Getting A Credit Card With No Credit Score Could Get Easier: Here’s How

Securing a credit card with no credit score has never been an easy feat, but it may be possible under a new government-backed initiative that is being supported by a number of banks.

According to The Wall Street Journal, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp, and seven other banks are looking to extend credit to consumers who typically would not be able to open a credit card by sharing deposit data from their checking and savings accounts.

This means that financial institutions would be able to review a credit card applicant’s personal bank account information to determine their approval for credit, sources for the WSJ said.

Those applicants who do not have a credit score but are deemed financially responsible may be granted a credit card under the program after a lender looks at their banking account balances and overdraft histories, according to the news outlet.

The initiative is part of a pilot program that is expected to launch this year, Fox News reported. The program is a departure from how banks traditionally measured credit scores to determine credit card accessibility for consumers.

President Joe Biden has said that overhauling the credit score system is a priority for him, especially amid the financial fallout from the COVID pandemic that saw millions of Americans get behind on bills.

Those who do not have a credit score are often new to the U.S. or pay with cash. They make up an estimated 53 million adults in the U.S., according to Fair Isaac Corp., the creator of FICO credit scores, as reported by Fox News.

To facilitate the data sharing, the banks are in talks with credit reporting firms Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. It will also involve Early Warning Services, which oversees Zelle money-transfer system, the report from WSJ said.