Austin, Dec. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In response to tough economic conditions that continue to impact millions of Americans, Self Financial today announced it is now the only company to offer free rent reporting to all three credit bureaus. Self only reports positive rent payments to help consumers build payment history, which has the greatest impact on a credit score1.
More than 100 million Americans have low or no credit scores2, and the average U.S. renter is rent-burdened, spending 30 percent of their income on rent3. The majority of Self customers are renters and a recent survey4 of more than 7,000 customers revealed that nearly half of respondents had to dip into savings or emergency funds to pay their rent in the past year. Additionally, nearly 65 percent of those surveyed said they feel more financial pressure this year than last.
“For so many people, including many Self customers, every single dollar counts in this economy,” said Julie Szudarek, CEO of Self Financial. “Self’s rent reporting provides a simple and free option for renters to benefit from paying their biggest expense each month and to work towards a more secure financial foundation.”
With the free rent reporting service, customers securely link their bank accounts to report verified rent payments each month to Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Other key features include:
- No credit history required and no hard credit pull.
- No landlord needed. Any renter can sign-up directly by connecting their bank account and identifying the rent payment to report.
- Works with digital payment options including Venmo, CashApp, and Zelle, debit card payments and automatic bank transfers.
- Automated rent reporting. Self reports to the credit bureaus monthly, making the process simple.
- Overall credit score monitoring. Stay on top of credit scores via Self’s in-app dashboard.
Additionally, Self offers upgrades to maximize the opportunity to build credit using monthly bills consumers are already paying.
- Add your bills - $6.95/month. Through an upgraded monthly subscription, customers can report both rent, and payments for utility bills, including phone, gas, water and electric. Self reports utility bill payments to TransUnion. Other features include credit monitoring, as well as identity theft insurance and restoration.
- Get credit for past bill payments - $49.95. This option enables consumers to report the last two years of rent and utility payment history for a one-time fee.
Self previously offered combined rent and utilities payments reporting to consumers for $6.95 a month before introducing the free rent reporting service. Self also works with landlords and property managers as data furnishers to enable rent reporting for their residents.
To celebrate the launch of free rent reporting, Self is giving away $20,000 to help consumers pay their bills. From December 5-31, Self will select five winners weekly to win $1,000 on Instagram or TikTok. For giveaway rules, visit https://bit.ly/RentPaidCreditMade.
About Self Financial
Self Financial is a credit-building platform that works to increase economic inclusion and financial resilience through easy-to-use easy-to-use products that make building credit accessible. With no hard credit check to get started, Self's signature Credit Builder Account and secured Self Visa® Credit Card issued by its partner banks are designed to enable people to build credit and savings simultaneously. The company also offers free rent reporting to the three major credit bureaus, and utility payment reporting to TransUnion. Download the Self app at the Apple App Store (250,000 reviews and an average 4.9 rating) or Google Play or visit Self. inc for more information.
Sources
1 myFICO, What is Payment History
2 The CFPB Office of Research, Data Point: Credit Invisibles
3 Moody’s Analytics, Key Takeaways from the 4th Quarter Housing Affordability Update
4 Self Financial online survey of 7,781 customers, adults ages 18 years+, from October 6-24, 2023
