Do you know
your credit
score?

It’s a great idea to follow responsible borrowing practices and check your credit scores frequently over time – and perhaps even learn how to improve your credit score along the way. Personal loans, credit cards, cash advances, and other similar credit products have become quite common these days, and it’s important to stay on top of your personal finances by understanding your credit score. 

However, we at MONEYME understand that credit score checks can seem like an overwhelming task that a lot of Australians put on the back burner. That’s precisely why we’ve made a Credit Score tool with an intuitive interface, so all kinds of borrowers can easily secure a credit report summary. Best of all: you can even make requests without stressing about fees, as it’s completely free. 

It starts with you accessing our MONEYME mobile app, which you can download through the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. With this convenience, you won’t have to spend the bulk of your time trying to find out how you can check your credit scores over time or searching terms like ‘What is my credit score in Australia?’ and ‘What’s my credit score?’ on the web. 

We’ll let you get right into our simple process by sharing some basic contact details, including your name, number, email, date of birth, and address. Additionally, you can also input your driver’s licence number, but this is completely optional. Once we’ve received your data, we can begin running a quick yet comprehensive and personalised credit rating check. 

Then, you can expect to view the same information banks and lenders consider when determining your general creditworthiness. Our Credit Score tool can also equip you with tips and tricks that could assist you in building your credit score and even give you special offers on top of that. This way, you’ll know what you could do to increase your chances of a successful credit application. 

With just a few clicks, not only will you be able to check your credit scores conveniently over time, but you will also learn how to improve your credit score and manage your finances the way you want to. Try out the MONEYME mobile app today.

Credit reporting agencies work hand in hand with financial institutions like banks and lenders. Think of them like a receiver and an antenna. When you check your credit scores over time, you’re looking for updates these reporting bodies have made in relation to the personal loans, credit cards, or cash advances you’ve been using.

For instance, if you demonstrate negative credit behaviour like late repayments or defaulting, then financial institutions would disclose this to credit reporting agencies. As a result, the necessary changes to your credit report and credit score can be made. 

The reason most people get a credit score check is so that they can assess their creditworthiness. When you apply for a credit product, banks and lenders will look at your credit score and credit report to take note of your borrowing patterns. To them, the better your rating, the less risky it is to lend you money.

Before you check your credit scores over time as a responsible borrowing practice, it’s important to understand what factors make up your credit score. Depending on the credit reporting agency, your credit score will be a numerical figure from either 0 to 1,000 or 0 to 1,200. Furthermore, this rating will be based on a number of points, which include: 

• How much credit you’ve taken out and utilised
• A track record or repayment history of your credit products
• Existing borrowing capacities, e.g. on a current credit card or personal loan
• The amount of credit applications you’ve made and how often you’ve submitted them
• Defaults, bankruptcies, or court judgements you’ve had in the past
• An estimate of how well you can follow bill repayment deadlines 

While it’s good to ask questions like ‘What are credit scores?’ or ‘How to check credit rating?’ you should also keep in mind that banks and lenders may also take a look at other aspects (debt obligations, added sources of income, overall living expenses, etc.) for a more in-depth and fair decision. 

What’s more, thanks to the changes to consumer credit reporting law, Comprehensive Credit Reporting (CCR) was introduced in Australia. This means that positive credit behaviour is also part of how your credit score is calculated and how lenders assess your creditworthiness.

If you check your credit scores regularly, then you won’t have to guess whether or not your score is changing over time. If you find out you currently have a less-than-ideal credit score, there are ways to improve it. 

As opposed to the old system, where points were deducted every time you displayed negative credit behaviour (such as missing repayments and being in default), positive credit behaviour is now recorded, which can help you improve your low credit score or maintain your high credit score. 

You can demonstrate positive credit behaviours by consistently paying your bills and making repayments by their due dates, avoiding payday loans, and not applying for multiple credit products within a short period.

If you do get stuck making repayments on any line of credit you may have, contact your lender immediately to let them know and work out a payment plan or financial hardship arrangement. Additionally, keeping your credit utilisation ratio low (in other words, not maxing out your credit limits) on credit cards is also a good way to improve your credit score. 

That’s why it’s crucial for you to check your credit scores over time, so you can oversee the progress you’ve been making and adjust anything if necessary. With a free and intuitive tool such as the MONEYME app, you won’t even have to look up ‘find my credit score’ or ‘Australia credit score check’ online ever again, as you can stay on top of your finances conveniently.