Bad Credit Or No Credit History? Amazon’s New Credit Card Looks To Solve Consumer Credit Problems

Amazon (AMZN) has launched a new credit card that looks to help customers improve their credit while giving them additional spending power. The e-commerce giant has partnered up with Synchrony Financial to introduce the credit card, dubbed Amazon Credit Builder.

Under the Amazon Credit Builder card, customers with no credit history or bad credit can secure the credit card by putting down a security deposit. This amount will be held and cannot be used for spending, but does allow a cardholder to increase their credit limit and improve their credit history over time.

Beyond building credit, the Amazon Credit Builder card offers 5 percent cash back on purchases for Prime members, which is designed to entice shoppers to buy from Amazon and will help to drive customer loyalty for the company, CNBC reported.

The Amazon Credit Builder card also provides users with tools to measure their credit history and credit score as well as tutorials that can educate card holders on responsible credit card use. As cardholders prove that they can manage the Amazon Credit Builder credit card, they may eventually qualify for an unsecured credit card from Amazon.

APR on the Amazon Credit Builder credit card is 28.24 percent with a credit limit based on the security deposit put down. There is no annual fee on the card, and a $40 Amazon gift card is provided to those that successfully apply for the credit card. Customers that fail to get approval for Amazon’s standard credit card will be prompted to apply for the Credit Builder card to help build their credit history.

Shares of Amazon stock were up 1.25 percent as of 9:59 a.m. ET on Tuesday.