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For those with limited or negative credit, credit builder loans are an effective way to establish a positive credit history and progress toward a stable financial future.

Featured among our best credit builder loans, CreditStrong's Instal loan is available in most states, doesn't require a credit check for approval, and offers flexible loan terms and monthly payments. However, there are more affordable options. Read on to see whether CreditStrong is a good fit for you.

CreditStrong Overview

CreditStrong is a division of Austin Capital Bank, an FDIC-insured community bank headquartered in Austin, Texas. Austin Capital Bank also owns FreeKick Credit Builder, another product that made our best credit builder loans guide. Boasting a community of over 1 million people and businesses, CreditStrong offers loans and other tools for building credit to customers nationwide (except for those in Vermont and Wisconsin).

To qualify for a CreditStrong account, you must be at least 18 years old and a permanent United States resident with a physical address in the country. You must also have a valid Social Security number or individual taxpayer identification number; an email address; mobile phone number (or Google Voice account); and a checking account, debit card, or prepaid card in good standing. 

CreditStrong does not have credit or income requirements for approval, and applying won't result in a hard inquiry on your credit report. So long as you meet the identity and other requirements listed above, you're eligible.

CreditStrong has mixed reviews from customers online. The company has a Trustpilot rating of 2.9 stars out of five, and its Better Business Bureau profile has a rating of under 1.3 stars out of five, with 90 complaints filed in the past three years. However, those ratings are based on fewer than 70 reviews combined. More feedback can be found in over 350 Google reviews linked to CreditStrong's corporate address in Austin, where the company has a rating of 2.7 stars out of five.

In negative reviews across all sites, common concerns cited by CreditStrong customers include poor customer service and a lack of results. However, many negative reviews showed a lack of understanding about what CreditStrong loans do and how they work, which may have led to unrealistic expectations.

How CreditStrong Works

With no credit check and minimal requirements to open an account, CreditStrong claims its application process should take less than five minutes.

CreditStrong offers several credit-building products: Instal, Revolv, and CS Max. These accounts aren't mutually exclusive, so you can simultaneously hold an Instal and Revolv account.

CreditStrong Instal

CreditStrong Instal is most similar to other credit builder loans. It comes in three different varieties, each of which comes with a $15 non-refundable administrative fee. The loan amounts and interest rates are similar for each one, but the loan terms, monthly payments, and total interest charges differ:

Instal 28 — $28 monthly payment and 48-month loan term, resulting in a $1,344 reported installment account and $1,010 saved. An interest rate of 15.61% yields approximately $334 in interest charges.Instal 38 — $38 monthly payment and 36-month loan term, resulting in a $1,368 reported installment account and $1,100 saved. An interest rate of 15.73% yields approximately $268 in interest charges.Instal 48 — $48 monthly payment and 24-month loan term, resulting in a $1,152 reported installment account and $1,000 saved. An interest rate of 15.51% yields approximately $152 in interest charges.

Choosing a lower monthly payment means you'll pay more in interest. The tradeoff is a longer loan term that results in more credit-building potential as long as you make on-time payments.

The first payment of your Instal loan is due one month after opening the account. CreditStrong recommends making monthly payments automatically by linking a checking account, but you can pay manually with a debit or prepaid card (a convenience fee of 2.99% + $0.30 applies).

With each payment, the portion that goes toward the loan principal is deposited in an Austin Capital Bank savings account in your name. Those funds are locked during the loan period and become available once the loan is paid off. While the savings account is FDIC-insured, it earns only 0.01% interest, so the money you put into the loan effectively sits idle.

CreditStrong reports your payments to the three major credit bureaus, adding data points to your payment history, which is the most important component of your credit score. A track record of on-time payments should positively impact your credit, though CreditStrong does not guarantee any particular outcome.

If you find CreditStrong is not for you, you can cancel your account anytime with no early termination fee. If you cancel before your loan matures, you'll receive the principal amount accrued in your savings account. However, a relatively large portion of your early payments go toward interest (rather than the principal), so you may get back much less than what you've put in.

While there's no fee for canceling your loan or paying it off early, late payments by 15 days or more incur a late fee of 4% of your monthly payment. Payments received more than 30 days after they're due are reported as late to the credit bureaus.

CreditStrong Revolv

CreditStrong Revolv Account adds a $500 line of revolving credit to a customer's credit account. Revolv account holders don't actually have access to this money. It just adds a revolving account to your credit report.

That said, customers have the option to make regular contributions to a Revolv savings account, which CreditStrong reports to the credit bureau as. Three consecutive on-time payments will add $100 to your credit limit, maxing out at $1,000. Once you close the account, you get these contributions back.

