Bank of America, Wells Fargo Expand Free FICO Score Access
Slowly but surely, it’s getting easier to grab a copy of your credit score for free. Thanks to some nudging of the banks by the CFPB and others, more consumers than ever can now see how their credit rates without having to pay for it. The latest news comes from Bank of America and Wells Fargo, where eligible customers can now enjoy expanded access to their FICO score for free.
Wells Fargo
Historically, Wells Fargo offered a free credit scoring program once a year during October and November, to coincide with the American Bankers Assocation’s Get Smart About Credit day. Wells Fargo called it the Free Credit Score program, which provided access to Exerpian’s VantageScore for 90 days.
Now, Wells Fargo is providing free FICO score access year-round for eligible customers who have a Wells Fargo consumer credit card with a FICO score on record. Currently, it is providing the service exclusively through its mobile banking platform. Customers can access their FICO score either through the free Wells Fargo Mobile Banking app available from your device’s app store or by visiting wellsfargo.com on your mobile phone’s browser.
In addition to your Experian FICO score, customers can also see the factors that contributed to their score, personalized credit tips and your score history, as well as other credit education resources.
Wells Fargo also plans to soon make free scores available to its customers with student loans, direct auto loans, personal lines and loans, or home mortgage/home equity line of credit. A link will automatically appear on a customer’s account summary page when the service becomes available to them and will also remind them when a new score is available.
Desktop access to your score is planned for sometime later in 2016. More information on Wells Fargo’s program can be found here.
Bank of America
Currently, Bank of America’s free FICO score program is even more limited than Wells Fargo’s. Only select consumer credit card customers are eligible, but it appears Bank of America is in the process of rolling out the benefit to many more people.
Those who are eligible can enroll through their bankofamerica.com online account. Under the “Tools & Investing” tab, there is a section for “Spending & cash flow.” If your account is eligible, there will be a link called “Learn about credit scores” where you can enroll.
In addition to your score, which updates monthly, you’ll also have access to your score history. Customers will also receive an email notification when updated scores are available to review.
Update April 8: Bank of America consumer credit card customers can now enroll to access their free monthly FICO score from TransUnion by visiting this link.
Related
See more banks who offer a credit score for free.