Ava Finance

Review by eFreeware

A thin credit file is a frustrating thing. You can pay every bill on time for years and still be turned down for a loan or a decent card, because lenders want to see a pattern of borrowing and repayment that a file with little in it cannot show. Building that pattern usually means applying for credit, and applying means a credit check, which is exactly what many people are trying to avoid.

Ava Finance is one attempt to break that loop. It comes from Ava Finance, Inc., runs on Android in the Finance category, and has been available since May 10, 2021. The app has been installed more than 500,000 times and holds a 4.6 average from 17,212 ratings, which is a strong signal for a financial product where people are quick to complain when something goes wrong.

The idea behind it is straightforward: give members a card and a loan designed to be reported to the credit bureaus, so that ordinary spending and saving generate the payment history a credit file is built on. It is free to download, carries no ads and offers no in-app purchases.

Who Ava Finance is built for

The clearest fit is someone with little or no credit history, or a history they would rather not have. Ava asks for no credit check at sign-up, no deposit and no collateral, so a past misstep does not automatically close the door. If you have been rejected elsewhere and want a way back in, that combination is the main draw.

It also suits people who want saving and credit building to happen in the same place. The Save & Build Credit Account works as a secured loan: the member gets the money back when the term ends, so the monthly amount is not just a service fee. Anyone who would struggle to justify paying for a credit-building product outright may find that structure easier to accept.

Where it fits less well is with anyone who wants a general-purpose card for everyday spending. The Credit Builder Card is built around recurring online bills and subscriptions rather than purchases in shops or restaurants, so it is a tool for a specific slice of your spending rather than a replacement for a normal card.

The Credit Builder Card and its recurring bills

Netflix and Verizon are among the more than 60 bills and subscriptions it can cover. The point is not the spending itself but the reporting: each on-time payment feeds into payment history, which carries the largest weight in the scoring models the developer cites. For someone whose regular outgoings are mostly digital subscriptions, that is a neat way to turn money already being spent into a credit record.

The second benefit is utilization. Because the card's limit is part of the calculation of how much of your available credit you are using, the developer positions it as a way to keep that ratio low. Utilization carries a 30% weight in the same breakdown, so a card with a limit attached that is not maxed out can work in your favor.

With a linked bank account and a passed identity check, approval is guaranteed. Payments made on time reach the three main credit bureaus in about two days. Patriot Bank, N.A. issues the card as a Mastercard, under a license from Mastercard International.

The Save & Build Credit Account

A member pays in at least $25 monthly for 12 to 24 months and then gets at least $300 back, with no interest charged.

The appeal here is the shape of the deal. Instead of paying a monthly fee and getting nothing tangible in return, the member is effectively saving under a structure that reports to the bureaus. That makes the monthly commitment easier to justify for anyone who would otherwise be putting the same amount into a savings account.

An origination fee applies in some states. In Georgia, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, Missouri, Wisconsin, Florida, Hawaii, Texas, New York, Illinois, North Carolina, Michigan, New Jersey, Virginia, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee and Arizona, that fee is $12, collected as $1 a month. The secured loan is provided in certain states through Pier Lending LLC.

The monthly credit report and what it shows

A free credit report is included every month inside the app. It is not just a number: the report highlights factors such as credit utilization and the percentage of payments made on time, and offers suggestions for understanding them. For anyone who has never had a reason to look closely at how a score is assembled, that is a useful education.

The two accounts are meant to work together on the report. The developer notes that adding the card and the secured loan creates two new tradelines, which helps with credit mix and length of history, weighted at 10% and 15% respectively. Payment history, at 35%, and utilization, at 30%, are the two heaviest factors, and both are addressed by the products.

A dedicated team answers questions sent to [email protected]. Ava describes itself as a technology company rather than a bank, with Priority Technology Holdings, Inc. providing banking services and Pier Lending LLC the secured loan in certain states.

What the app costs and what it promises

Ava is free to download. There are no ads and no in-app purchases. The services themselves are paid: pricing starts at $5 a month on the annual plan, and the products carry 0% interest.

The performance claims are worth reading carefully. Ava reports that among members who subscribed within seven days, 74% saw a score increase in their first two weeks, using 2023 data, and that some gained over 40 points within three months. A score of 700 or above may be attainable. These are marketing figures drawn from a particular group of members, and an increase is not guaranteed.

Setup is another practical detail, and it takes under five minutes. Given that approval depends on connecting a bank account and passing identity verification, the speed of that process matters more than most onboarding claims.

How Ava compares with other routes

The obvious alternative is a secured credit card from a bank, where a cash deposit sets the limit. Ava asks for no deposit or collateral, which is a meaningful difference for anyone who cannot tie up several hundred dollars just to open an account. A traditional secured card may still suit someone who wants a card they can use anywhere rather than one focused on recurring bills.

A second route is a credit-builder loan from a credit union, which works in a similar way to the Save & Build account. The trade-off is usually access: these loans are not offered everywhere, and the amounts and terms vary. Ava's version starts at $25 a month with a 12-to-24-month term and no interest, and it sits alongside a card in the same app.

A third option is simply doing nothing and waiting for time to improve a thin file. That costs nothing and requires no commitment, but it also produces no new tradelines. Anyone who has spent a year or two waiting without seeing a change has a fair reason to consider a product built for exactly that situation.

A steady tool for rebuilding a credit file

Ava Finance is a focused product rather than a general money app. It does two things: it reports recurring bill payments through a card, and it reports a secured loan that doubles as a savings plan. Both are aimed at the same outcome, and neither requires a credit check to begin. If your goal is a better credit file and you are willing to commit to monthly payments for a year or more, the structure makes sense.

The commitment is real. The Save & Build account runs for 12 to 24 months at a minimum of $25 a month. The origination fee in the listed states adds a small amount. None of this is hidden, but it does mean the app rewards people who can keep the payments going without interruption.

I would point this at anyone with a thin or bruised credit history who wants payment activity reported to the bureaus and prefers saving over paying pure fees. It is less compelling for someone who already has a solid file, or who wants a card for general spending rather than a fixed set of subscriptions. For the rebuilding job it was designed for, it looks like a well-priced option.

What's new in version 5.1.7300

Bug fixes and performance improvements