Cred.ai
Product Name: Cred.ai
Product Description: Credit.ai is a fintech that helps users build credit by offering a credit card that works in conjunction with a deposit account.
Summary
When Credi.ai’s Unicorn metal credit card is paired with the deposit account you are guaranteed never to pay fees or interest. You’ll make deposits into your deposit account, which is like a checking account, and Credi.ai will set aside funds and pay your credit card in full automatically.
Pros
- Can help with credit building
- Access your paycheck two days early
- Virtual card numbers can offer added security
- No fees if you opt into Automatic Payment Services
- Access more than 55,000 in-network, fee-free ATMs
- No hard credit check required
Cons
- No interest earned on cash balance
- No credit card rewards
- No welcome bonus
- Limited customer support (email only)
Credi.ai has two accounts: a credit card and a deposit account that works like a checking account. You can fund the deposit account through direct deposit and use the credit card for spending. When you spend on the credit card (called the Unicorn card), Cred.ai will earmark funds in the deposit account to make the future credit card payment.
The payment is made automatically and on time. You are guaranteed never to pay interest or fees if you have the two accounts linked.
At a Glance
- Credit card and deposit account
- No fees or interest as long as you sign up for Automatic Payment Services (see fee details below)
- No cash back rewards or welcome offer
- Access to over 55,000 fee-free ATMs nationwide
- FDIC-insured up to $250,000
- No authorized users on credit card
- Receive your paycheck early
- Available on iOS and Android
Who Should Use Cred.ai
Cred.ai is best for those who want to build credit automatically without the risk of overspending or forgetting to make their credit card payment.
To use Cred.ai to its fullest, you have to be willing to move your checking account, at least in part, to Cred.ai. This won’t work well for those who already have established financial habits.
If you struggle with overspending or making on-time payments, then Cred.ai could be a perfect fit. However, if you don’t have these struggles, there may be simpler ways to build your credit.
Cred.ai Alternatives
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| Monthly Fee | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Secured Card | No | No | Yes |
| Credit Check Required | No | No | Yes |
| Learn More | Learn More | Learn More |
Table of Contents
What Is Cred.ai?
Cred.ai began operations in 2016 and launched its Unicorn Credit Card four years ago. They also offer a checking account, known as a Deposit account.
As Cred.ai is not an actual bank, banking services are provided through Cred.ai’s partnership with Delaware-based Wilmington Savings Fund Society (“WSFS Bank”).
The purpose of the credit card is to give consumers with no credit or poor credit an opportunity to build or improve their credit scores. Users have even more financial flexibility with the Deposit Account added to the mix.
How Does Cred.ai Work?
One of the primary purposes of Cred.ai is to enable consumers to build or improve their credit scores through the service. Cred.ai does not perform a hard credit pull when you apply, and your payment history to the credit card will show up on your credit report with the three major credit bureaus.
The credit card is intended to be paired with the deposit account. You’ll fund the deposit account, as you would a checking account, and use the credit card to make purchases. When you spend on the card, Cred.ai sets aside funds in the deposit account that are no longer available for spending.
When the time comes to make your payment on the credit card, Cred.ai will pay the bill in full and on time, automatically. This payment is then reported to the credit bureaus.
With this method, its as if your credit card is more like a debit card. You can’t ever spend more than you have in your deposit account.
While credit.ai states that it cannot guarantee credit score increases, it does state the following on its website:
“Based on an August 2021 analysis performed by Cred.ai analyzing Experian Vantage credit score changes, a representative sample* of cred-ai users observed a median credit score increase of 90 points.”
Cred.ai Unicorn Credit Card
The star of the Cred.ai show is the Unicorn Credit Card. It’s a no-annual-fee credit card but doesn’t come with a welcome offer or any rewards. However, it can help cardholders build or improve their credit scores. And by adding a Deposit Account, Cred.ai can draw credit card repayments from the account automatically. That virtually guarantees your monthly payments will be on time.
However, if you don’t pay on time, the card purchase APR is quite high, and its Cash Advance APR is even higher. Cred.ai reports your payment history to all three major credit bureaus.
