THE IMPACT OF CREDIT SCORE, RATING AND HISTORY ON DIFFERENT BORROWING OPTIONS

Your credit score, rating, and history determine your financial capability and how diligent you are in repaying your debts, managing your finances, and fulfilling any financial responsibility. Thus, lenders and creditors rely on all these factors to determine whether they should give a loan and its terms.

Regardless of the type of loan you apply for, your credit history and score are the first two things lenders see about you. Banks, online lenders, and credit unions, all look at your repayment and spending history to determine the likelihood of you repaying your loans in the future. If you have previously borrowed money, through a loan or a credit card, then that information becomes part of your credit report and credit history.

Similarly, your credit rating is another indicator lenders see to determine how financially capable you are. It is essentially an estimate of the risk a prospective borrower holds, their ability to repay the loan, and the likelihood of them repaying the loan. This estimate is based on evaluations of payment history and income.

Therefore, in many ways, credit score, rating and history serve the same purpose— that is, they give an accurate estimate to lenders of whether they will get their amount back once they lend it to you. Ultimately, they all determine what borrowing option would be most suitable for you.

If you have been considering borrowing money but don’t know much about how credit scores affect borrowing options, keep reading this thorough guide. It will provide you with detailed information about your borrowing options and how they can be affected by your credit score, rating and history.

Borrowing Options

Before we begin discussing how credit affects borrowing options, it would be best to consider all the available borrowing options. You have many options depending on the amount you want to borrow, what your intention to borrow is, your income, and of course, your credit profile.

1. Credit Cards

This entails paying off a balance you spend by the end of each month. If you want to borrow a small amount, you can use credit cards. However, they do come with high interest, and if you do not repay them on time, they can have a detrimental impact on your credit history.

2. Unsecured Personal Loan or Line of Credit

You can get this loan or a line of credit from a bank, credit union, or a private lender. The amount of personal loan you can borrow is determined by the lender and your credit history. You have to repay the amount over a fixed period of time at a fixed interest rate.

With a line of credit, you can only borrow up to a specific amount and can repay that at any time.

3. Home Equity Loan

This involves taking out a loan and putting up your home as collateral. This means that if you don’t repay the loan, the bank seizes your property. The amount depends on the value of your home and the mortgage you have paid.

4. Payday Loans

They are short-term, high-cost loans that you can borrow. They are due by the next month. Your credit profile and income again determine the amount. Additionally, this type of loan has a high interest rate.

5. Loans through Online Lenders

This is one of the popular ways of borrowing these days. As compared to other methods, it is a much more convenient way of getting a loan as it is less strict with checks and approvals. Plus, you get the money instantly. These loans are also mostly unsecured. You can check with CashOnYourMobile to learn more about online loans.

Sources of Borrowing

There are many sources to borrow money from. The choice typically depends on the type of loan you intend to borrow. However, some of the most common sources and lenders where people borrow from are:

• Banks
• Online lenders
• Credit Unions
• Peer to peer lending or ‘crowdlending’
• Financial institutions and companies
• Public agencies, such as the government

How Credit Scores Affect Borrowing Options

As mentioned earlier, credit scores, rating and history are all part of your credit profile, which is of the utmost importance to your financial life as it determines your creditworthiness. Whether you have borrowed money before, your income, and many other factors are used to determine these. Your credit score is typically a three to a four-digit number generated through algorithms based on your information and financial history. The amount ranges from 300, which is the lowest, to 850, which is the highest score. Your payment history, the amount you owe, how long your credit accounts have been open, your credit utilization score, and the number of credit accounts you have recently opened are some of the factors that are taken into consideration when calculating  your credit score.

Having a good score helps you borrow more money, ensures a longer repayment period, and guarantees a lower interest rate. Ultimately, you would save a lot from borrowing if you have a higher credit score. However, if you have a low credit score, it can be difficult to obtain a loan/

Here is how your credit score can impact each borrowing option:

Personal Loan

With a low credit score, you can still apply for a personal loan to banks so long as your other applications and accounts are in order. Meet with the lenders in person to prove to them that you are a dependable person. Since banks have stricter checks, they will be more hesitant with giving you a loan than other lenders.

Home Equity Loan

You can also get this type of loan if you have a low credit score, for instance, less than 620. However, it won’t be easy. You still have a chance of getting this loan if you have:

• A maximum debt-to-income ratio
• Have repaid all your previous debts on time
• Have a stable job with regular income
• Have at least a 15%-20% equity in your home

Payday Loans

Since this is a high-cost, short term loan, you will be able to take out a payday loan with poor credit since it is designed for people in desperate need of short term income. By providing the lender with all your information about spending, you might have a chance at securing this loan.

