First Digital Mastercard®
REVIEW

Card Details

 

Annual Fee	Year 1 = $75, then $48
Program Fee	$95
Monthly Fee	None for first year, then $8.25 a month ($99 annually)
APR	29.99%
Late Fee	Up to $38
Cash Advance APR	29.99%
Credit Limit	$300
Credit Limit Increase	Possible only after 12 months
Credit Limit Increase Fee	25% of Credit Limit Increase
Cash Back	Earn 1% cash back when you pay your bills

1% Cash Back Program

First Digital has a 1% cash back program whereby you will earn the 1% cash back when you pay your bills. It is a little different from most cash back credit cards in that you earn it when you pay rather than when you spend. But the net result is the same.

You can earn unlimited cash back which does not expire. And you can redeem the cash back as a statement credit once you have accumulated 500 points (which is worth $5 in cash back).

Fees - Annual Fee, Monthly Fee and Program Fee

The First Digital Mastercard charges an annual fee, monthly fee from the second year onwards and a one-time program fee. During the first year, the annual fee is $75 and you have to pay a one-time program fee of $95. Hence, the total fee you have to pay during the first year is $75 + $95 = $170.

From the second year onwards, the annual fee declines to $48. But you will be charged a monthly fee of $8.25 which works out to $99 annually. Therefore, the total fee from the second year onwards is $48 + $99 = $147.

Initial Credit Limit and Credit Limit Increase Policy

The initial credit limit you will get is $300. And this is how the whole process works. Once you are approved, you have to pay the $95 program fee before you get your card. Once you get your card in the mail, the $75 annual fee will be billed during the first billing period and your credit limit of $300 will be reduced to $300 - $95 = $205 for the first month. Once you pay that off, then you will get the full $300 credit limit.

While First Digital may increase your credit limit, they will not do so for the first 12 months. That means that you will be stuck with a $300 during the first year. If they do increase your credit limit limit after the first year, you will have to pay a credit limit increase fee that is equal to 25% of the credit limit increase. For example, if you get a $100 credit limit increase, a fee of 25% of $100, which is $25 will be charged and billed to you.

Payment Methods

First Digital is one of the few credit cards that allow you to use your debit card to pay your credit card bills. Surprisingly, many issuers do not allow that even though most people's debit cards are linked to their checking account which is used to pay their card. Furthermore, your payments will process and be made available to your credit limit immediately if you pay your bills using the following methods : Money Order, Cashiers Check, MoneyGram, Pay Near Me and Western Union. Paying via other methods like mailing in a check, debit card, checking or savings account and even autopay may result in payment processing taking a day or two and your credit limit may not reflect your payment for up to 14 days (most will face holds for up to a few days at most). You can read more about how to pay your First Digital credit card bill here.

Analysis

 

To analyze unsecured credit cards targeting those with bad credit, we like to use a measurement called the Total Fee to Credit Limit Ratio. In short, this ratio measures how much fees you are paying relative to your credit limit. In general, we like cards that have a Total Fee to Credit Limit Ratio of 20% or less, though we acknowledge that this may not be easy to find.

As shown by the calculations above (card details section), the first year fees you have to pay for the First Digital credit card is $170. For the second year, it is $147. Since the First Digital NextGen Mastercard allows you to earn cash back when you pay, we are going to assume that you will use the full $300 credit limit and pay in full every month (for ease of calculation). Based on this assumption, you will earn 1% X $300 X 12 months = $36 in cash back a year. Therefore, the Total Fee to Credit Limit Ratio is $(170 - 36)/$300 = 44.67% during the first year and $(147 - 36)/$300 = 37% from the second year onwards.

If you get a credit limit increase after the first year, that will obviously change the calculations. We also calculated what these ratios would look like if your credit limit is increased to $1,000 and you only spend $500 a month and paid in full (because you earn your cash back when you pay - not when you spend). Based on these assumptions, the Total Fee to Credit Limit Ratio is 8.7%.

Competition

Now that we have calculated the Total Fee to Credit Limit ratio for First Digital, let's see how it compares versus it's peers.

Compared to other Vervent Credit Cards

First Digital is one of several credit cards issued by Vervent. We will begin our comparison by looking at how it fares versus it's own "family members".

