BuildCredit™ Loan FAQ

Your payment due date appears at the top left of the Payments tab in your dashboard.

You can make a payment up to six days past the due date without incurring late fees or additional interest charges. After six days, in addition to late fees and additional interest charges, we may report your payment as late, which could have a negative impact on your credit. Late payment information can stay on your credit report for up to seven years.

Because paying on time every month is so important to your credit score, we recommend setting up autopay, so you’ll never be late and never miss a payment.

If you’re covered under the Military Lending Act (MLA), you can make a partial prepayment by calling us at 830.253.2738 (830.BLD.CRDT). Otherwise, you must make a full payment each month.

You can change your payment date within a limited window of the original payment date for your loan.

Automatic payments

1. Go to your dashboard.

2. On the Payments tab, select Edit Payment. 

3. From the Payment date dropdown, select the date you want. 

4. Confirm your selection. The new date will apply to all payments going forward.

Manual payments

1. Go to your dashboard.

2. On the Payments tab, select Schedule Payment.

3. From the Payment date dropdown, select the date you want. 

4. Confirm your selection. The new date will apply only to the current payment due.

Limited payment window

You can only choose dates that are within your loan schedule. You’ll only be able to change the date of the payment by a limited number of days.

We only accept ACH payments from a bank account at this time.

After you pay off your loan, we’ll deposit the money you saved into the same account you used to make payments on the loan. Please allow 10 business days after the loan shows as paid off in your dashboard for the money to appear in your account. If you haven’t received it by then, contact us at 830.253.2738 (830.BLD.CRDT).

You can pay off your loan at any time. However, making installment payments over time contributes to 35% of your credit score. If you end your BuildCredit™ Loan prematurely, you may not realize all its benefits for building your credit profile.

If you find that you’re unable to continue making payments, you can voluntarily surrender your loan. A voluntary surrender may negatively impact your credit score, but is less potentially damaging than an involuntary surrender. 

If you want to pay off or voluntarily surrender your loan, call us at 830.253.2738 (803.BLD.CRDT).

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) caps the interest rate on loans such as the BuildCredit™ Loan at 6% annually.

The act covers: 

• Active duty members of the military (Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard).

• Reservists called up for active duty.

• Members of the National Guard on federal orders for more than 30 days.

• Officers in the Public Health Service (PHS) and National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) who go on active federal service.

• Dependents of the active service members listed above. 

SCRA benefits only apply to a loan incurred before you became an active duty service member. In some states, National Guard members deployed by the state governor may also be eligible.

If you believe you are entitled to SCRA benefits, please call us 830.253.2738 (830.BLD.CRDT) to confirm your eligibility and receive any benefits.

For more information about SCRA, go to:

https://www.justice.gov/servicemembers/servicemembers-civil-relief-act-scra

https://www.military.com/benefits/military-legal-matters/servicemembers-civil-relief-act-overview.html

If we were unable to verify your active military status when you applied for the BuildCredit™ Loan, you can call us at 830.253.2738 (803.BLD.CRDT) to attempt verification again or email our support at help@buildcredit.com. However, the only benefit of the Military Lending Act (MLA) is an interest rate cap of 36% APR, which is much higher than the interest rate we charge.

Before you pay off your loan early, see Can I cancel or pay off my BuildCredit Loan early?

If you’ve already initiated this process, you’ll receive a confirmation email and the Payments tab of your loan dashboard will show the amount due. To pay off your loan, simply pay the payoff amount.

We accept ACH payments for the loan. For instructions about how to provide your bank information for ACH payments, see How do I make a payment?

To set up autopay:

1. Go to your loan dashboard.

2. In the Payments tab or the Account tab, turn on Autopay.

We charge an initial administrative fee to process the loan. After that, you may incur fees for returned payments, early termination, or other reasons.

No. Loans can’t be paused. If you’re unable to make your next payment or want to end your loan early, please call us at 830.253.2738 (830.BLD.CRDT). Also, before you consider taking this action, see Can I cancel or pay off my BuildCredit Loan early?

Yes. If you want to add a beneficiary to your account, please call us at 830.253.2738 (830.BLD.CRDT) and we'll add the beneficiary to your account. You won’t see the new beneficiary listed in your loan dashboard, but you can call us anytime to confirm their addition.

It may take up to three months before your BuildCredit™ Loan shows up on your credit report. If you want to see how your payment history is being reported to the credit bureaus, go to the Payments tab of your loan dashboard in the Credit Reporting section.

