Monarch’s Credit Score feature gives you visibility into your credit score directly within your dashboard—no separate app or credit check needed. It’s powered by Spinwheel and uses the VantageScore 3.0 model, with data provided by Equifax. At this time, credit score tracking is only available for members in the U.S.
Table of Contents
Getting started and viewing your score
- Locate the credit score widget on the dashboard. (Note: This must be done initially on web, but after setup you will be able to view on mobile as well.)
- Click “Enable credit score.” If you’ve already linked with Spinwheel for Bill Sync, skip to step 7 from here. If not, continue.
- Read about how credit scores work and click “Connect with Spinwheel.”
- Enter your phone number and date of birth, then click “Continue.” You will be sent a verification code via text. Note: If Spinwheel is unable to verify your number and birth date, you may be asked to confirm your identity another way.
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Enter the verification code and click “Continue.”
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You will see a screen verifying your personal information. Review this to ensure accuracy. If anything appears wrong, you will need to contact Equifax directly to have it corrected. Click “Continue.”
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The next screen will ask you to acknowledge that any linked credit scores will be visible to all household members. Check the box and click “Enable credit score tracking” to complete the setup.
Once connected, your score will appear in the Credit Score widget on your dashboard, along with the last synced date.
After three months’ worth of data has been accumulated, we will show your progress over time visually in a graph (until then, you’ll just see the number). You will also be able to view and minimize your household members’ scores from here.
We want to help you keep on top of your score, so if your credit score changes significantly (i.e., increases or decreases by more than 20 points), we’ll send you a notification. You can edit this in your notification settings at any time.
Pro tip: You can add a picture to your profile in your settings!
What does my credit score mean?
Your credit score is a number that typically ranges from 300 to 850, and is intended to be a reflection of how you manage debt. Lenders often use your credit score to decide whether to approve someone for credit and on what terms.
Monarch provides your score from Equifax via the widely used VantageScore 3.0 model. It’s based on six key factors:
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- Payment history: Have you paid past bills on time?
- Credit usage: How much of your available credit are you using?
- Credit age: How long have your accounts been open?
- New credit: Have you applied for credit recently?
- Types of credit: Do you have a mix of credit cards, loans, or other accounts?
- Available credit: How much unused credit you have can also factor in.
Keeping your score healthy can make it easier to qualify for loans, lower interest rates, and have more financial flexibility. Even if you’re not borrowing now, it’s a smart thing to monitor.
How often is my credit score updated?
Your credit score in Monarch is updated once per month. The refresh date is based on the day you connect. For example, if you connect on June 5, your score will refresh around the 5th of each subsequent month.
Keep in mind:
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- Scores can fluctuate between updates.
- If no score is available (e.g. for users without sufficient credit history), the widget will indicate that no snapshot is available for the current month.
Any time there is a significant update to your credit score, we’ll send you a notification. You can edit these preferences in your notification settings.
Credit score settings
Once your credit score has been linked, you can click on the three dots in the upper right corner of the widget to view the options. From here, you can pause credit score tracking, which will remove the number from the credit score widget on the dashboard (and, if you wish, you can then remove the widget by clicking “Customize” in the upper right corner of the dashboard page).
You can also visit the credit data settings, which will allow you to remove credit data access. Note that doing this will disconnect Spinwheel entirely, which will also affect your ability to use the bill sync feature, as both are dependent on the Spinwheel connection.
Why VantageScore 3.0?
VantageScore 3.0 is a widely accepted scoring model, like FICO. We choose VantageScore as this model allows users new to credit to get a score more quickly (as they can create a score with as little as one month of credit history), has a broader inclusion criteria than FICO, and may offer greater consistency across the three major credit bureaus.
VantageScore is not a credit bureau and does not have access to your data, your credit files, or any other files that contain personal information about consumers. Your credit score is calculated by Equifax, using a proprietary set of rules provided by VantageScore.
It’s not uncommon to see a difference of 20-40 points when comparing FICO and VantageScore. Usually, when the gap is larger, it’s due to a thin credit history, recently paid off collections, or very recent credit activity.
For more information on VantageScore 3.0, please see their FAQs.
FAQs
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- What is Spinwheel and where can I learn more about this partnership?
