Credit Strong
REVIEW

What is it?

Credit Strong is a credit builder loan which is designed to help consumers save money and build their credit at the same time. They offer a variety of set programs with different maturities, loan amounts and monthly payment plans that should suit almost everyone. You will be able to access your cash savings at the end of the credit builder loan maturity. Credit Strong reports to all three credt bureaus as an installment loan and also provides a free FICO score for you to monitor your credit progress. They are ideal for folks who want to get a secured credit card but need to "save up" for a security deposit or those who want to add an installment loan in their credit report without any risk to getting into more debt.

For those who do not know what a credit builder loan is, here is a brief explanation. While a traditional loan deposits the loan amount in your bank, a credit builder loan withholds the loan amount. Instead, you simply pay back your loan every month (with a amortizing interest) and these monthly payment is yours. A credit builder loan will report these monthly payments to the three major credit bureaus and in practice allows you to rebuild your credit while you "save".

Because you do not get the "loan amount" in your bank account, the credit builder loan issuer faces significantly less risk. Therefore, almost all credit builder loans, including Credit Strong, does not perform any credit checks and will definitely approve you.

You can cancel your account anytime. However, you have to be aware that the earlier you cancel your Credit Strong credit builder loan, the less principal you would get back because the bulk of your initial payments go towards interest payments rather than principal payments.

Is it Legit

As far as the company goes, Credit Strong is a division of Austin Capital Bank, one of the top-rated Texas-based banks in the country. It has received a 5 Star Safe and Sound Rating from BankRate, a 5 Star Superior Rating from Bauer Financial, and an A+ Health Rating from LendingTree.

Credit Strong has also produced some stats regarding the effectiveness of their products. According to them, over 50,000 people have used their products and they showed the following average increases in their FICO 8 scores.

• Average of 25 points increase after 3 months of timely payments
• Average of 40 points increase after 9 months of timely payments
• Average of 70 points increase after 12 months of timely payments

Requirements

Though Credit Strong does not require any credit checks, you still need to meet certain basic criterias.

• 18 years old and a permanent US resident
• Cell Phone or Google Phone number
• Email Address and Physical Address
• Social Security Number
• Bank account, Debit card or prepaid credit card for payments

As a suggestion, it is best that you use your bank account to make the monthly payments as there might be a small charge for using prepaid or debit cards.

Instal Program

Credit Strong has two programs, the Instal and Magnum programs. And the Instal has two programs , "Build" and "Build and Save". The "Build Program" provides $1,000 and $2,500 in their credit building program. The term maturity is 10 years (120 months) for both. The "Build and Save Program" has much shorter maturities (24 months and 36 months). I suspect most would choose "Build and Save" over the "Build" program because of the shorter maturity and you can access your savings and cash much faster. Below is a table showing both the choices for "Build" and "Build and Save".

Program	Installment Amount	Maturity	Payment Amount
Instal - Build	$1,000	120 Months	$15/month
Instal - Build	$2,500	120 Months	$30/month
Instal - Build and Save	$1,000	36 Months	$38/month
Instal - Build and Save	$1,000	24 Months	$48/month
Instal - Build and Save	$2,000	24 Months	$96/month

Magnum Program

The Credit Strong Magnum program has a much larger loans and they tout this as the route to go if you are looking to build your credit in order to get a business loan or are looking to build your credit to get a larger personal loan or a credit card with higher limits. The loans amounts are $5,000 with a $55 a month payment and a $10,000 loan with a $110 monthly payment. Both Magnum plans have 10 year maturities.

Program	Installment Amount	Maturity	Payment Amount
Instal - Magnum	$5,000	120 Months	$55/month
Instal - Magnum	$10,000	120 Months	$110/month

Pros

• No Credit Checks - Like most credit builder loans, there is no credit check when you apply for Credit Strong so you will definitely be approved.


• Simple Choices - There is nothing complicated about Credit Strong's program. They offer a few choices and you simply have to pick one that suits you.


• Free FICO score - Credit Strong Provides free FICO scores so you can monitor your rebuilding progress.


• Cancellable Anytime - You can cancel the agreement anytime. However, you do have to be aware that because of the amortization schedule, you will be paying much more interest than principal in the beginning of the term so you will get back much less than you paid month if you cancel early.



• Different Term Maturities and Payment Plans - Credit Strong offers Credit Builder Loans with different maturities ranging from 24 months, 36 months and 10 years. Payment plans also range from $15/month to $110/month.

Cons

• Have to Pay Interest - This is a complaint directed at all credit builder loans because you are paying an interest rate to "save". And to be honest it is just a characteristic of the product. However, there is now a credit builder loan called SeedFi that does not charge any interest rate (ie 0% APR) so this is an alternative you have to be aware of.

Our Take

Though not as popular as rebuilder credit cards or traditional loans, there are a few credit builder loans available to consumers who wish to build or rebuild their credit this way.

For the vast majority of rebuilders or folks with no credit history, getting a secured credit card is the way to go as you can use it as a credit card and yet rebuild your credit score. Credit Builder Loans are typically for those who want to get a secured credit card but do not have enough saved up for a security deposit as it allows you to "save up" while still building or rebuilding your credit. If this describes you, then you might want to consider the Credit Strong. It has simple programs with affordable monthly payment plans and you can cancel anytime. There are plans with both long and short marturities ("Build" and "Build sand Save" Programs) and also those with larger loan amounts (Magnum Program). You are also provided a free FICO score to monitor your credit scores.

Despite what is until now a glowing review from me, there are other credit builder loans that offer something more than Credit Strong. For example, Self has both a credit builder loan and a secured credit card and you can transfer money from your credit builder loan (once you have saved a certain amount) to fund your Self secured credit card. Credit Strong does not have a secured credit card and hence has no such offerings.

Many of you will also baulk at the idea of "paying interest rates" to save and view credit builder loans as a "fake" installment loan. I can understand if you you have such reservations. If this is a concern, then you might want to consider SeedFi, which charges no interest in their credit builder loan.

To sum up, after reviewing and evaluating Credit Strong, we are giving it a 4.3 out of 5 star for the simplicity of it's offering, the Free FICO score that it provides and ability to cancel anytime. The presense of other competitors that have credit builder loans with 0% ARP and those with a secured credit card as part of the same offering stops us from giving it a higher rating.