Secured bank cards are good choices for these with weak credit (FICO scores of 629 or decrease). They’re simpler to get permitted for as a result of they require you to place down a refundable safety deposit, which turns into your credit score line and eases the danger that the cardboard issuer is taking by lending you cash.
However arising with that deposit, typically round $200, can nonetheless pose a hurdle.
The Yendo Credit score Card, issued by Cross River Financial institution, works quite a bit like a secured bank card, however as an alternative of a money deposit, it is secured by an asset: your automotive.
For individuals who lack the liquidity for a money deposit — and might’t afford to tie up that cash for months on finish — this may sound interesting. However utilizing your automotive as collateral, even when it is only for a couple of months, is a transfer that warrants cautious consideration. In any case, your vehicle is amongst your most essential property, because it permits you to get to and from a job. And in the event you default in your funds with the Yendo card, it is potential that your automotive might be repossessed. (Extra on that later.)
Listed here are 5 issues to know in regards to the Yendo Credit score Card.
1. Your automotive is your collateral
The Yendo card is not the one asset-secured bank card in the marketplace, however it might be one of many solely ones particularly tailor-made for vehicle house owners. Eligible automobiles that can be utilized as collateral for the Yendo card embody:
Moreover, the automobiles should meet these necessities:
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Should be in working situation.
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Should be owned by the cardboard applicant. In the event you leased the automotive or took out a mortgage to buy it, it might’t be submitted as collateral.
To be permitted for the Yendo card, you’ll must add photos of the automotive within the Yendo app, then drop the title off at one in every of Yendo’s companion places or mail it to Yendo by way of FedEx. (Yendo covers the delivery prices.)
Your credit score restrict on a Yendo card will rely upon the yr, make, mannequin and situation of your car and can vary from $450 to $10,000. If Yendo determines that the worth of your automotive isn’t at the very least $450, you possibly can’t get the bank card. Just one car is allowed per credit score line.
2. Proudly owning a automotive isn’t the one requirement
Potential Yendo cardholders need to test a couple of extra packing containers to qualify. Candidates should reside within the U.S., Washington, D.C., or a U.S. navy location and have both a Social Safety quantity or Particular person Taxpayer Identification Quantity (ITIN); nonetheless, U.S. citizenship isn’t required.
You’ll additionally want to offer proof of revenue to exhibit a capability to pay your bank card invoice, however Yendo doesn’t disclose the minimal revenue required to get the Yendo Credit score Card.
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The Yendo card joins an inventory of bank cards that may be used nearly instantly upon approval. Most Yendo candidates, inside half-hour of being permitted, will obtain a digital bank card that can be utilized to make on-line purchases or with Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay.
3. You will get the title again …
Yendo will return the car title to you so long as you’ve fully paid off the bank card steadiness and ask Yendo to shut the account.
On this means, the Yendo Credit score Card acts like a secured card that returns the safety deposit to the cardholder if the account is closed in good standing.
4. … Or you may lose your automotive
Yendo founder and CEO Jordan Miller stated in an electronic mail that repossession is a potential consequence of missed funds — however solely after the issuer has exhausted all different choices to recoup the excellent steadiness. He additionally stated that one missed cost is not going to set off a repossession so long as the cardholder communicates to Yendo about their monetary hardship.
Study Extra
Even when shedding your automotive isn’t a possible consequence, some individuals should be cautious of placing up a car as collateral. For individuals who don’t need to take that threat, different secured playing cards could also be extra interesting. The OpenSky® Plus Secured Visa® Credit score Card requires a $300 safety deposit, however you possibly can pay that over 60 days. The Capital One Platinum Secured Credit score Card additionally permits cardholders to pay the deposit in installments, and it’s potential to get a $200 credit score restrict with a $49 safety deposit, relying in your creditworthiness.
The purpose is, you might not want $200 to get began with a secured bank card.
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As of this writing, the Yendo Credit score Card experiences to 2 of the three main credit score bureaus: Equifax and Experian, however not TransUnion.
5. There’s an annual payment

Study Extra
The Yendo Credit score Card would not require a money safety deposit, however it does cost a $40 annual payment that’s waived within the first yr. And in contrast to the deposit for secured bank cards, annual charges aren’t refundable.
A stable $0-annual-fee various is the Capital One Quicksilver Secured Money Rewards Credit score Card. It earns a vast 1.5% money again on all purchases, and eligible cardholders can finally qualify to improve to a conventional, non-secured Capital One bank card (and get their deposit again).