FinTech News
Credit Karma Money Adds Bill Tracking Features for Accountholders
The past few years have been busy ones for Credit Karma. In 2019, the free credit score site — which is now owned by Intuit — launched Credit Karma Savings. Later, when an accompanying checking account was added to the mix, the name was changed slightly to Credit Karma Money, including both Save and Spend accounts. Since then, the offering has gained popularity, thanks in part to its Instant Karma feature that finds lucky debit card customers earning 100% cashback on their purchases. Now, the Credit Karma Money platform is growing again, adding new tools to help members stay current on their bills.
According to Credit Karma, users will now be able to link credit accounts found on their TransUnion credit report in order to track upcoming bills. These new tools will help members stay on top of their upcoming due dates as well as monitor their balances. The hope is that such insights will help customers improve their credit scores by ensuring that they’re making on-time payments.
While these additions may be small, Credit Karma says they are just the first step in creating an autonomous finance tool. For example, the platform hopes to introduce automated bill pay in the future. Moreover, the company notes that the ability to monitor such data as payment dates, payment amounts, and credit score impact will eventually allow them to offer more personalized recommendations to members, including how to prioritize their debt repayments in order to save money.
These new features also come on the heels of Credit Karma Money announcing a major promotional partnership. Recently, the platform made a multi-year deal with the NBA’s Houston Rockets organization. As part of this partnership, the team will don jerseys bearing the Credit Karma Money logo starting next season.
Announcing the billing features and why they’re relevant to the Credit Karma platform, the company’s GM of Assets and Taxoulomi Damany said in a statement, “When it comes to your credit score, your payment history is one of the most important factors. In fact, one missed payment could drop your credit score anywhere between 40 and 70 points, making it harder to get approved for new credit products and often resulting in higher APRs for the borrower.” Damany continued, “This is a problem we are uniquely positioned to solve for our members. Through these features, we want to help our members more easily track upcoming bills, make on-time payments, and save money.”
Despite this minor expansion, the Credit Karma Money platform remains fairly simplified when compared to other FinTech offerings. Nevertheless, it’s clear that the company has grander visions in mind for the long term — and certainly has the financial backing to help turn these ideas into realities. So although these billing features may not be anything to write home about, Credit Karma and their Credit Karma Money platform are still worth keeping an eye on.
