Credit Strong

What Credit Strong does

CreditStrong is a credit builder platform operated as a division of Austin Capital Bank SSB, an FDIC-insured Texas State Savings Bank founded in January 2006 and headquartered in Austin, Texas. The platform issues deposit-secured credit builder loans and revolving lines to consumers and small businesses across 48 US states (excluding Vermont and Wisconsin), reporting payment activity to Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Its primary customer segments are consumers with poor or damaged credit (sub-550 scores) seeking rapid score improvement, individuals building credit ahead of major purchases, new-to-credit borrowers, and small business owners (LLCs, S-Corps, C-Corps, general partnerships) building commercial credit profiles to qualify for SBA loans. As of July 2021, CreditStrong is the only deposit-secured consumer credit building account approved by the New York Department of Financial Services for New York residents.

The platform offers four primary products. Revolv is a revolving credit builder that reports $1,000–$10,000 revolving tradelines at 0% utilization without a credit card, targeting users whose scores are depressed by high utilization. MAGNUM is a long-term installment credit builder with terms up to 120 months and tradelines from $1,000–$25,000, designed to maximize payment history length and credit amount. Instal is an entry-level 48-month installment product with a $1,010 tradeline and savings component for new builders. CS Business is a 25- or 50-month 0% interest commercial credit builder using company EIN, reporting to Equifax, Experian, PayNet, and SBFE. The architecture pairs each credit extension with an FDIC-insured savings account, requires no hard credit pull at application, and is delivered through a self-serve web portal (apply.creditstrong.com) with FICO Score 8 tracking.

Revenue is generated through recurring monthly or annual subscription payments (Revolv at $15/month or $99/year; Instal at $28/month; MAGNUM at $16–$310/month by tier) and one-time administrative fees ($25 for MAGNUM, $15 for Instal activation, $349–$999 for CS Business), plus interest on installment balances. The parent bank reported revenue approaching $50M as of August 2022. Distribution is entirely direct-to-consumer via the website and customer portal; adjacent financial services reach is extended through marketplace partnerships with Novo, Dovly AI, Fiona, Opensky, Bankrate, and others. Content marketing (370+ blog articles) and SEO-driven organic acquisition are the primary demand channels.

Name

Credit Strong

Legal name

Credit Strong, a division of Austin Capital Bank, SSB

Website

https://creditstrong.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CreditStrong, a division of FDIC-insured Austin Capital Bank SSB, provides deposit-secured credit builder accounts to consumers and small businesses, reporting tradelines to all three major credit bureaus. The platform serves credit-challenged and new-to-credit borrowers nationwide across 48 US states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Consumer Credit Building

NAICS

Credit Intermediation and Related Activities (522), Activities Related to Credit Intermediation (5223)

SIC

Personal Credit Institutions (6141)

akta.pro primary industry

Fleet & Commercial Vehicle Finance (FSAKADAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Collateral-Based Lines of Credit (Secured Revolving) (FSAKALAH)

Keywords

• Credit builder loans
• Revolving credit accounts
• Installment credit building
• Business credit building
• Credit score improvement

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Installment Loan Interest: Interest charged on cash-secured installment credit builder loans (MAGNUM and Instal). Monthly payments include principal and interest; interest is the primary revenue from the installment product.
2. Revolv Annual Subscription: Revolv accounts billed annually at $99/year (approximately $8.25/month). Monthly payments are optional and 100% allocated to savings.
3. CS Business One-Time Fees: One-time administrative fees for business credit builder accounts ranging from $349 to $999 depending on plan tier. Monthly payments build savings and payment history.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CreditStrong provides secured credit builder accounts that pair installment or revolving tradelines with FDIC-insured savings accounts, reporting payment activity to all three major credit bureaus to help consumers and small businesses build credit. Products include Revolv (revolving tradeline $1,000-$10,000), MAGNUM (installment tradeline $1,000-$25,000 with up to 120 months of payment history), Instal (entry-level $1,010 installment tradeline), and CS Business (commercial credit builder using company EIN). All accounts require no hard credit pull to open and provide free monthly FICO Score 8 tracking.