Card Annual Fee (AF) Monthly Fee (MF) Program Fee (PF) Credit Limit (CL) Fees/Credit Limit Ratio (TFCL) Fees/Credit Limit Ratio (cashback)
First Digital AF = Y1 = $75, then $48 MF = Y1 = $0, then $8.25/month = $99/year PF = $95 CL = $300 TFCL = Y1 = $(75+95)/$300 = 56.67% Y2 = $(48 + 99)/$300 = 49% TFCL (Cash Back) = $(75+95-36)/$300 = 44.67% Y2 = $(48 + 99 - 36)/$300 = 37%
First Access AF = Y1 = $75, then $48 MF = = $0, then $8.25/month = $99/year PF = $95 CL = $300 TFCL = Y1 = $(75+95)/$300 = 56.67% Y2 = $(48 + 99)/$300 = 49% TFCL (Cash Back) = Y1 = $(75+95-36)/$300 = 44.67% Y2 = $(48 + 99 - 36)/$300 = 37%
Total Visa AF = Y1 = $75, then $48 MF = Y1 = $0, then $8.25/month = $99/year PF = $95 CL = $300 TFCL = Y1 = $(75+95)/$300 = 56.67% Y2 = $(48 + 99)/$300 = 49% TFCL (Cash Back) = Y1 = $(75+95-36)/$300 = 44.67% Y2 = $(48 + 99 - 36)/$300 = 37%
Revvi Visa AF = Y1 = $75, then $48 MF = Y1 = $0, then $8.25/month = $99/year PF = $95 CL = $300 TFCL = Y1 = $(75+95)/$300 = 56.67% Y2 = $(48 + 99)/$300 = 49% TFCL (Cash Back) = Y1 = $(75+95-36)/$300 = 44.67% Y2 = $(48 + 99 - 36)/$300 = 37%

The table above list all the other credit cards issued by Vervent (including First Digital Mastercard). The include cards like First Access, Total Visa and Revvi Visa. As you can see, all of them have the same fees. So from a fee perspective, they are identical. All of them also have 1% cash back program. All vervent cards allow you to pay by debit card (which some banks do not allow even if it is linked to your checking account).

The one big difference between First Digital and the rest of the cards from Vervent is that First Digital allows you to pay with MoneyGram, Western Union and Pay Near Me. If fact, they are the only Vervent credit card that allows you to pay with all three major third party digital payment firms. Other Vervent credit cards like Revvi Visa only allow you to pay with Pay Near Me. Total Visa and First Access Visa allow you to pay with Pay Near Me and MoneyGram but not Western Union.

Like other Vervent credit cards, First Digital has a mobile app and reports to all three major credit bureaus.

So among all the credit cards issued by Vervent, you should be indifferent to them unless you intend to pay via Western Union.

Comparison with other Non-Vervent Credit Cards

In this section, I am going to compare First Digital NexGen Mastercard with other non-Vervent credit cards that mostly have slightly higher starting credit limit than the $300 that Firstly Digital starts you out with. What you will find is that if you compare First Digital's starting credit limit of $300 with other credit cards that have higher starting credit limits, then First Digital will fare poorly if we compare the Total Fee to Credit Limit Ratio.

However, for this analysis, I have also computed the Total Fee to Credit Limit Ratio for First Digital assuming you get a credit limit increase after the first year to $1,000. I also assumed that you only used $500 of the $1,000 every month to calculated the cash back you will earn a month and hence a year. With that assumption, it turns out that the First Digital Mastercard does very well on the Total Fee to Credit Limit ratio because the cash back really helps offset the fees you pay for the card.

