Boost: Your questions answered
What is Experian Boost?
Experian Boost is the only way to instantly raise your credit score anywhere in the UK.
Simply set up or login to your Experian account and connect your current account. We'll be looking for trends that show strong payment history, such as paying into savings or investment accounts regularly and generally paying your Council Tax, or even your Netflix or Spotify subscriptions, on time.
If the information we find is positive overall, we’ll calculate a Boost (with the maximum score raise hitting an increase of up to 101 points) and instantly apply it to your Experian Credit Score. When you apply for credit, we’ll share your Boost data with participating lenders. Don't worry, connecting to Boost will never make your score go down.
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How does Experian Boost work?
You’ll be able to connect your current account(s) via Open Banking. We use data going back up to 12 months to calculate your Boost and we review the data regularly so your Boost stays accurate and up to date.
Read moreWe look for payments into savings and investment accounts, Council Tax payments, digital entertainment payments, and the total amount paid in and out. We then use this information to determine if your score could get a Boost. You’ll be able to see your Boost and a consolidated view of the transactions we’ve used.
When you apply for credit, we’ll share your Boost data with participating lenders.
Learn more about Open Banking. Read LessIs Experian Boost free to use?
Yes, Experian Boost is free to all customers.
Can everyone use Experian Boost?
Experian Boost is designed to help as many people as possible. To use Experian Boost, you will need a current account with a bank or building society that supports Open Banking access for their customers. Please note that there are some account types we can’t connect, such as savings accounts.
Read moreWhat’s different about Boost?
Your Experian Credit Score is influenced by how much credit you use and how reliable you are at paying it off. This already includes loans, credit cards, mortgages, mobile phone contracts, bank accounts and some regular household bills, such as energy, water, and broadband.
Read moreWe know that credit management is only part of the picture and that you prove yourself to be financially responsible in your everyday life, so we wanted to acknowledge that. Boost uses information from your current account so we can recognise when you’ve made regular payments, for example to your savings account, and raise your credit score.
Find out more about the differences of Boost. Read LessDo lenders see my boosted score?
We do share a summary of the data used to create your Boost score with participating lenders when you search or apply for credit. This data may be used by these lenders when deciding if you’re eligible.
Read moreWhat do we mean by ‘lender’?
A lender is an organisation who provides either money, goods or a service to you with the expectation that you will pay them back in the future.
Read moreSome of the lenders we work with will be familiar to you (such as banks who provide loans and mortgages). We also work with companies who provide you with goods and services on credit. Some examples of this include:
- Mobile phone companies who include the price of your phone in your monthly bill
- Your energy company, who charges you after you’ve used their services
- Retail companies who might ask you to pay in instalments for something like a new TV
How do you connect Boost to my current account?
We’ll direct you to your online bank where you’ll log in and confirm if you’re happy to give us access to view your transactions going back up to 24 months. We’ll only have access for 90 days, at which point, you’ll be asked to renew your Open Banking connection if you want to keep Boost going.
Read moreWe’ll request the following information:
Your account details
- Your account name, number and sort code
- Your account balance
Your account transactions
- Details of your transactions, such as the amount credited or debited, date of transaction and name of payer or recipient.
- Your account features and benefits
- Product details – fees, charges, interest, benefits/rewards
Does use of credit cards affect Boost score?
Your credit card use already makes up part of your score but we don’t calculate your boost based on the transactions in your credit card accounts so we don’t connect this type of account to Boost.
Read moreShould I stay connected if I don’t get a Boost?
The choice is yours. Boost is dynamic and will be updated regularly. This means that if you stay connected and we find something that could give you a Boost, we’ll apply it to your credit score at the next review. If you change your mind, you can remove Boost at any time.
Read moreHow many current accounts can I connect to Boost?
There is no limit to the number of current accounts you can connect. We want this service to work well for everyone and we understand that people often have one account for their income and a separate one for payments.
Read moreIs Experian Boost affected by savings and investment accounts?
We look at payments and transfers into savings and investments from your current accounts, but we don’t calculate your boost based on the total amount held in your savings, so we don’t connect this type of account to Boost.
Read moreCan Experian Boost hurt my credit score?
Connecting to Boost will never be the cause of your credit score going down – but while connected, your score could go down for the common reasons a credit score can drop.
Read moreBoost is dynamic and will be updated regularly. That means your boost can also go up or down while connected. For example, things that could cause your boost to decrease can include stopping regular payments to a savings account, ending digital entertainment subscription payments for the likes of Netflix, and any change in the amount of money coming in or going out of your account.
Another reason why your boost might change is from time to time we fine-tune the way a boost’s calculated to give you the most up-to-to date indication of the difference it makes to how lenders view you.
Read LessShould I stay connected if I don’t get a Boost?
The choice is yours. Boost is dynamic and will be updated regularly. This means that if you stay connected and we find something that could give you a Boost, we’ll apply it to your credit score at the next review. If you change your mind, you can remove Boost at any time.
Read moreHow does Boost affect my credit score updates?
If you are a Free customer, your score will continue to update every 30 days if you log in. If you are a CreditExpert customer, your score will continue to update daily. Participating lenders will always see your latest boosted score when you apply for credit.
Read moreWe will recalculate your boost when we update your score or, if you add or remove any of your connected current accounts.
Read LessMy score is already at 999 – what could Boost do for me?
Fantastic job at keeping your credit score healthy! With your excellent score of 999, you already have our best possible credit score. If your score changes, you’ll be able to use Boost immediately.
Read moreHow long will Experian store the data collected for my Boost?
We’ll store your Boost data for up to three years from when we first receive it. To find out more about how we store and use your data, please see our privacy policy.
How are you keeping my data secure?
Data security is our top priority. We use Open Banking to securely connect to your bank account.
How will you use the information you find to Boost my score?
- We'll monitor certain transactions from the accounts you connect and look at deposit and withdrawal trends. If you get a Boost, we’ll immediately show you your boosted score as well as the transaction data we used to calculate it.
- Read more
- We use data going back 12 months to calculate your Boost. We then review the data regularly so your Boost stays accurate and up to date. The information we use will always be taken from the 12 months prior to that day.
- If you get a boost and you apply for credit or check your eligibility, we’ll share an overall summary of our analysis with participating lenders, rather than any specific transactions. Lenders may use this information alongside the other information in your credit report to provide you with accurate eligibility ratings, and to decide whether to offer you credit and on what terms.
- We may use your data for reporting, analysis and training to help us improve and develop the Experian Boost service, and other products and services we provide to lenders to support their decisions about credit applications and the ongoing management of credit accounts. Data used for these purposes will not be shared with lenders.
- We may also use it to provide you with information about the transactions that have impacted your credit score and the steps you could take to improve your score.
- We may also share our analysis and a summary of your transactions with participating lenders to conduct their own analysis, so that they can make better lending decisions using this data in the future.
- When applying for loans, credit cards and other financial products we may use your data to notify you to connect your account(s) to Boost.
- For more details about how we process your information, please see our privacy policy. If you’re connecting a joint account, you should also make the information in the privacy policy available to the other person you hold the account with.
Some of my Boost data looks wrong, what can I do?
If something doesn’t look right, you’ll be able to let us know via a feedback form when you view your Boost data. If you do give us feedback, we’ll get a better idea of how we can improve the Boost service in the future. Right now, we aren’t able to action individual comments, or make changes to the categorisation as this is an automated process. If you’re not happy with this, you should disconnect all your accounts, or remove the Boost service. This will mean we cannot share your boosted score or a summary of your Open Banking data with participating lenders.
Read moreIf you see payments that you haven’t made, we advise that you contact your bank directly.
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