No. You can only have one BuildCredit™ Loan at a time.

We secure your information with bank-level encryption. All your online interactions require login, and any phone support interactions require verification. Your savings account, held at Cross River Bank, Member FDIC, is insured up to $250,000.

The payout will take up to 1-2 weeks from final payment. It will be deposited to the payment account on file unless you have given authorization to fund another product on the platform.

Each credit bureau uses a different model to calculate a credit score and each gathers data independently.

Opening a new account may lower your credit scores at first because scoring algorithms assume you’re taking on more credit and becoming a greater risk for future lenders. After you’ve made a few payments on your new account, your score generally improves.

It’s also important to consider that actions with other accounts you have may contribute to your credit score dropping.

If you don’t already have an established credit history, the bureaus will calculate a credit score for you after we report your first loan payment. Over time, your initial credit score will change to reflect your payment history. Generally, if you make your payments on time every month, your credit score will improve. However, late and missed payments will have a negative effect on your score.

If you file for bankruptcy, call us at 803.253.2738 (803.BLD.CRDT) to let us know. We’ll send you an email acknowledging that you’ve notified us. After that, we’re out of the picture and the bankruptcy court will handle it from there.

If the due date for your payment is on the 29th, 30th, or 31st, your due date will effectively be the last day of any month that doesn't have those days. For example, if your due date is on the 31st, your payment will be due on the last day of the month in February and in months that have only 30 days.

We report your loan payments every month to all three credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. The report includes your payment details, the loan term, remaining balance, and some personal information, such as your name and Social Security Number. If you don’t already have a credit history, our reports establish one. If you already have a credit history, our reports add the new installment loan to it. With an established credit history, you’ll be able to see your credit reports and your credit score. Making all your payments on time will generally result in a more favorable credit score.

The size of the loan won’t necessarily build your credit faster. Your payment history is the most important factor in building your credit. It accounts for 35% of your credit score. Making your payments on time is the best way to build credit. 

When you choose a BuildCredit™ Loan, consider your budget and savings goals and select the payments that you know you can commit to. Also, consider using autopay.

No. In fact, we can’t make a credit check as part of our underwriting decision for this type of loan. Applying for a BuildCredit™ Loan won’t have any effect on your current credit score.

No, only one BuildCredit™ Loan is allowed per person at this time.

A BuildCredit™ Loan is a type of installment loan where you pay a fixed amount monthly over a period of time. Interest is typically part of any installment loan.

There’s no single reason why someone is denied a loan. It varies from applicant to applicant. If you’ve been denied a loan, we’ve emailed you a letter detailing the reasons for denial.

The Federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits creditors from discriminating against credit applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age (provided the applicant has the capacity to enter into a binding contract); because all or part of the applicant's income derives from any public assistance program; or because the applicant has in good faith exercised any right under the Consumer Credit Protection Act. The Federal agency that administers compliance with this law concerning this creditor is FDIC Consumer Response Center, 1100 Walnut Street, Box #11, Kansas City, MO 64106.

Yes. We collect your payments each month using ACH, which transfers money directly from your bank account to us without paper checks, credit card networks, or cash.

No, there are no income or credit score requirements to qualify for a BuildCredit™ Loan.

No. The BuildCredit™ Loan is only available to US citizens or legal residents who live in the United States.

Yes. The BuildCredit™ Loan is available to anyone who is a legal resident of the United States and has a Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identity Number (ITIN).

Most applicants will receive a decision within seconds and there is no negative impact on your credit report to apply.

We can’t guarantee that your BuildCredit™ Loan will improve your credit score. The factors that contribute to a credit score vary by individuals. Everyone’s financial profile is unique. Your BuildCredit Loan may be just a part of your overall credit profile. Even if you make your BuildCredit Loan payments on time, late payments or delinquencies on other accounts will have a negative impact, as will bankruptcy. Starting a new credit account will also cause your credit score to dip for the first few months.

The money you build in savings acts as collateral for the loan, which is the only way we can offer the loan without checking your credit. You can access the money you’re saving when you pay off the loan or if it’s otherwise ended prematurely.

You can offer BuildCredit to your users, but subscribing to any paid service cannot be a requirement for the loan. Partners cannot add any additional fees to the cost associated with BuildCredit Loan as doing so will cause interest rates to to become non compliant.