- How do I add my household member's score?
- My personal information was wrong during the verification process.
- Why is my credit score not available?
- What if my credit is frozen?
- Can my household members see my credit score?
- Why is my score not updating? Can I force a refresh or update it manually?
- Where did this number come from?
- Why did my score change?
- How can I improve my credit score?
- How can I stop tracking my score if I don't want to see it anymore?
- Why does my VantageScore 3.0 differ from what I see elsewhere?
- What if my score is incorrect?
- Will debt or credit information from my credit report be shared in any way?
- Will connecting via Spinwheel affect my credit score in any way?
- When I connect to Spinwheel, how much information does Monarch get? Can Monarch see my full credit report?
- I received a fraud flag when trying to connect. Is this real? What should I do?
- For additional FAQs related to the Spinwheel connection, click here.
What is Spinwheel and where can I learn more about the partnership?
Spinwheel is our third-party partner for credit data. You can learn more about Spinwheel and how Monarch works with them here.
How do I add my household member's score?
Each household member(s) will need to log into Monarch with their own login information and enable credit scores under their own account. Once enabled, every member will be able to see all of the household members' credit scores.
My personal information was wrong during the verification process.
This information generally comes from Equifax, so we recommend reaching out to Equifax as the first step. Please note that the address listed is typically the most recent address; however, the interface may also surface an older address rather than the most current one. If you recognize the address (even if it is a previous address) you can safely proceed.
Why is my credit score not available?
At this time, credit score tracking is only available to US members. If you are located in the US, your credit score may not be available if you don’t have enough credit history.
What if my credit is frozen?
Spinwheel’s ability to complete that process depends on the level of your credit freeze, whether the freeze is implemented to block all pulls, and whether the freeze is in effect with all bureaus.
Can my household members see my credit score?
Yes. Once connected, scores are visible to everyone in your Monarch household.
Why is my score not updating? Can I force a refresh or update it manually?
Scores are updated once a month and cannot be refreshed manually. We will not show fluctuations in the number that occur between the monthly updates.
Where did this number come from?
We receive the number from VantageScore 3.0.
Why did my score change?
We receive the number from VantageScore 3.0, but we don’t receive information on why it may have changed. We hope to add this functionality in the future, but in the meantime, you can reach out to Equifax for more details.
How can I improve my credit score?
In general, actions like paying loans on time and not maxing out your loans can help improve credit scores. You can view more suggestions here.
How can I stop tracking my score if I don’t want to see it anymore?
You can visit the Credit Score settings and select one of the two options depending on whether you want to simply pause tracking or completely disconnect. Note that disconnecting from Spinwheel will also disconnect you from bill sync, since both features are dependent on the Spinwheel connection.
Why does my VantageScore 3.0 score differ from what I see elsewhere?
It’s not uncommon to see a difference of 20-40 points when comparing FICO and VantageScore. Often, but not always, the VantageScore 3.0 is slightly lower than FICO (source). Usually, when the gap is larger, it’s due to a thin credit history, recently paid off collections, or very recent credit activity.
What if my score is incorrect?
VantageScore is not a credit bureau and does not have access to your data, your credit files, or any other files that contain personal information about consumers. Your credit score is calculated by Equifax, using a proprietary set of rules provided by VantageScore. If it looks incorrect, you will need to contact Equifax for further assistance and to review your credit data.
Will debt or credit information from my credit report be shared in any way?
No. Monarch will not share any information about your credit or liability related bills.
Will connecting via Spinwheel affect my credit score in any way?
No. Because Spinwheel does a soft pull of your credit report to obtain statement balances, it will not affect your credit in any way.
When I connect to Spinwheel, how much information does Monarch get? Can Monarch see my full credit report?
Monarch gets information on the account type, whether the account is active, the current balance, the statement date, statement balance, statement due date and the minimum amount due. We don’t receive your credit score at this time and can’t view your full credit report.
I received a fraud flag when trying to connect. Is this real? What should I do?
Fraud flags are passed to Spinwheel directly from Equifax. We recommend reaching out to Equifax and letting them know you were trying to connect with Spinwheel and received a fraud flag so they can research. This could occur due to a number of reasons, ranging from true fraud to a recent change in name or address.