UK Credit Usage#
To establish UK credit, 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 (the easiest way to open a credit card in a foreign country), 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 GT (Global Transfer) and start building credit in the US.
Free Credit Score Check#
TransUnion: Creditkarma, TotallyMoney
Experian: Creditclub
Equifax: Clearscore, Credability, Finder
Establishing UK Credit#
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 is only used to overdraft and pay the £2.5 weekly membership fee. After overdrafting for four weeks (i.e. £10), 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 (4 X 2.5 = £10) on behalf of the user. On June 5th, the user will repay £10 to loqbox in one lump sum. By simulating a £2.5 credit card payment every week and repaying £10 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 £50 credit limit per month that cannot be used. It is reported to TransUnion credit bureau, and the official claim is that a credit score can be generated within four weeks.
£9/month membership plan: The official provides a £150 credit limit 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 Kyc to obtain Equifax credit scores. 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 will be reported to TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax.
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 for overdraft spending 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 credit bureaus to help users build credit history.