Card Annual Fee (AF) Monthly Fee (MF) Program Fee (PF) Credit Limit (CL) Fees/Credit Limit Ratio (TFCL) Fees/Credit Limit Ratio (cashback)
First Digital $300 AF = Y1 = $75, then $48 MF = Y1 = $0, then $8.25/month = $99/year PF = $95 CL = $300 TFCL = Y1 = $(75+95)/$300 = 56.67% Y2 = $(48 + 99)/$300 = 49% TFCL (Cash Back) = Y1 = $(75+95-36)/$300 = 44.67% Y2 = $(48 + 99 - 36)/$300 = 37%
First Digital $1,000 AF = Y1 = $75, then $48 MF = Y1 = $0, then $8.25/month = $99/year PF = $95 CL = $300 TYFCL = Y1 = $(75+95)/$300 = 56.67% Y2 = $(48 + 99)/$300 = 49% TFCL (Cash Back) = Y2 = $(75+95-36)/$300 = 44.67% Y2 = $(48 + 99 - 60)/$1,000 = 8.7%
Reflex $1,000 AF = $125 MF = $0 PF = $0 CL = $1,000 $2000 after paying on-time for 6 months TFCL = $125/$1,000 = 12.5% $125/$2,000 = 6.25% TFCL (Cash Back) = N.A.
Reflex $750 AF = $125 MF = $0 PF = $0 CL = $750 $1,500 after paying on-time for 6 months TFCL = $125/$750 = 16.67% $125/$1,500 = 8.33% TFCL (Cash Back) = N.A.
Reflex $500 AF = $125 MF = Y1 = $0, then $10/month ($120/year) PF = $0 CL = $500 $1,000 after paying on-time for 6 months TFCL = $125/$500 = 25% $(125+120)/$1,000 = 24.5% TFCL (Cash Back) = N.A.
Reflex $300 AF = Y1=$75, then $99 MF = Y1=$0, then $10/month ($120/year) PF = $0 CL = $300 $6,000 after paying on-time for 6 months TFCL = $75/$300 = 25% $(99+120)/$600 = 36.5% TFCL (Cash Back) = N.A.
Fit $400 AF = $99 MF = Y1 = $0, then $6.25/month ($75/year) PF = $89 CL = $400 $800 after paying on-time for 6 months TFCL = $(99+89)/$400 = 47% ($99+75)/$800 = 21.74% TFCL (Cash Back) = N.A.
Milestone $700 AF Y1 = $175, then $49 MF = Y1 = $0/month, then $12.50/month ($150/year) PF = $0 CL = $700 TFCL = $175/$700 = 25% $49+150)/$700 = 28.4% TFCL (Cash Back) = N.A.
Destiny $700 AF = Y1 = $175, then $49 MF = Y1 = $0/month, then $12.50/month ($150/year) PF = $0 CL = $700 TFCL Y1 = $175/$700 = 25% TFCL Y2 = $(49+150)/$700 = 28.4% TFCL (Cash Back) = N.A.

The first credit card that I want to compare the First Digital to in this segmant is the Reflex credit card from Continental Finance. This is a very interesting card to compare the First Digital with because you can be offered 4 different versions with different credit limits ($300, $500, $750 and $1,000). The $750 and $1,000 credit limit version have only an annual fee and no monthly fee whereas the $300 and $500 version have both an annual fee and monthly fee. What is interesting about the Reflex credit card is that if you pay your first six bills on time, your credit limit will double. And because the credit limit doubles, the Total Fee to Credit Limit ratio is much lower for the Reflex credit card than First Digital and from a fee perspective.

However, if First Digital increases your credit limit after one year to $1,000 for example, then the calculus changes. With a higher credit limit and the 1% cash back, First Digital actually compares very well with the Reflex $1,000 and $750 credit limit versions.

The next comparison is with the Milestone credit card with $700 credit limit and the Destiny credit card also with $700 credit limit. Like First Digital, both have annual fee and monthly fee. But their $700 credit limit is more than double the $300 credit limit of First Digital. Hence, their Total Fee to Credit Limit ratio is much lower than First Digital (at least initially with the $300 starting credit limit of First Digital). But if First Digital increases your credit limit to match Milestone and Destiny (or in our calculations to $1,000), then from a Total Fee to Credit Limit perspective, it transforms into a better card.

As you can see from the analysis above, the $300 credit limit of First Digital makes it look not as favourable compared to it's competition with higher credit limits. But if First Digital increases your credit limit (possible only after 12 monnths) to match these cards, then First Digital will come out ahead because of the cash back that you can earn.

First Digital has a couple of other things going for them. For example, you can use your debit card to pay for your bills. Most of it's competitors do not allow that or charge a fee for that despite the fact that your debit card is tied to your checking or savings account. Furthermore, if you pay using a money order or cashier's check, Western Union, Money Gram and Pay Near Me, they will clear immediately and be reflected in your credit limit (ie no payment hold on credit limit).

