Credit Usage in the UK#
To establish credit in the UK, you will need a UK address, a UK mobile number, and your gender, name, and date of birth.
The UK is a credit society, and having a high credit score allows you to apply for UK credit cards, e-wallets, and loans. After holding an HSBC account in the UK, you can apply for HSBC accounts in other countries and make instant cross-border transfers. After holding an Amex account in the UK, you can transfer your UK Amex account to the US through Global Transfer (GT) and start building credit in the US.
Free Credit Score Check#
TransUnion: Creditkarma, TotallyMoney
Experian: Creditclub
Equifax: Clearscore, Credability, Finder
Establishing Credit in the UK#
loqbox#
There are two membership plans, which only support payment with UK-issued bank cards.
Free membership plan (save): After registering, loqbox provides users with a virtual loan of £240, which is repaid in 12 monthly installments of £20. Loqbox will deduct £20 from the user's bank card each month for repayment. After 12 months, the user can withdraw the full £240. If the user chooses to withdraw all savings early, a £30 fee will be charged.
Paid membership plan (spend) £2.5/week: After paying £2.5 in the first week, loqbox provides a credit limit (usually £2000) based on the user's annual salary. This credit limit can only be used to pay the £2.5 weekly membership fee. After four weeks of overdrawing (£10 in total), loqbox will deduct £10 from the user's bank card for repayment. This cycle repeats every four weeks.
For example, if a user opens the spend plan on May 1st, they will immediately pay the first week's £2.5 membership fee. Then, on May 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th, loqbox will simulate credit card payments of £2.5 per week (£4 X 2.5 = £10) on behalf of the user. On June 5th, the user will repay £10 to loqbox in a lump sum from their bank card. By simulating a £2.5 weekly credit card payment and a £10 repayment every four weeks, the length of the credit history is increased.
All plans will be reported to TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax.
pave#
£5/month membership plan: Pave provides a credit limit of £50 per month that cannot be used. The credit limit is reported to TransUnion, and the official claim is that a credit score can be generated within four weeks.
£9/month membership plan: The official provides a credit limit of £150 and reports to TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax, the three major credit bureaus in the UK. The official claim is that a credit score can be generated within two to three weeks.
bits#
April 2023: Bits added the ability to obtain Equifax credit scores through Kyc. If there is no Equifax credit record, Bits will generate a lower predicted score.
There are six membership plans to choose from based on your financial situation.
Each plan provides a different credit limit and reports to TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax, the three major credit bureaus.
The lowest £6/month membership plan provides a £200 credit limit and can be used for purchases in the Bits app gift card store. The credit limit used for overdraft purchases is paid together with the next month's membership fee. Otherwise, Bits will report negative records to credit bureaus.
credito#
14-day free trial, £9/month and £19.99/month membership plans. Similar to the free loqbox membership plan, it reports credit records to TransUnion.
wollit#
£9/month membership plan, similar to the free loqbox membership plan, it reports credit records to TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax.
thinkmoney Prepaid Card#
thinkmoney provides a physical prepaid card with a monthly fee of £10.95. When users use the prepaid card, thinkmoney reports the bill to Experian and Equifax to help users build credit history.