Cred.ai Deposit Account
By adding a Deposit Account, Cred.ai can draw credit card repayments from the account automatically. That virtually guarantees your monthly payments will be on time. Cred.ai then reports your payment history to all three major credit bureaus. Unlike other fintechs that offer deposit accounts, Cred.ai doesn’t pay any interest.
You can apply for a Unicorn Credit Card without applying for a Cred.ai Deposit Account, but you cannot apply for the deposit account without being approved for the credit card.
Other Credit.ai Features
Cred.ai includes several tools that are designed to make managing your finances and spending easier. Here’s a closer look at some of its key features.
Flux Capacitor
Flux Capacitor allows you to receive your paycheck two days early and alerts you to future payments. It does this by detecting incoming deposits and outgoing debits before they happen.
For example, Cred.ai will let you know that a car payment is due on the 15th, and your next paycheck is coming on the 17th. There is no fee for this feature, and you can turn it on and off anytime you like.
Safe Spend Amount
To help ensure you don’t exceed the limit on your credit card, Cred.ai keeps a running tab of your available credit and displays it on the app. Cred.ai will also prevent authorization of any transactions that may exceed this balance, and Deposit Account funds will be set aside as frozen funds to cover any amounts charged to the card.
You can enable the Convenience Transfer feature, which will provide an automatic transfer of funds from your linked bank accounts with other institutions into your credit card account if the balance in the account falls below the Safe Spend Amount.
Frend & Foe
With Cred.ai, you can add merchants to approved (Friend) and unapproved (Foe) lists. Transactions at “Friend” merchants will be approved even if something goes wrong. Transactions at “Foe” merchants will be blocked in order to prevent fraudulent and erroneous activity.
Stealth Card
Stealth Card is a virtual card number that is used for transactions where the security of your account may be in jeopardy. This includes routine transactions like ordering pizza over the phone or signing up for free trials.
You can activate High-Security Mode if you’re looking for an even higher level of security. You can use it any time you don’t feel completely safe making a transaction. It authorizes use for just long enough to complete the questionable transaction, then expires, so the payee cannot use the card information for other purposes.
Cred.ai Mobile App
The Cred.ai app is available for iOS devices at The App Store, where it has a rating of 4.7 out of five stars among nearly 5,000 users, and for Android users on Google Play, where it has 3.3 out of five stars among almost 700 users. (As of February 2024).
Cred.ai Fees
Cred.ai guarantees you won’t pay any interest or fees if you opt into its Automatic Payment Services. This includes no overdraft of non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees.
However, if you opt out of Automatic Payment Services, there is interest on purchases and cash advances. You also have a late payment fee of up to $25 and a returned payment fee of up to $25.
✨ Related: 10 Online Banks Like Chime: Which One Is Best for You?
How to Sign Up with Cred.ai
You can sign up for Cred.ai through the website or download the mobile app on Google Play for Android devices or on The App Store for iOS devices.
to get started, enter your mobile phone number, but be aware that your chance of approval is lower with VOIP phones, burner emails, or VPNs. Once your phone number has been entered, a verification code will be sent to your phone.
You’ll need to enter that number on the next screen and then check the box representing that you have signed the Cred.ai E-Sign Agreement.
You will also need to provide your full name, physical address, date of birth, and other information for identification purposes under federal law. You’ll likely be required to provide a government-issued photo ID, such as a valid driver’s license.
You will need to link an outside bank account, complete with a valid debit card, to your Cred.ai account for funding purposes.
While you don’t need to submit to a hard credit check when opening an account with Cred.ai, you are required to pass a review of your ChexSystems consumer report, which is a repository designed to report your bank account history. It includes reporting of bank accounts closed with outstanding balances remaining.
