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[UserTesting Webinar] Design Thinking & Design Research at Credit Karma
Credit Karma
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Credit Karma Credit Monitoring
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Transcript of Credit Karma
Credit Karma
Credit Monitoring
Credit Karma was founded in 2007 and takes an en7rely new approach to
offering credit monitoring services. Their services are 100% free. The company
has grown to serve over 35 million members.
Credit Karma is based in San Francisco and has a reported 250 employees.
All of the company’s revenue is ad-‐generated and from partners on its website.
Credit Karma does not offer a variety of plans, and their
single plan is free for all members. There is no plan to
remove free pricing at any future date, according to the
company.
v Scores and reports can be updated as oLen as once per week v Free daily TransUnion credit monitoring
v Track credit ac7vity to iden7fy errors or poten7al iden7ty theL
v Set goals to pay off debt with Credit Karma’s repayment calculator
v Members have access to numerous educa7onal tools
v Members receive financial offers which are custom-‐tailored to their goals and credit
score
v Credit score simulator allows members to track poten7al changes to their financial
status (gePng new loans or credit cards, loans, or paying off debt) and how these
behaviors may affect their credit score
Credit Karma has one of the best credit report and
score refresh rates in the industry with free weekly
reports and scores from Equifax and TransUnion. At
this 7me, Credit Karma does not include informa7on
from Experian or the FICO® score.
Members of Credit Karma can monitor their credit reports regularly
and receive no7fica7ons in their profile when there are significant
changes to their credit reports.
Credit Karma offers free mobile apps for Android and Apple iOS
devices.
It is important to note that in 2014 a government ac7on was taken
against Credit Karma for these apps not being secure. None of
their customers’ iden77es were reported stolen as a result of the
security weakness, however. The company has since corrected the
security weakness and is submiPng to independent annual audits
for the next 20 years to ensure that the apps remain secure.
Credit Karma offers their customers basic credit monitoring without charge. These
services are not as automated as many of the compe7tors and require that customers
do some form of self-‐monitoring, but the trade-‐off for the price can save hundreds of
dollars per year in comparison to the compe7tors.
Credit Karma offers extensive educa7onal resources for both their members and just
those who are looking for more informa7on about credit and seeking to improve their
financial situa7on or decisions.
Credit Karma’s partners send members offers which are custom-‐tailored to their credit
score and history, which can save 7me and help members maintain their credit score
without applying for several credit cards or loans for which they may or may not be
approved.
Credit Karma has had problems in the past with the security of their mobile applica7ons. While these have been resolved
to the sa7sfac7on of the Federal Trade Commission, Credit Karma is required to maintain transparency for the next 20
years with audits and analysis of their mobile applica7ons. Some customers may be concerned with this past issue about
the apps’ security.
Members have reported receiving many offers for credit cards and loans aLer signing up with Credit Karma. The funding
for the service is provided by revenue generated with various partners, and members may not fully opt-‐out of these
communica7ons.
Addi7onally, the monitoring is not as automa7c as it is with the compe7tors, meaning that alerts are sent to the
member’s dashboard.
Rather than credit reports from all three bureaus, Credit Karma only gives access to two of the three and the score is not a
FICO® score and is not necessarily the score which lenders use to evaluate credit worthiness.
Credit Karma is not accredited with the Be^er Business Bureau. Such accredita7on is
100% voluntary in all industries and is completed at the request of the company.
While accredita7on is but one sign that the company has a commitment to customer
service, there are several concerns which Credit Karma’s C+ ra7ng bring to mind.
One can understand that customers are frustrated with the company’s lack of phone
support, and this is clear when examining the complaints, but the fact that the
complaints which have been filed by customers are spread quite evenly between
problems with all aspect to the company’s business (adver7sing, products and
service, delivery, guarantee) is telling. The volume of complaints to the BBB for a free
product is also revealing. h^p://www.bbb.org/greater-‐san-‐francisco/business-‐
reviews/credit-‐services/credit-‐karma-‐in-‐san-‐francisco-‐ca-‐295805
The services offered by Credit Karma are helpful and offer consumers an op7on to high-‐
priced credit monitoring services, which can save them hundreds of dollars per year.
Those who are able to create the self-‐discipline to self0monitor and use the tools
offered at Credit Karma will find the service to be a great help to them. However, those
lacking the self-‐discipline or who want more automa7c monitoring with iden7ty theL
insurance protec7on would be be^er served using a different service.
There are several good aspects to Credit Karma, but the lack of phone support and
volume of complaints with the BBB for a free product are reasons that one should be
aware of the limita7ons of this plan before becoming a member.