Online Lender Loans

Online lenders are less strict than banks and credit unions when evaluating loan applications. They are more likely to approve your application despite your poor creditworthiness when looking at other information about you.

How Credit Rating Affects Borrowing Options

If you want to qualify for the most competitive loans, you will need to have a high credit rating. Unlike credit scores, credit ratings are represented in a letter grade form. They can range from AA to C or D. Credit ratings are used to analyze how much risk an individual carries in fulfilling their financial obligations.

If you have a low credit rating, you will be seen as a more risky option with a higher probability of not making repayments. This is because a low credit rating typically arises from the fact that you have been unable to or had trouble repaying your loans in the past. 

A low credit rating usually implies that except for online lenders, other lenders will be reluctant to  give you a loan.

Online Lender Loans

Much like the case with credit scores and history, online lenders don’t necessarily evaluate your application solely based on your creditworthiness. Thus, they will be more willing to give you a loan once they see your utility payments, debt-to-income ratio, and data from your social media accounts.

How Credit History Affects Borrowing Options

Lastly, your credit history basically contains all of your financial information, including the balances that are due, the accounts you have or have recently opened, your payment history, and so on. If you have a credit card or previously taken out a bank loan, then you have a credit history. Your credit history is all noted in your credit report, which is then provided to lenders. Here is how specific borrowing options are impacted by credit history:

Payday Loans

You need to have a credit history if you wish to apply for a payday loan. This is because they require a bank account and income.

Personal Loan

Depending on the lender you approach, you can get a personal loan with no credit history. It might not be easy to get a personal loan this way from a bank, but private lenders and lending services might still be willing to give you a loan. However, you might still need one or two credit accounts before approaching them.

How All Three Impact Your Borrowing

The terms credit scores, credit history and credit ratings can be used interchangeably. The only difference between credit scores and credit ratings is that the former is depicted in digits, and the latter is shown in letter form. Your credit scores and rating make up your credit history.

Therefore, all three serve the same purpose to lenders, which is to:

• Determine the credit health and creditworthiness of a borrower
• Conclude if the person should receive a loan or not
• Decide the terms of the loan; including repayment terms, fee and interest rate

All three are extremely crucial in determining what kind of loan you will receive. They are also part of your credit profile, which contains all your past and present financial information.

How to Improve Your Credit Profile and Build Credit

If you are unable to get a loan or are not getting the amount you need because of your low credit profile, there are ways you can improve it over time. For this, you need to know why you have poor credit. If you can figure that out, then you can build your credit.

Here are some strategies you can use to improve your credit profile:

Make Payments on Time

This is very important because that essentially shows how you will treat the loan you want to borrow. Lenders just want to know that they can get their money back, so seeing your history of repaying loans will allow them to trust you. Hence, you should pay all your monthly bills on time, and repay any debts you owe in the allotted time.

Keep the Balance Low on Your Credit Card

One of the best ways to improve your credit score is through keeping your balances on your credit cards low. This will allow your credit utilization score to be low, and ultimately, improve your credit score. Lenders like to see that you can manage your credit well and don’t overspend. Another way you can keep credit utilization low is by paying off your debt on time.

Don’t Open Too Many Credit Accounts

Doing so will accumulate unnecessary credit, which can lead to a poor credit score. This is because it will tempt you into spending too much, ultimately leading to lots of debt which may be detrimental to your credit score and rating.

Don’t Close Your Unused Credit Cards

Keeping your unused credit cards might be a good option for you as long as you don’t get tempted to use them and they are not charging you an annual fee. Closing your unused credit cards can negatively impact your credit utilization and ultimately, your credit score.

Some other tips that can instantly build your credit and improve your credit history, rating and score are:

• Make multiple small payments throughout the month
• Call your credit card issuer and ask them to give you a higher limit on your credit card. Having a high limit while keeping your balances low will have an immediate positive impact on your score
• Look over your credit report for any errors and fix them
• Become an authorized user of a responsible person’s credit card account
• Opt for a secure credit card

Final Words

Getting a loan is not easy, especially if you have a bad credit score, history or rating. However, we have the perfect solution for you. If you think your credit profile is not good enough, you can consider taking out a personal loan from Australia’s most trusted online lending service, CashOnYourMobile. We provide all types of loans, including cash, personal, payday and so on. Visit our website to learn more and contact us here for loan inquiries!