Credit Usage in the UK#
To establish credit in the UK, you will need a UK address, a UK mobile number, and your gender, name, and date of birth.
In the UK, credit plays a significant role. Having a high credit score allows you to apply for credit cards in the UK (the easiest way to obtain a credit card in a foreign country), e-wallets, and loans. After obtaining an HSBC account in the UK, you can apply for HSBC accounts in other countries, enabling instant cross-border transfers. With a UK Amex account, you can transfer your Amex account to the US through GT (Global Transfer) and start building credit in the US from scratch.
Free Credit Score Check#
TransUnion: Creditkarma, TotallyMoney
Experian: Creditclub
Equifax: Clearscore, Credability, Finder
Establishing Credit in the UK#
loqbox#
There are two membership plans available, and they 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 deducts £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 before the 12-month period, 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 cover the weekly overdraft of £2.5 for the membership fee. After four weeks (totaling £10), loqbox deducts £10 from the user's bank card for repayment. This cycle repeats every four weeks.
For example, if a user opens a spend plan on May 1st, they will immediately pay the first week's membership fee of £2.5. Then, on May 8th, May 15th, May 22nd, and May 29th, loqbox will simulate credit card transactions of £2.5 per week (£4 X 2.5 = £10) on behalf of the user. On June 5th, the user will repay £10 to loqbox in a single payment. By simulating a weekly credit card transaction of £2.5 and repaying £10 every four weeks, the length of the credit history is increased.
All plans upload data to TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax.
pave#
£5/month membership plan: Pave provides a credit limit of £50 per month that cannot be used. This information is reported to TransUnion, and they claim to be able to generate a credit score within four weeks.
£9/month membership plan: Pave provides a credit limit of £150, and this information is reported to TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax, the three major credit bureaus in the UK. They claim to be able to generate a credit score within two to three weeks.
bits#
Starting from April 2023, bits will obtain Equifax credit scores through Kyc. If there is no existing 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 uploads data 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. Overdrafted credit must be repaid together with the next month's membership fee; otherwise, bits will report delinquency to credit bureaus.
credito#
14-day free trial, £9/month, and £19.99/month membership plans. Similar to the free loqbox membership plan, credito reports credit history to TransUnion.
wollit#
£9/month membership plan. Similar to the free loqbox membership plan, wollit reports credit history 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, helping users build credit history.