If you've paid off installment loans but don't have a credit card, Revolv can build credit by diversifying the types of credit on your credit report. If you already have a credit card, Revolv can add to your existing credit limit, which will help keep your credit utilization ratio low.

The CreditStrong Revolv account doesn't charge interest on your balance but costs $99 annually. 

Note: While making monthly contributions is optional if you miss a payment after committing to those payments, CreditStrong will report that late payment to the credit bureaus, lowering your credit score. CreditStrong CSMax

CreditStrong CSMax Account works like its Instal account, just with higher monthly payments and 60-month loan terms. CSMax has four different plans, varying in monthly payment amounts and interest rates. All accounts also charge an initial $25 non-refundable administrative fee. 

CSMax 49 — $49 monthly payment and 60-month loan term, resulting in $2,940 reported installment account and $2,500 saved. An interest rate of 6.99% yields approximately $440 in interest charges.CSMax 99 — $99 monthly payment and 60-month loan term, resulting in $5,940 reported installment account and $5,000 saved. An interest rate of 7.21% yields approximately $940 in interest charges.CSMax 199 — $199 monthly payment and 60-month loan term, resulting in a $11,940 reported installment account and $10,000. An interest rate of 7.31% yields approximately $1,940 in interest charges.CSMax 449 — $449 monthly payment and 60-month loan term, resulting in $26,940 reported installment account and $25,000 saved. An interest rate of 3.02% yields approximately $1,940 in interest charges.

With such a high monthly payment over such an extended period, CSMax offers aggressive credit building. However, it's not for most consumers. It's geared toward people with disposable income to set aside for these payments but may have let their credit score fall by the wayside.

Though CSMax interest rates aren't as high as the Instal accounts, those long payment terms result in steep interest charges.

CreditStrong Pros and Cons

CreditStrong offers an assortment of loan options that are widely available in the US, but you may have less costly options for building credit. While some of the best credit builder loans cost less than CreditStrong, you can also look into secured credit cards to build credit. Some of the best secured credit cards even come with rewards and perks.

CreditStrong Pros

Flexible loan options — CreditStrong lets you choose from three different loan terms and monthly payments. You don't have much control over the loan amount since all Instal loans are around $1,000, but that's not critical if your objective is to build credit.

Reporting to three credit bureaus — CreditStrong reports your payments to all three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion), so you can improve your credit score across the board.

No cancellation fee — If your loan doesn't have the impact you want, you can cancel it at any time at no additional cost. 

Monthly credit score — You'll be able to find this with basic credit monitoring, but it's still a nice feature to keep track of credit-building progress.

CreditStrong Cons

Low yield on locked funds — The savings account where your loan funds are kept earns interest at only 0.01% APY. That's below the national average of 0.42% for savings accounts and far below what you could get from a high-yield savings account or CD.

Costs — CreditStrong has no monthly fees, but Instal loans charge interest rates over 15% on top of a $15 administrative fee. As noted above, you'll pay over $300 in interest for the 48-month Instal loan. That expense may be worthwhile to improve your credit, but there are less costly alternatives.

Who Is CreditStrong For?

CreditStrong's Instal loan is well-suited to anyone with limited or negative credit history who is looking to build (or rebuild) their credit profile. It's an especially good fit if you're looking for a longer loan term since you can get an Instal loan for as long as 48 months while many others top out at 24 months.

Applying for a CreditStrong credit builder loan is only a good idea if you know you'll be able to make monthly payments on time and in full. Late or delinquent payments may drop your credit score, defeating the purpose of getting the loan in the first place.

Before you apply for a credit builder loan (with CreditStrong or otherwise), make sure you understand how your payments will accrue into savings. CreditStrong provides clear amortization schedules so you know how much of each payment you make goes toward interest versus principal.

CreditStrong Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)












Peter Rothbart

Freelance Writer












Elias Shaya

Jr Compliance Associate




Elias Shaya is a junior compliance associate on the Personal Finance Insider team based in New York City.
Personal Finance Insider is Insider's personal finance section that incorporates affiliate and commerce partnerships into the news, insights, and advice about money that readers already know and love. The compliance team's mission is to provide readers with stories that are fact-checked and current, so they can make informed financial decisions.
The team also works to minimize risk for partners by making sure language is clear, precise, and fully compliant with regulatory and partner marketing guidelines that align with the editorial team. Elias is the point person for the loans sub-vertical and works with the editorial team to ensure that all rates and information for personal and student loans are up to date and accurate.
He joined Insider in February 2022 as a fellow on the compliance team.
Elias has a Bachelor of Science in International Business from the CUNY College of Staten Island. Prior to joining Insider, he volunteered at the New York Presbyterian Hospital, where he worked with the biomedical engineering department. In his spare time, Elias enjoys exploring new restaurants, traveling to visit his family in Lebanon, and spending time with friends.

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