UK fintech and free credit report provider CreditKarma.co.uk has completed a radical overhaul of its web and app offering, bringing more tools and services to its members.
With the aim of educating through personalised information and actionable steps - a key new market-leading feature is that the credit score is now broken up into eight main ‘credit factors’.
Each of these factors can be explored and better understood, with the service offering practical guidance on improving these elements to ensure members can make positive financial progress.
For example, when it comes to ‘credit utilisation’ - the platform will explain that the most favourable use of credit is between 1-24% of total available credit and that anything over 75% can start to harm your score. Using this information, the platform will suggest which lines of credit to reduce first.
The seven other factors influencing user credit scores are listed as:
• Payment history
• Credit limit
• Time on electoral roll
• Historic utilisation
• Age of credit
• Mortgage
• Number of new accounts.
Members will be provided with personalised guidance on how each factor influences their score and where they can improve it.
And in contrast to other credit report providers that lead with recommended products, Credit Karma now revolves around member motivations and goals - be it boosting your credit score or improving your home. A step-by-step mini questionnaire helps members find products tailored to their financial situation.
The ability to watch for potential ID theft or similar fraud has also been given a boost with the new platform changes - with the option for push notifications to alert members if certain elements of their credit health changes or new credit agreements are detected. And members credit scores are updated every seven days - the most frequent in the market - to help customers stay on top of their financial progress.
In addition to the changes to the site and app, Credit Karma will be increasing the number of products it will offer in the coming months, to give its members even more choice.
Nichole Mustard, Co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer of Credit Karma said: “We’re being more transparent than other credit report providers, breaking up the credit score into its constituent parts and in a personalised way, helping members understand what they can do to improve their situation and get more out of their financial lives.
“We’re also talking to our members differently, compared to our competitors. We are personalising our product by focusing on the individual member’s goals they want to achieve rather than simply listing a range of financial products that might not be right for where they are in their financial journey. We believe consumers will appreciate this approach and that the new platform will enable us to help our members even more.”