The Good Things About First Digital

• 1% Cash Back Offsets Fees - First Digital is one of the credit cards for bad credit that offers cash back. The 1% cash back you earn when you pay your bills will help offset some of the fees you have to pay on the card.


• No Payment Hold For Money Orders and Cashiers Check - If you pay your First Digital Mastercard bill with either money orders or cashiers check, your payments will clear immediately and be reflected in your credit limit without any hold periods.


• Can use Debit Card to Pay - First Digital is one of the rare subprime credit cards that allow you to use your debit card to pay your bills.


• Accepts MoneyGram, Western Union and Pay Near Me - First Digital is also one of the few credit card that accept most third party digital payment systems like MoneyGram, Western Union and Pay Near Me.


• Reports to three major credit bureaus - First Digital credit card reports to all three major credit bureaus, TransUnion, Equifax and Experian.


• Has Mobile App and Autopay - First Digital has a mobile app (which is not universal among other subprime credit cards) and they also allow you to set up autopay (which some subprime issuers do not have).

Disadvantages of the First Digital Credit Card

• Eligible for Credit Limit Increase ONLY after 12 Months and 25% Fee - First Digital credit card will only consider you for a credit limit increase after 12 months. This is in contrast with some issuers who will give you a credit limit increase after 6 or 7 months. Furthermore, there is a credit limit increase fee that is 25% of the actual credit limit increase (note that most issuers do not charge any fee for a credit limit increase).


• High Total Fee to Credit Limit Ratio - The total fee to credit limit ratio is high for the First Digital Mastercard because the starting credit limit is only $300. The ratio will obviously be lower if you do get a credit limit increase after 12 months.


• Have to Fill in Employment Details in Application Form - If you are on a W2, you will have to fill in your employers phone nu,ber. This one may put off some of you from applying. First Digital won't actually call up your employer. But my feeling is that they would prefer an applicant with a job and is willing to put it down on paper.

Our Take: 2nd Chance Credit Card That Allows Debit Card Payments

Let's get one thing straight. The First Digital Mastercard is a credit card that gives you a second chance to rebuild your credit. Though it is not the best in terms of fees and starting credit limit, rebuilders would be attracted by a few features this card has. Firstly, you can earn 1% cash back when you pay your bills. You can also use your debit card to pay your bills, which is in contrast to to many credit cards which do not accept debit card payments even though they accept ACH payments from the same checking account.

First Digital also has no payment holds if you pay with money orders, cashiers check, MoneyGram, Western Union or Pay Near Me. For those who hate payment holds and want to see payments reflected immediately in their credit lines availiabity, the First Digital offers you immediate processing with these payment methods.

Their recent introduced mobile app (available in both Android and IOS) has also made managing the card much easier for those of you who like to manage your card from your app. They also do report to all three credit bureaus.

You do have to be aware of a few things though. Firstly, your credit limit will stay the same for a year and you will only be eligible for CLIs after 12 months. Furthermore, First Digital charges a fee that is 25% of the credit limit increase.

To sum up, after our review and evaluation, we give the First Digital Mastercard a 3.8 star out of 5 for it's cash back program, for the no payment hold when you pay with money orders, cashiers check, MoneyGram, Western Union and Pay Near Me, the availability of a mobile app and autopay systems, It's low iniital credit limit prevent us from giving it a higher ratings.

If you are looking for an unsecured credit card to rebuild, the First Digital Mastercard may not be your first choice. But if you have been denied for other unsecured credit cards or you have burnt other issuers before, then the First Digital credit card might be a card you want to consider to rebuild your credit. If you are more concerned about their initial starting credit limit and do not want to take a chance that they might not increase your limit after 12 months, then you may want to consider other cards like the the Reflex Mastercard credit card instead, which has lower fees and higher credit limits.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is the "pay program fee" for the first digital credit card?

What is the "pay program fee" for the first digital credit card?

Does First Digital credit card have pre-approval process?

Does First Digital credit card have pre-approval process?

Does First Digital have a mobile app?

Does First Digital have a mobile app?

Can I use my First Digital Credit Card before it arrives?

Can I use my First Digital Credit Card before it arrives?

What is the initial credit limit for First Digital Credit Card?

What is the initial credit limit for First Digital Credit Card?

Does First Digital increase credit limit?

Does First Digital increase credit limit?

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