Credit Sesame launches credit-builder card and credit-analysis tool

• Understanding Credit Sesame's new credit tools
• Sesame Credit Builder
• Sesame Ring

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• Credit Sesame launched a credit-builder debit card and announced new credit education service.
• The Sesame Credit Builder card is available now, while the Sesame Ring credit-management platform launches on August 22.
• The Credit Builder card is tied to your Sesame Cash account, which costs $9.99 monthly.

Credit Sesame — a financial wellness platform that offers deals on multiple credit products including loans, credit cards, and insurance — is introducing a credit-builder debit card and credit-management platform. Here's everything you need to know about them.

Understanding Credit Sesame's new credit tools

As the average household debt in America rises year over year and banks tighten lending standards, building credit becomes increasingly important. Credit Sesame's new products are aimed at helping you do that. Let's unpack each of them, starting with its credit building Mastercard debit card.

Sesame Credit Builder

Instant approval with no credit checks

$9.99 monthly fee and $3.00 monthly inactivity fee

• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. No minimum balances
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Free withdrawals
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Fees are waived with qualifying account activity
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. No up-front security deposit
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. No credit check
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. No interest

• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Sesame Cash account required

The Sesame Credit Builder works as a feature added to Sesame Cash, the company's deposit account provided by Community Federal Savings Bank. The credit builder is a Mastercard debit card connected to a user's Sesame Cash account.

Whenever you use this debit card, Credit Sesame sets aside an equal amount of money in your Sesame Cash account. That money then pays off your card balance at the end of each month, and the company reports those payments to the three main credit bureau — Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.

The Sesame Credit Builder works similarly to a secured credit card in that you're not actually borrowing from anyone other than yourself. However, the Sesame Credit Builder has a few notable advantages over secured cards.

• No security deposit. The Sesame Credit Builder doesn't require an initial security deposit to open an account. You just spend the money in your Sesame Cash account, which makes the sign-up process less of a hassle. It also means you don't have a credit utilization ratio to worry about.
• No credit checks. Credit Sesame will not pull a hard inquiry on your credit report, so your credit score won't drop when you start using the Sesame Credit Builder. You also won't have to worry about a previous hard inquiries when you apply for other lines of credit.
• No interest. The Sesame Credit Builder loan doesn't charge any interest on your balance, while the APR on the best secured credit cards hover around 30%.

While using the Sesame Credit Builder itself won't cost you anything, holding a Sesame Cash account will cost you $9.99 monthly with an additional $3 inactivity fee if you don't use the service once in a 30-day rolling period. 

Sesame Credit Builder is available now online or through the Credit Sesame mobile app.

Note: Credit Sesame waives the monthly fee if you spend more than $1,000 over a month with Sesame Cash or deposit at least $500 into your Sesame Cash account.

Sesame Ring

None

• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Free credit monitoring
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Gives advice on improving credit

• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Only monitors TransUnion

While Credit Sesame already offers free credit monitoring, it now also offers a free analysis of your credit report with the company's Sesame Ring credit-management platform. The AI-powered program grades your credit report for each of the factors that goes into your credit score calculations.

These categories are as follows:

• Payments
• Usage
• Age
• Mix
• Inquiry

This analysis will tell you what you're doing correctly and where your credit needs improvement. Sesame Ring will also give you advice on how to improve your grades in each category. This breakdown, in addition to the TransUnion credit monitoring Credit Sesame already offers, can be a useful, free resource when improving your credit. 

Sesame Ring launches on August 22.

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