Worse yet, paying your bills on time doesn’t even count towards your credit score. Unless you use an app like Cushion, that is.
The Cushion app will help you keep track of what’s due and when, in one place, automatically. Better yet, paying your bills and subscriptions through our app allows you to build credit history for payments you’re already making.
Conclusion
Self offers three distinct services: Credit Builder Loan, Secured Credit Card, Rent and Bills Reporting. The best alternative for those looking for a credit builder loan is Kikoff or Ava. Kikoff also has a better secured credit card than Self but Ava’s unsecured credit card has the extra perk of decreasing your credit utilization.
In terms of bill reporting though, Cushion takes the cake. Not only does the Cushion App automatically organize and report your bill payments to Experian, you can also use the Cushion Card to pay your bills without the risk of an overdraft.
