FinTech News
Self Financial Opens Secured Visa Card Product to All
Self Financial (formerly Self Lender) has announced that its secured credit card can now be obtained à la carte.
About the Self Visa Credit Card:
Today, Self announced that its Self Visa Credit Card would now be made available to all consumers. The secured card requires a deposit of at least $100, which can be provided via ACH payment or debit. Additionally, it carries an annual fee of $25.
Applying for the Self Visa will not result in any hard credit pull and there is no minimum credit score required. Like with other secured credit products, a Self Visa cardholder’s limit will match their eligible deposit amount. As customers make payments on the card, they’ll be reported to all three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion), helping users to build a positive history and raise their credit scores.
Prior to this week’s update, only those with a Self Credit Builder Account could open a Self Visa. While this is no longer required, this option is available to those who aren’t currently able to deposit the required $100 minimum (although customers will need to accrue at least $100 savings progress in their Credit Builder Account and have at least three months of on-time payments in their account before they’ll be eligible for the card).
In addition to the secured card, Self also offers the unsecured Self Plus Credit Card. This option is available to Self customers with an established history of on-time payments. The Self Plus Credit Card has an annual fee of $35.
What they’re saying:
Announcing the update to the Self Visa card, Self Financial’s CEO Julie Szudarek said, “Nearly 72% of new Self customers express an interest in obtaining a secured Self Visa Credit Card. By offering this card, we’re hoping to meet consumer demand while continuing to reduce barriers to building credit history.”
My thoughts:
On the one hand, I’m glad to see Self is unbundling their secured credit card option from their Credit Builder account as I think that a secured card is probably a better deal for many consumers. However, I am still not sure that the Self Visa is the best secured card. While the $25 annual fee isn’t that high, there are secured card products with no annual fee at all. Moreover, cards like the Capital One Quicksilver Secured Rewards card even offer cashback while carrying no annual fee. Granted, I can’t speak to the approval requirement or rates of that card nor how those compare to Self’s card.
Ultimately, if you’ve tried other options and have come up short, perhaps the Self Visa secured credit card is a good way to help you build or establish credit without spending a fortune.
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