A. The credit score model was developed by a team of statisticians, analysts, and credit data experts from the three leading credit reporting agencies – Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. It is calculated on a scale of 300-850, with 300 being the lowest and 850 the highest score.

A. To enroll, log in to your Broadview account. On the mobile app, under Financial Planning, select Credit Score. If you log in from broadviewfcu.com, you’ll see Credit Score on your dashboard. Select “Show my Score.”

A. Five major categories make up a credit score. 

40% Payment History
Essentially, lenders want to know whether you’re good about paying your loans on time.

23% Credit Usage
Credit usage, also known as credit utilization, is the ratio between the total credit used and your total credit limit on your revolving accounts. It is best to keep it below 30%.

21% Credit Age
The average of your oldest open credit accounts to your newest open credit accounts determines your credit age. In general, the longer your credit history the better.

11% Credit Mix
Its important to have a mix of different types of credit like revolving credit (such as credit cards) and installment loans. Your score will likely be higher if you have a good payment history with both.

5% Inquiries
Any time you apply for a credit card or a loan, it’s known as an inquiry. There are two types.

1) Hard inquiries show on your credit report when your credit is pulled by a lender for a car loan, mortgage, or credit card. Applying for several of these accounts in a short period could signal an increased credit risk to a lender.
2) Soft inquiries don’t show on your credit report and occur when you check your credit, or a lender pre-approves you for an offer.

A. No. Credit score calculations do not consider race, color, religion, nationality, sex, marital status, age, salary, occupation, title, employer, employment history, where you live or where you shop.

A. Credit reports are composed of credit-related data a credit reporting company has gathered about consumers from different sources. Credit reports include records of mortgage payments, credit card balances, credit card payments, auto loan payments, and credit inquiries. The report may also include accounts that have gone into collections, public records, and other information from government sources.

Credit reports include the following about your debt accounts:

• A list of creditors that have extended credit or loans
• Total loan amounts and credit card limits
• Payment amount and history on all loans and credit lines

Credit reports may also include:

• Inquiries, each time your credit report was pulled by a lender in the past 2 years.
• Your current and/or former address(es)
• Your current and/or former employers
• Other details of public record

A. Under Federal law, you’re entitled to receive a free credit report from each of the credit reporting companies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – once a year. Visit annualcreditreport.com or call 877-322-8228.

A. When you click “Credit Report” you can review all your accounts, payments, and more details.

A. If you find information on your credit report that you believe is incorrect, contact the company that issued it. If the reporting agency is TransUnion and you enrolled for the Credit Score feature in Broadview’s digital banking, head there, scroll to the bottom, and select “dispute.”

A. Your credit report and score are different. Your credit report is all the information that a credit reporting agency has gathered about you. Credit reporting agencies calculate your credit score using a proprietary credit score formula. Federal law gives you the right to request a credit report from each credit reporting company annually for free, but does not require companies provide the credit score for free.

See more information on this topic from the Consumer Protection Bureau.

A. A credit freeze, also known as a security freeze, is a free way to restrict access to your credit report. Adding a freeze means no one, not even you, can open a new credit account while the freeze is in place. You can, however, temporarily remove this freeze when you want to apply for credit.

A credit freeze does not affect your credit score. While the freeze is in place, you can still apply for a job, rent an apartment, purchase insurance, and receive pre-screened offers.

A. To freeze your credit, you must call each of the three major credit bureaus or visit their websites.

• TransUnion 888-909-8872
• Equifax 888-298-0045
• Experian 888-397-374

A. You must contact the three major credit bureaus to unfreeze your credit profile. Each bureau has a different process, but each will initially provide you with a PIN to unfreeze your profile.

• TransUnion 888-909-8872
• Equifax 888-298-0045
• Experian 888-397-374

A. Any institution that lends money can use a credit score to assess whether you meet their lending standards. Insurance carriers can also use credit scores to help assess risk and price homeowners and automobile insurance policies.

A. No. A credit score is just one part of several factors lenders use in their lending criteria. Other lending criteria may include:

• Loan-to-value ratio
• Income
• Current employment and work history
• Building credit

A. There are several ways to improve your credit score. However, it’s more important to focus on improving what’s in your credit report. Here are some quick tips to help.

• Pay your bills on time, every month. Payment history is the largest factor in your credit score.
• Apply for credit only when you need it. Try not to open too many accounts too frequently.
• Keep your outstanding balances low. Keep balances below 30% of the credit limit on revolving accounts.
• Reduce your total debt. It is not necessarily bad to have debt as long as it’s manageable. Too much debt at high interest rates can get out of hand if a financial emergency comes up. Consider paying down some of your loans.
• Build your credit history. Maintaining a timely payment history for a mix of accounts (credit cards, auto, mortgage, etc.) over a long period can improve your score.

A. Since the single most important factor in a credit score is payment history, using credit and paying off your balances on time will have the greatest impact on your score.

A. When you close a credit card account, you lose the value of that card’s credit limit in the credit usage calculation. The ratio of balance to limit rewards those with low credit card balances relative to their limits. If you close credit cards, especially those with large credit limits, you will likely cause your credit usage ratio to go up (if you carry balances). This can cause your score to go down considerably.

Credit bureaus will eventually remove closed accounts from your credit reports. Even though it can take years for an account to be removed, once it’s gone you won’t get credit for your responsible management of the account.

A. Medical bills are not usually reported to the credit bureaus, unless they have been unpaid for a long time and have gone to collections. Collection accounts stay on the report for as long as 7 years, even after you’ve paid them off. Collections typically hurt scores, though some scoring models do not include medical collections (especially balances less than $100).

A. The quantity of loans is not as important as how well those accounts are managed. In other words, your score is more positively impacted by keeping loans in good standing without missing payments.

A. Consumers are encouraged to shop for the best loan rates and conditions. The Credit Score model available in Broadview’s digital banking does not penalize multiple inquiries made within a short period.

A. Credit reports reflect your credit activity. The quantity of cards is less important than how you manage them. It’s generally a good idea to have a limited number of credit cards, so that you can maintain low balances and a good payment history over a long period.

A. Paying off debts does not automatically boost your score. It may take some time for the payments to be reflected in your credit score. Available credit and balances are among several factors considered by credit score models. Improving your credit score can be achieved over time when you:

• Pay your bills on time, every month. Payment history is the largest factor in your credit score.
• Apply for credit only when you need it. Try not to open too many accounts too frequently.
• Keep your outstanding balances low. Keep balances below 30% of the credit limit on revolving accounts.
• Pay any delinquent accounts as soon as possible, then keep them current.

A. Not necessarily. The balance of an account does not affect the speed at which you will build or re-build your credit scores. One of the most effective ways to build or rebuild your credit is by responsibly managing your accounts. Maintaining low balances on credit cards and never missing a payment can lead to better credit scores.

A. Your credit score may go down if you close a credit card account. The reason your score drops would be due to the loss of the credit limit of the closed card in your total debt-to-credit limit ratio measurements.

If you don’t carry a balance on other credit cards or the credit limit on the newly closed card was modest enough, then the account closure may not result in a change in your debt-to-limit ratio sufficient to result in a score reduction.

A. Credit reporting agencies do not remove accounts once they’ve been closed or paid off. There is no law requiring credit reporting agencies to remove accounts in good standing. At this time, however, credit reporting agencies may choose to remove inactive or closed accounts 10 years after they’ve been closed. While closed or paid-off accounts are still on your credit reports they are still considered in credit scoring.

A. If you’re new to using credit, an infrequent credit user, or have two or fewer credit accounts, you will likely see your credit score.