A woman who found her way out of a predatory car loan with guidance from Julie Tran, AFC®.
A heart attack survivor with medical debt who started repairing his credit and created a plan to help him avoid bankruptcy with advice from Joshua Van Every, AFC® candidate.
A young soldier who didn’t know how to write a check and got the help he needed in the moment from Carletha Windom, AFC®.
These stories and others from the AFCPE® blog are the kind that inspire us at Credit Karma. As financial counselors like Julie, Joshua, and Carletha make an incalculable difference serving as boots on the ground, it’s our mission to serve as a support system that can help take some of the mystery out of credit and personal finance for our members.
Credit Karma offers insights into how consumers can build their credit, which can help them improve their financial situation. And engagement with Credit Karma can make a real difference. Joint research by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Credit Karma has found a positive link between the use of some Credit Karma features and a member’s financial well-being.
Much more than a platform for free VantageScore® 3.0 credit scores and credit reports from TransUnion and Equifax, Credit Karma works to put actionable financial tools and information at the fingertips of more than 100 million members in the U.S., U.K. and Canada. Here are some of the tools and features Credit Karma offers its members that can help champion financial progress.
Credit Karma Direct Dispute™
Credit Karma’s Direct Dispute™ tool can help members dispute potential errors they find on their TransUnion credit report. Using this tool, we’ve helped members dispute and remove more than $16 billion in incorrect debt.
Credit Karma Savings
With no fees or minimum deposit to open required, Credit Karma Savings provides high-interest savings accounts1 for its U.S. members.
Credit Karma Tax®
Credit Karma Tax® offers 100% free filing for your state and federal taxes. More than 1.5 million Americans e-filed their taxes for free on Credit Karma Tax® for the 2018 tax year.
Credit Monitoring
Credit Karma offers free credit monitoring to help members stay on top of their credit. If we notice important changes on your TransUnion or Equifax credit reports, we’ll send you an alert so you can check for suspicious activity.
Credit Karma Auto
By linking vehicle information to their Credit Karma Auto account, members can view information about recalls, their vehicle’s estimated value and their auto loan.2 You can also explore options for car insurance3 or financing a vehicle.
Home Buying Power
Tools like the Home Affordability Calculator, which provides an estimate of how much house a consumer can afford, can help financial advisers discuss homeownership with their clients, while the mortgage marketplace offers apples-to-apples comparisons of mortgage rates.4
ID Monitoring
Members can use Identity Monitoring on Credit Karma to see whether their personal information has been exposed in another company’s data breach. Given the number of significant data breaches reported in 2019, we recommend next steps to help members take action.
Credit Score Simulator
The Credit Score Simulator, which uses the information in members’ TransUnion credit reports, lets users explore how various actions — such as getting a new loan, letting accounts go past due, or going into foreclosure — could affect their TransUnion credit score.
Unclaimed Money
Credit Karma can help members search for unclaimed money with state governments. If a business owes a member money but is having trouble sending it to them, it may be turned over to the state as unclaimed property. We estimate that we’ve helped more than 4.5 million users identify over $800 million in unclaimed property.
_____________
Along with the above features and tools, Credit Karma offers a rich digital library of educational articles that aim to empower our readers to make financial progress, one step at a time. Wherever they are on their financial journey, you and your clients can use Credit Karma to help make financial progress.
Guest Contributor: Brad Hanson, Credit Karma Editor
2019 AFCPE Symposium Exhibitor
1 Banking services provided by MVB Bank, Inc., Member FDIC. Maximum balance and transfer limits apply. Maximum 6 withdrawals per monthly statement cycle.
2 Loan services offered through Credit Karma Offers, Inc., NMLS ID# 1628077 | Licenses | NMLS Consumer Access . California loans arranged pursuant to a California Financing Law license.
3 Insurance services offered through Credit Karma Insurance Services, LLC (dba Karma Insurance Services, LLC; CA resident license #0172748).
4 Mortgage products and services offered through Credit Karma Mortgage, Inc. NMLS ID# 1588622 | Licenses | NMLS Consumer Access
Leave a Reply