FormFree and GetAugie Integrate Consumer Credit-Building Solutions

Users of FormFree’s Passport app can now apply for GetAugie’s Augie Card through the app.

The companies have partnered to enable automated identity verification to speed the application process for the card and to make their offerings work together to “decentralize and democratize” consumers access to information and credit, they said in a Tuesday (April 4) press release.

“Integrating the Augie Card into Passport gives lenders and borrowers an easy, free way to build credit and bring more home financing and wealth-building opportunities within reach,” FormFree founder and CEO Brent Chandler said in the release. “FormFree is proud to partner with GetAugie as we work together to decentralize and democratize the way consumers understand their financial data and access credit opportunities.”

PYMNTS research has found that half of all consumers tried a new payment option last year, that people are cognizant of their financial health and that consumers willing to try something new at checkout could boost their credit scores.

For forward-thinking providers, there is an opportunity to help those with subprime credit ratings, or so-called “thin” credit files, build and improve their creditworthiness with a range of alternative data sources and payment options, according to “New Payment Options: Why Consumers are Trying Digital Wallets,” a PYMNTS and Nuvei collaboration.

The Augie Card is designed for consumers who currently use only cash or debit and enables them to get the card without a credit check, a cash deposit, fees or interest. Consumers can then use the card and build a credit history because their payments are reported to credit bureaus, according to the press release.

The Passport app brings together the user’s financial data — including assets, employment, income, public records, credit and rent payment history — and allows them to anonymously share the data with providers of financial services. Passport shares personally identifiable information with a selected provider only after the consumer has accepted a firm credit offer, the release said.

In addition to speeding the application for a card, the new partnership allows consumers to see in Passport the improvements to their buying power that have been made by building credit with the Augie Card, per the release.

“We are delighted to partner with our friends at FormFree, who share our passion for expanding access to credit, to bring the Augie Card to more consumers and to make our simple application process even more streamlined,” GetAugie CEO Amit Thakur said in the release.