Credit builder debit card BuildMyCreditScore, has announced its latest partnership, collaborating with responsible lender, Creditspring, to allow borrowers to boost their credit scores and improve financial inclusion.

The partnership will provide Creditspring members with access to BuildMyCreditScore via the lender’s members only space, which provides advice and support to empower members to make more informed financial decisions.

BuildMyCreditScore is a Mastercard debit card that allows people to build their credit score without changing their spending habits, taking out additional lines of credit or risk building debt.

Currently, according to PwC, there are 20m financially underserved people across the UK with fair or poor credit scores.

With a quarter (23%) of Brits denied credit due to their poor credit score and over four in ten (43%) wanting an easier way to build their score that doesn’t involve taking out new lines of credit, there is demand for alternative solutions that do not risk building long-term debt.

Through this partnership, Creditspring will be able to provide its members with enhanced financial support – giving members more control over their finances, unlocking access to more affordable credit products and boosting their financial stability.  

In its pilot phase, BuildMyCreditScore helped hundreds of people improve their credit score. The app was tested by a pilot of 632 customers between December 2022 and June 2023. Of that number, the majority saw an increase in their credit score of between 11 and 55 points within the first three months of trialling the product.

James Lynn, CEO and Co-Founder of BuildMyCreditScore, comments: “Our mission is to boost social inclusion across the UK by providing an innovative yet simple solution to empower millions of borrowers. This partnership with Creditspring will offer hundreds of thousands of its members another option to build their credit scores and unlock access to a wider choice of credit products.

“Many people with lower credit scores are excluded from mainstream lending and forced to turn to more expensive credit options - BuildMyCreditScore leverages open banking to allow users to improve their scores without changing spending behaviour, having to take out new credit products or risk building long-term debt and actually lower credit scores further.

“Creditspring’s position as a responsible lender and advocate for change makes it an ideal partner in our journey to improve transparency and support excluded borrowers.”

Neil Kadagathur, Co-Founder and CEO of Creditspring, comments: “The cost of living crisis has eroded savings pots and forced many households into a reliance on credit. However, we know that many people's credit scores are a barrier to accessing vital affordable credit, therefore we are always looking for ways in which we can help them build their credit files. This latest partnership is a key addition to the toolkit for our members looking to increase their credit options.

“The credit industry needs to do much more to provide more affordable alternatives to those struggling – Creditspring provides short-term, affordable credit to borrowers and the partnership with BuildMyCreditScore will improve future access to credit for many people who are reliant on borrowing. 

 “Creditspring’s innovative no-interest, subscription model eliminates hidden costs and provides affordable credit without risking borrowers falling into a debt spiral as well as enabling them to build their credit files to unlock access to mainstream credit in future - using BuildMyCreditScore alongside our solution allows borrowers to maximise their credit score.”

BuildMyCreditScore recently secured a £200,000 grant from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, to accelerate its offering to enhance financial inclusion and boost access to credit products - particularly amongst those who may typically be declined by lenders or incumbent credit building cards.

While the BuildMyCreditScore debit card works instantly like a regular bank card, the money is collected via Direct Debit a number of days later. People are therefore able to build their credit score by demonstrating their ability to manage rolling outgoings and repay credit promptly.

BuildMyCreditScore utilises open banking technology, is compatible with all major high street bank accounts and works with Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax to report key credit data. 

Creditspring provides a new way to access credit safely. FCA-regulated, it is a credit subscription service that responsibly offers short-term, affordable credit to borrowers. Members pay a fixed membership fee every month to allow them to access two no-interest loans per year with clear repayment terms, capped costs and no hidden charges, late fees or confusing interest rates.