Product overview

CreditStrong is a credit building platform offered through Austin Capital Bank SSB (an FDIC-insured Texas State Savings Bank) that provides multiple account types to help consumers and businesses build credit. The product portfolio includes Revolv (a revolving credit builder that lowers utilization with $1,000-$10,000 tradelines), MAGNUM (a large installment credit builder with $1,000-$25,000 tradelines and up to 120-month terms), Instal (an entry-level installment credit builder with $1,010 tradelines for new builders), and CS Business (a business credit builder using company EIN to establish commercial credit profiles). All accounts report to major credit bureaus, provide free monthly FICO scores, require no credit check to open, and allow cancellation anytime without penalty.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Revolv: Revolving credit builder account that lowers credit utilization without a credit card. Plans from $15/month, reports $1,000 to $10,000 revolving tradeline.
• MAGNUM
• Instal
• CS Business

Products and services

• Revolv

Quantifiable outcome

• Average +88 point FICO Score 8 increase in first year for users who started below 550 with 12 successful payments
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Dovly AIminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDovly AI is featured in CreditStrong's marketplace as an AI-powered credit repair partner. Dovly offers credit monitoring and protection services and is marketed to CreditStrong members seeking additional credit improvement tools.
• FionaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFiona is a personal loan matching service featured in CreditStrong's marketplace. Offers personal loan offers in 60 seconds with no risk to credit.
• OpenskyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOpensky Secured Visa Credit Card is featured in CreditStrong's marketplace as a credit building option for members seeking traditional revolving credit card products.
• NovominorGTM or Marketing PartnerNovo is a fintech business checking account partner. CreditStrong Business has partnered with Novo to offer free business checking accounts with no account fees for CS Business customers.
• BankrateminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBankrate is featured in CreditStrong's marketplace for credit card matching services.
• SavvyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSavvy is an insurance partner in the CreditStrong marketplace offering insurance comparison and savings tools.
• KashkickminorGTM or Marketing PartnerKashkick is a rewards partner allowing CreditStrong members to earn money for games, surveys, and online shopping, with earnings up to $500 in the first month.
• Walmart MoneyCardminorGTM or Marketing PartnerWalmart MoneyCard reloadable prepaid card featured in CreditStrong marketplace with cash back from Walmart and early direct deposit features.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Soko Loans / SeedFi (now part of Zippy): Emerging competitor offering credit-builder loans with savings features and small-dollar borrowing for subprime consumers. Overlapping product structure and target customer, with comparable pricing tiers.
• Grow Credit: Emerging competitor that builds credit through subscription payments (Netflix, Spotify, etc.) reported as a tradeline. Targets thin-file consumers with a different mechanic but overlapping customer intent.
• Extra (formerly known as ExtraDebit): Emerging competitor offering a debit card that builds credit through everyday purchases. Targets a similar credit-building audience with an alternative tradeline mechanism, though without the secured installment structure of CreditStrong.

Direct peers

• MoneyLion: Direct competitor in the credit-building space with Credit Builder Plus, a secured installment product that reports to bureaus. MoneyLion also targets subprime consumers with bundled financial services — overlapping customer base with CreditStrong.
• OpenSky (Capital Bank): Direct peer offering secured Visa credit cards through a bank partnership model. Featured in CreditStrong's own marketplace as a complementary product; serves the same subprime credit-building consumer segment with a different product structure.
• Kikoff: Direct competitor offering low-cost credit-builder accounts ($5/month reported tradeline). Kikoff targets a similar thin-file/subprime consumer segment with subscription pricing and bureau reporting.
• Self (formerly Self Lender): Direct competitor offering credit-builder installment loans with similar reporting to all three bureaus and FDIC-insured partner bank structure. Self's builder loans are most analogous to CreditStrong's Instal and MAGNUM products.

Broad incumbents

• Chime Credit Builder: Broad incumbent offering a secured credit-builder Visa through Chime's banking app. Larger brand and consumer base than CreditStrong but with a different mechanism (true secured card vs. secured installment/revolving line).
• Credit Karma (Intuit): Broad incumbent in credit monitoring and financial product recommendations. While Credit Karma doesn't issue credit-builder loans directly, it serves as both a comparison destination for consumers evaluating CreditStrong and a partner marketplace channel listed in CreditStrong's ecosystem.
• Experian Boost: Broad incumbent offering free credit-score boost via utility/telecom payment reporting. Operated by one of the three bureaus CreditStrong reports to; provides an alternative path to score improvement that competes for the same subprime consumer attention.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/credit_strong
• Facebookfacebook.com/GetCreditStrong
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/creditstrong

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Credit Strong