Do you know
your credit
score?

Do you ever wonder what happens after you pay off a personal loan or a credit card bill?

Not to worry; a lot of people are still familiarising themselves with what a credit score is and how it affects their borrowing opportunities. The steadily increasing search for terms like ‘Australia credit score’ or ‘Australia credit score report’ online is even proof of this.

However, for many Australians, the entire process can be extremely daunting and overwhelming. As such, we at MONEYME have made an intuitive Credit Score tool to make everything simple and straightforward. One of the best parts about it is that it’s completely free, and it also has an easy-to-use interface that’s suitable for all types of borrowers.

Just install the MONEYME mobile app, which is available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. This way, you won’t have to spend any more time looking up topics like ‘Australia credit score’ or asking questions like ‘How to check credit score in Australia?’ online.

Before we get to credit reporting, all you have to do is present some basic contact details. You’ll be required to share your name, number, email, date of birth, and address. Optionally, you can also share your driver’s licence number. After taking all this data into account, we can then begin conducting a quick, individualised credit check.

We’ll then be able to provide you with the same information lenders and banks use to evaluate your overall creditworthiness. In addition to this, we can also provide tips and tricks that could help you improve your credit score and even give you special offers. Ultimately, you could get a better idea of your unique financial situation and what you’d have to do to improve your chances of a successful application.

If you want to know how to view your credit score, try out our MONEYME mobile app. Using our comprehensive summary, staying on top of your personal finances won’t seem so challenging. With our Credit Score tool, you can even forget about your tedious search for terms like ‘Australia credit score’ or maybe ‘my free credit score’ online.

If you’ve searched for terms like ‘Australia credit score’ online, then you’d know that the three main credit reporting agencies are illion, Experian, and Equifax. However, their credit score range (0 to 1,000 or 0 to 1,200) differs from one another, which means that the averages would vary as well. Rather than focusing on the Australian average, it would be ideal to check each agency’s credit score scale.

For illion, good credit scores are 500 to 699; great credit scores span from 700 to 799; and excellent credit scores start at 800 and end at 1,000.

As for Experian, good credit ratings range from 625 to 699; very good credit scores run from 700 to 799; and excellent credit scores are from 800 to 1,000.

Lastly, for Equifax, good credit scores start at 661 and end at 734; very good credit ratings are 735 to 852; and excellent credit scores range from 853 to 1,200.

Whether you’re someone who’s looked up terms like ‘Australia credit score’ or ‘Australia credit score calculator’, knowing how your credit score is calculated can help you improve it. While there are multiple credit reporting agencies with various criteria, some common factors that go into credit score calculations include:

• The amount of credit you’ve taken out before
• Your repayment history for the credit products you’ve used in the past
• Credit limits currently applied, e.g., on a credit card, loan, etc.
• The number of credit applications you’ve submitted and how often you've made them
• Bankruptcies, defaults, or court judgements on your record

Just keep in mind that lenders and banks may also consider aspects other than your credit score (the raw number) and credit report (a five-year summary detailing your borrowing habits).

For instance, some financial institutions would offer low credit score loans while still upholding responsible lending. They could make a fair and just credit decision by taking into account other points like debt obligations, additional sources of income, and even living expenses.

How do I maintain a good credit score?

Seeing that you know more about topics like ‘Australia credit score average’ and ‘Australia credit score system’, you most likely want to know how to maintain a good credit score. The great news is that thanks to the new changes to consumer credit reporting law, particularly Comprehensive Credit Reporting (CCR), you can now focus on positive credit behaviour to keep your current rating.

Before, your score was generally based on how well you avoided negative credit behaviour. Examples of this include missing deadlines and being in default. Every borrower started with a good score, and if they displayed any negative credit behaviour, points would be deducted.

However, to help out those who’ve gone through financial difficulties, the CCR gives low credit score holders more opportunities to bounce back through positive credit behaviour. As an example, through consistent, regular repayments or limiting oneself to unsecured credit, a good credit score can be maintained, and a low credit score can even be improved.

For this reason, it’s important to get credit scores for free – especially through a convenient tool you can use frequently such as the MONEYME app. Viewing your report can make it so you won’t have to second-guess, as you’ll get more insight into your unique credit behaviour.