Digital Banking

Varo Believe program helps consumers build credit

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February 25, 2021

Varo Bank, an all-digital nationally chartered U.S. bank, has introduced its Varo Believe program, a credit building product that includes a Visa credit card and credit monitoring. The Believe Program is aimed at the 45 million Americans who are "credit invisibles" or have insufficient credit history to qualify for credit, as well as those seeking to improve their credit score. The program has no upfront security deposit, no monthly fees, no application fees, no foreign transaction fees and no APR.

The program is linked to a Varo bank account to help consumers avoid further debt. The card reserves the money spent from a linked Varo bank account in real-time and transfer it to a secure vault account to pay a credit card balance on time and in full every month. Varo then reports the payment history to the three major credit bureaus. Customers can view and monitor their credit score directly in the Varo Bank app for free.

Varo also launched its Varo Advance program, a short term cash advance line of credit that allows qualifying customers to access up to $100 as needed right in the Varo Bank app. Varo Advance, launched in December 2020, remains fee-free through March 2021 due to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"A healthy credit score is so important to many of the foundational aspects of our daily lives - renting an apartment, accessing utilities, buying a car, or even applying for a job in many cases," Colin Walsh, CEO and founder of Varo Bank, N.A. said in the release. "And access to affordable credit is fundamental to long-term financial health. That's why we knew that Varo's first credit card needed to lead with innovation and directly target one of the biggest challenges facing millions of American consumers today: responsibly building, repairing, and accessing credit."