Are you ever caught by surprise at what your credit score is when applying for a loan or credit card? Keep up to date on your credit score with SavvyMoney Credit Score, a new feature in HFS Online Banking! This is a free service offered to members that shows your latest credit score, gives you an understanding of the key factors that impact the score, and shows you the most up to date offers that can help reduce your interest costs. With this program you’ll always know where you stand with your credit and learn how HFS can help save you money.
Your Credit Score is not a detailed credit report, but it will show you your score ranging from 330 to 850 including main factors from a credit report that impacts your score the most. Your score will be updated every month and displayed right on your Online Banking homepage! Rest assured that by signing up to keep up to date on your credit score through HFS Online Banking, there will be no impact to your credit score, it is a “soft inquiry”.
Take advantage of this new feature and stay on top of your credit health! If you are not already an Online Banking user, visit our Online Banking page and enroll today (just be sure you’ve provided your email address to the Credit Union first)!
Helpful SavvyMoney FAQs
Q: What is SavvyMoney?
A: It is a comprehensive Credit Score program offered by your Credit Union, that helps you stay on top of your credit. You get your latest credit score, an understanding of key factors that impact the score, and can see the most up to date offers that can help reduce your interest costs. With this program, you always know where you stand with your credit and how your Credit Union can help save you money.
Q: Is it an actual credit report?
A: No. SavvyMoney shows you your credit score, ranging from 300 to 850, and the main factors from their credit reports that impact this score the most. It doesn’t include an actual credit report (a detailed report of credit history).
Q: Is there a fee?
A: No, it is entirely free and no credit card information is required to register.
Q: How often is my credit score updated?
A: As long as you are a regular online banking user, your credit score will be updated every month and displayed on the HFS Online Banking homepage. You can also refresh your score as frequently as every day by navigating to the detailed site from within Online Banking.
Q: Can I request a free credit report?
A: Not at this time. However, we encourage you to pull one copy of your credit report from each bureau [Experian, Equifax and TransUnion] annually at www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling 877-322-8228. By pulling a report from one of the bureaus every four months, you can stay on top of your credit and spot any inaccuracies or suspicious activity quickly. Pulling your own credit reports is considered a soft inquiry and will not affect your credit score.
Q: How does this score differ from other credit scoring offerings?
A: SavvyMoney pulls your credit profile from TransUnion, one of the three major credit reporting bureaus, and uses VantageScore 3.0, a credit scoring model developed collaboratively by the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. This model seeks to make score information more uniform between the three bureaus to provide consumers a better picture of their credit health.
Q: Why do credit scores differ?
A: There are three major credit-reporting bureaus—Equifax, Experian and Transunion—and two scoring models—FICO or VantageScore—that determine credit scores. Financial institutions use different bureaus, as well as their own scoring models. Over 200 factors of a credit report may be taken into account when calculating a score and each model may weigh credit factors differently, so no scoring model is completely identical. No matter what credit bureau or credit scoring model is used, consumers do fall into specific credit ranges: Excellent 781–850, Good 661-780, Fair 601-660,
Unfavorable 501-600, Bad below 500.
Q: Will HFS Federal Credit Union use SavvyMoney Credit Score to make loan decisions?
A: No, we use our own lending criteria for making loan decisions.
Q: How does SavvyMoney Credit Score keep my financial information secure?
A: Yes, it uses bank level encryption and security measures to keep your data safe and secure. Your personal information is never shared with or sold to a third party.
Q: What if my score appears to be wrong or inaccurate?
A: The SavvyMoney Credit Score makes its best effort to show you the most relevant information from your credit report, but it is not a full credit report. If you think that some of the information is wrong or inaccurate, we encourage you to take advantage of obtaining free credit reports from www.annualcreditreport.com, and then pursuing with each bureau individually. Each bureau has its own process for correcting inaccurate information. The Federal Trade Commission website offers step-by-step instructions on how to contact the bureaus and correct errors.
Q: There is a section on the site that features both HFS Federal Credit Union product offers and financial education articles. Why am I seeing this?
A: Based on your score and credit information, you may receive offers on HFS products that may be of interest to you. In most cases, these offers may have lower interest rates than the products you already have. The educational articles, written by Jean Chatzky and the SavvyMoney team, are designed to provide helpful tips on how you can manage credit and debt wisely.
Q: Will accessing SavvyMoney Credit Score ‘ping’ my credit and potentially lower my credit score?
A: No. Checking SavvyMoney Credit Score is a “soft inquiry”, which does not affect your credit score. Lenders use ‘hard inquiries’ to make decisions about your credit worthiness when you apply for loans.
Q: Is credit report monitoring as well?
A: Yes. SavvyMoney will monitor and send email alerts when there’s been a change to your credit profile.
