Founded in 2019, SeedFi provides credit-building products to people with poor or no credit and who may have limited incomes. This SeedFi review will help you decide whether this product is a good fit for you!
SeedFi
SeedFi provides credit-building opportunities to regular Americans with low credit ratings. SeedFi’s credit-builder loan has a savings component, which enables borrowers to begin establishing credit.
Pros
Accumulate savings and build credit concurrently
Builds credit with low cost and low risk
Cons
Not available in all states
No assurance that your credit score will improve.
What Is SeedFi?
SeedFi provides financial services to borrowers with no credit history or compromised credit.
It is an entirely respectable business licensed in 32 states, plus the District of Columbia. It has direct relationships with several banking institutions.
SeedFi reports your payment history to all three credit bureaus – TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian.
How Does SeedFi Work?
SeedFi offers a credit-builder loan that enables borrowers to begin establishing credit and save money at the same time.
Credit Builder Prime
Credit Builder Prime is a credit builder loan. It’s available with no credit check, making it an ideal choice for people who have yet to establish a credit score. It is designed to leave the borrower with both improved credit and money on hand. All you have to do is make your payments on time.
The plan provides customers with a standard $500 loan. The money is immediately transferred to a savings account, where it remains until the loan is repaid.
Borrowers can select a payment amount between $10 and $40 every payday. The loan term is determined by the amount of the installments, with higher payments resulting in shorter loan terms. Payment schedules are matched to customers’ paycheck cycles. When the loan is paid off, the full sum is available for you to use.
Unlike many credit builder loans, SeedFi does not charge interest or fees. A flat monthly fee of $1 is collected from your payments. This lets you start building credit with as low as $12 a year in out-of-pocket spending.
Credit Builder Prime allows a continuing credit builder loan. When your first loan is paid off, the money will be transferred into a second account that’s available for you to use. Another $500 will be transferred into the first account, and you’ll keep making your payments. When that $500 is paid, the cycle repeats.
This system allows you to keep a continuing installment loan with on-time payments on your credit report and save from $20 to $80 a month for a $1/month fee. That boosts the credit-building potential of the project: the account stays open and adds to the length of your credit history.
☝️ Closed accounts affect your credit less than open ones!
SeedFi offers some flexibility if you are having financial difficulties. Even if you do not contact customer service, if you are 29 days late, SeedFi will assume financial distress and automatically shut down your account. That means SeedFi will never report a late payment to the credit bureaus.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for Credit Builder Prime you must:
- Be a resident of one of the states where SeedFi is licensed to operate.
- Be at least 18 years of age or 19 years in Nebraska and Alabama.
- Provide your birth date and Social Security number.
- Provide a phone number and verifiable email address.
- Have an electronic payment option.
⚠️ Keep in mind that individual results may vary. Using Credit Builder Prime is not guaranteed to increase your credit score. It’s important to make on-time payments, but other factors can affect your credit score, including performance on other credit accounts.
SeedFi Customer Reviews
SeedFi’s ratings on Trustpilot are mostly positive, standing at a solid 4.8/5 and an A+ on the Better Business Bureau website.
The majority of reviews praise SeedFi’s customer care service and emphasize how simple and convenient it is to use.
However, some negative reviews indicate that the company is not always straightforward with how they handle their customer’s accounts.
A majority of SeedFi clients report that customer care service providers are thorough in their explanations of SeedFi’s services and that loans are processed quickly and efficiently. Some reviewers expressed dissatisfaction with the product’s functionality or the loan cancellation process.
It is common for relatively new companies to experience some problems with both their technology and their customer service systems. The generally strong reviews indicate that these cases are rare but you should be aware that they have happened.
Is SeedFi Worth It?
SeedFi loans are reasonably priced and simple to pay off. They leave you with money in a savings account, which can help you meet your financial goals.
SeedFi’s products are intended for a specific market: people with no credit or poor credit.
Credit Builder Prime provides an easily accessible, low-cost credit building product that also leases the borrower with savings. It’s a great option for people with no credit score or a thin credit file who want to add accounts to their credit histories.
⚠️ If you have a more complicated credit history and you’re looking to repair credit rather than build it, the impact may be less visible.
SeedFi offers easily available low-cost, low-risk credit-building options. They are solid options for adding an installment loan to your credit history and building a strong payment history.
SeedFi Alternatives
Many credit unions and community banks offer credit-builder loans. Several national lenders also provide these loans. Credit Strong and Self, for instance, both offer credit-builder loans.
SeedFi’s cost of $1 per month, on the other hand, is much lower than the costs of both of these competitors.
⭐️ You can find detailed price comparisons and guides on how to pick the best option for you in our guide to the best credit builder loans.
Naturally, individuals with excellent credit will have other options. SeedFi caters to individuals who lack access to credit and provides an excellent alternative to a high-interest title or payday loan.
Let’s look at how SeedFi compares to its main competitors, Credit Strong and Self. In order to understand how to compare these costs you might want to read up on all the factors that influence the cost of a credit builder loan.
| Lender/Plan | Cash in Advance | Max Loan Amount | Set-Up Fee | Term (months) | APR* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credit Builder Prime | $0 | $500 | $0 | 7 – 27 | 4.03% – 5.26% |
| Credit Strong | $0 | $10,000 | $8.95 – $25 | 12 – 120 | 5.85% – 14.89% |
| Self | $0 | $1,663 | $9 | 12 – 24 | 15.65% – 15.97% |
💡 Before you start comparing the costs, be sure to get familiar with the ins and outs of how credit builder loans work.
