Creditbuilder™ frequently asked questions
Cashplus is the first prepaid card company in the UK to offer Creditbuilder. This unique benefit is already helping thousands of people to improve or build their credit rating, and can be added at no extra cost.
What is Creditbuilder?
Will Creditbuilder improve my credit rating?
Creditbuilder is a loan that's repaid with 12 monthly payments equivalent to your monthly fee.
After you've made the first monthly payment, we start reporting your payment history throughout the rest of the loan to two credit reference agencies, and your credit history will be updated. The more loan and credit products that you've successfully repaid, the better your credit rating should be. You should notice the change after the first three months.
How much does Creditbuilder cost?
Nothing! Creditbuilder can be added to your Cashplus account at no extra cost. You pay NO interest on the loan and there are NO admin charges – you just pay the usual monthly fee for 12 months.
Will I get the loan amount on my card?
No, the loan is only made to pay for one year's use of your Cashplus card. As soon as your Creditbuilder agreement is approved we'll credit your Cashplus account with the loan and then pay your next 12 months' Cashplus fees direct to AFL for you. So no money actually changes hands.
When the payment's due for each of the 12 months, we'll take the normal monthly fee from your Cashplus account and use it to repay your Creditbuilder loan to APS.
What does APR mean?
APR stands for 'annual percentage rate'. This takes into account the interest charges and other fees involved with taking out a loan or credit. It's there to make it easier for you to compare the cost of various loans or credit offers.
The great thing is with Creditbuilder the APR is 0.0% - so you won't be charged any interest for it at all!
What's the APR on the loan?
The APR on the Creditbuilder loan is 0.0%, so you don't pay any interest on it. You just make the 12 monthly payments as you would normally do with a Cashplus account with a monthly fee.
Creditbuilder and your Cashplus card
Can I still use my Cashplus card as normal?
Yes, a Creditbuilder loan won't affect how you use your Cashplus card. Just top up your account and use it wherever you see the MasterCard acceptance mark, currently 29 million places worldwide.
Can I have Creditbuilder on a Flexiplus account?
Creditbuilder works by repaying a small loan for your monthly fees. Flexiplus is a pay as you go account, so it's not designed to work with Creditbuilder. To take advantage of Creditbuilder, please choose a Cashplus account with a monthly fee.
Can I switch price plans when I have Creditbuilder?
Unfortunately not, for Creditbuilder to work you need to stay on the same price plan for 12 months.
How is a Cashplus account with Creditbuilder different to a 'normal' account?
You can use your Cashplus card as usual, paying for things and withdrawing money wherever you see the MasterCard acceptance mark and enjoying all the valuable benefits that the card offers.
The only difference is that with Creditbuilder we loan you the fees for 12 months usage of your Cashplus card and then report on your monthly payments to two credit reference agencies. With a 'normal' account, you simply pay your fees and we don't report your payment history.
Can I have Creditbuilder on an additional card?
Creditbuilder can only be applied for by a primary cardholder – the person who applied for the Cashplus account. Additional cardholders can continue to use their card, but Creditbuilder won't have an affect on their credit rating.
How many accounts can I have with Creditbuilder?
You can only have one Creditbuilder account at a time.
Can I renew my Creditbuilder agreement after completing the first 12 months?
Absolutely! We'll invite you by email to re-subscribe to Creditbuilder as soon as we've processed your completed loan. You can carry on for as long as you like.
What happens if I don't renew my Creditbuilder agreement?
After the last of your 12 monthly payments for Creditbuilder has been taken, and the completion of your loan repayment has been reported, your account will return to a normal account. You don't have to do anything – we take care of it all.
Signing up for Creditbuilder
How do I sign up for Creditbuilder?
It's really simple. You can sign up online in the Members Area, so long as you already have a Cashplus card on a monthly fee with Total Access. If you don't have a Cashplus card yet, sign up now and then you'll be able to apply for Creditbuilder. Take a look at the get Creditbuilder section of this site to see just how easy it is.
How do I know if I've been accepted onto Creditbuilder?
We'll let you know by e-mail when you're accepted onto Creditbuilder.
Can I cancel my Creditbuilder agreement?
Once you've received your signed customer copy of the Creditbuilder agreement in the post, you can cancel it within 14 days, free of charge. Send your cancellation to FREEPOST CASHPLUS and the loan will be cancelled. After the 14 days, you can to settle your account early.
How do I know if I'm a Cashplus customer with Total access?
Just visit the Members Area and see if there's an 'Upgrade your account' button… if there is, you currently have an Express Access account, so you should upgrade. Or just call us.
You can also tell if you have Total Access if:
- You've been able to withdraw money at a cash machine using your Cashplus card
- If you can top up your account using your bank account or you have your wages paid directly to your Cashplus account
Credit ratings
What is a credit rating?
A credit rating estimates how well you could cope financially with taking on a loan or more credit. Your rating takes into account how well you've paid back what you've borrowed in the past, looks at your track record for paying bills on time and even looks at whether you're on the electoral roll or not.
The higher your rating, the easier you should find it to get credit in the future.
Having a good credit rating is very important because it could help you:
- Get a mortgage approved for a home
- Get the go ahead to rent a place
- Pay less for credit in the future
Could Creditbuilder lower my credit rating?
As long as you continue to pay your 12 monthly repayments on time, Creditbuilder could improve your rating. If you miss any payments, we'd have to report it to the credit reference agencies, which could have a negative impact on your credit rating.
When is my credit rating updated?
We'll start making reports to the credit reference agencies when you've made your first Creditbuilder repayment. After this, we'll report your repayments each month. You should notice a change after three payments.
What happens if I miss a monthly payment?
Firstly, top up your account to catch up with your payment as soon as possible. If a payment becomes more than 30 days late we have to report it to the credit reference agencies.
We have to report your missed payments to the credit reference agencies, which could impact your chances of getting credit more difficult in the future.
Can I pay back my loan early?
You can settle your Creditbuilder agreement at any time, after which we'll report the settled loan to the credit reference agencies. Please be aware that we will only report the number of payments you actually made, so you may not benefit from the full improvement to your rating.
What is a credit reference agency?
A credit reference agency builds up a picture of your track record for repaying loans and credit and it notes if:
- You've been paying bills on time
- You have any County Court Judgments (CCJs)
- You've been made bankrupt
- You're on the electoral roll
The agencies also look at what you owe overall, and compare it with your assets – the stuff that you own. They then take all the above information and work out your credit rating.
How do I contact you about Creditbuilder
You can contact us by phone or email, but if you'd like to write to us, please use this very short address: 'FREEPOST CASHPLUS'. You don't need a stamp. Just write 'FREEPOST CASHPLUS' on the envelope and post it.