Monzo takes on credit giants with free scoring tool

via AltFi

Monzo consumers will be able to see their credit score for the first time, offering the service free of charge.

The credit score facility will be rolled out over the next few months starting in March and Monzo customers will be able to see their score through the Monzo app, Monzo said in a blog posting.

Monzo is the first bank to offer the service free of charge.

Customers of the digital bank will be able to see why their credit score has gone up and down and it will also offer advice on how credit scores can be improved and maintained.

Monzo will hope the tool will help it pinch market share from the likes of Experian and Equifax.

“You’ll be able to see your score in just a few taps – no need to fill out any long forms. We’ll explain what your score could mean, in plain English, and we’ll give you some tips on what you could do to improve or maintain it, Monzo said.

Monzo uses credit score data from credit reference agencies TransUnion and Experian to help it makes decisions about who it can lend to.

The score users will see in the app comes via data from TransUnion.

By comparison, Barclays has a similar credit score tool which costs users £5.

Monzo added: “We’ll show you your score, what it actually means, and give you tips that could help you improve it.”

“Credit scores are great to give you a general sense of how lenders see you. A low score could mean less access to things like credit cards or mortgages, and a high score means you could get better deals and access to more money.”

“So it’s definitely worth keeping a close eye on your score – and doing what you can to try and improve it.”

Last week, Monzo said it was looking to recruit around 500 staff in the year ahead.

In October last year, peer-to-peer lender Zopa launched a tool which it says will simplify the credit worthiness process and help customers get access to cheaper credit.

Zopa launched the tool, called Borrowing Power, as it said that lending decisions and credit worthiness have been “shrouded in mystery” for too long.