Other Cred.ai requirements include:
- Be at least 18 years old (21 in Mississippi, 19 in Alabama or Nebraska) at the time of application
- Be a legal US resident
- Have a valid Social Security number
- Possess a valid US-based mobile phone number
- Have a US-based bank account with a valid debit card in good standing
- Annual income of not less than $10,000 per year
- Not have filed for bankruptcy within the previous five years
Cred.ai Alternatives
It’s not an exaggeration to say that Cred.ai does a few things no other credit card for bad credit does. But if it doesn’t seem to be the right credit card for you, check out the following alternatives:
Chime
Chime is perhaps the most worthy alternative to credit.ai. Chime claims that its Credit Builder Visa Card can improve your credit scores/FICO Score by an average of 30 points. It works similarly to Cred.ai in that you have a deposit account attached to the credit card that you must fund before you can spend on the credit card. Your balance in the deposit account is your credit limit.
When the payment is due on the credit card, funds are automatically transferred from the deposit account to pay the credit card bill. You will need to deposit more money into in the deposit account to continue to spend on the card.
No minimum security deposit is required, and there is no credit check. There’s also no annual fee and no interest charged on your account balance.
Below is a head-to-head comparison of credit.ai and Chime:
| Category | cred.ai | Chime |
|---|---|---|
| Basic service offered | Checking account and credit card | Credit card and savings account |
| Credit check | Not required | Not required |
| Credit bureau reporting? | Yes, all three major credit bureaus | Yes, all three major credit bureaus |
| Overdraft protection? | N/A | Up to $200 |
| Fees or interest | $0 | $0 |
| Interest paid on deposits | N/A | 2.00% APY |
| ATM network | 55,000+ | 60,000+ |
You can read our Chime Credit Builder review here.
Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A., Members FDIC. The Chime Visa® Debit Card is issued by The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted. Please see back of your Card for its issuing bank.
Petal 2 Visa Credit Card
Petal 2 Visa Credit Card is a popular credit card for consumers with bad credit. Instead of using a credit check, Petal uses what they call a “cash score”. This takes into account a broader range of financial factors, such as how you handle your checking and savings account.
No security deposit is required and no bank account attached to the card. You will be required to arrange payment to the account each month.
It does charge interest that can get quite high. But there are no fees, and you can earn cashback of up to 1.5% on everyday purchases, which you won’t get with Cred.ai.
If you pay off your balance in full each month, you can benefit from the cash back, build your credit score, and avoid any interest charges. For more information, check out our Petal 2 Visa card review.
Get Started with the Petal 2 Visa
Petal Credit cards are issued by WebBank, Member FDIC
Discover it Secured Card
The Discover it Secured Card is designed for those with no credit or bad credit and is one of the easiest credit cards to get approved for. Since it is a secured card, you’ll need to submit a security deposit which will become your credit limit. This can be as low as $200.
However, you can get your deposit back in as early as seven months, and the card will convert to an unsecured credit card.
Your payment will not be taken from your security deposit, you will be required to make the payment each month, however you can set up autopay to make this easier.
In the meantime, you can earn 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants and unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases. At the end of the first year, Discover will match any cash back you earned on purchases during that year.
Get Started with the Discover it Secured Card
FAQs
Is Cred.ai a real credit card?
It is. Even though it has elements of a secured credit card, it provides all the benefits of traditional, name-brand credit cards. One benefit, however, is that it seems to offer greater security than traditional credit cards do.
Is Cred.ai real?
Cred.ai is partnered with Wilmington Savings Fund Society, a Delaware-based bank operating in six states that has been operating since 1832.
Does Cred.ai do a hard credit pull?
Cred.ai does not do a hard credit pull when you apply for a card or a deposit account.
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About Kevin Mercadante
Since 2009, Kevin Mercadante has been sharing his journey from a washed-up mortgage loan officer emerging from the Financial Meltdown as a contract/self-employed “slash worker” – accountant/blogger/freelance blog writer – on OutofYourRut.com. He offers career strategies, from dealing with under-employment to transitioning into self-employment, and provides “Alt-retirement strategies” for the vast majority who won’t retire to the beach as millionaires.
He also frequently discusses the big-picture trends that are putting the squeeze on the bottom 90%, offering workarounds and expense cutting tips to help readers carve out more money to save in their budgets – a.k.a., breaking the “savings barrier” and transitioning from debtor to saver.
Kevin has a B.S. in Accounting and Finance from Montclair State University.
Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank or financial institution. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
