Types of Credit

It signifies a lender's faith in the borrower's ability to repay a loan.

Author: Christy Grimste
Christy Grimste
Christy Grimste
Real Estate | Investment Property Sales

Christy currently works as a senior associate for EdR Trust, a publicly traded multi-family REIT. Prior to joining EdR Trust, Christy works for CBRE in investment property sales. Before completing her MBA and breaking into finance, Christy founded and education startup in which she actively pursued for seven years and works as an internal auditor for the U.S. Department of State and CIA.

Christy has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Maryland and a Master of Business Administrations from the University of London.

Reviewed By: Himanshu Singh
Himanshu Singh
Himanshu Singh
Investment Banking | Private Equity

Prior to joining UBS as an Investment Banker, Himanshu worked as an Investment Associate for Exin Capital Partners Limited, participating in all aspects of the investment process, including identifying new investment opportunities, detailed due diligence, financial modeling & LBO valuation and presenting investment recommendations internally.

Himanshu holds an MBA in Finance from the Indian Institute of Management and a Bachelor of Engineering from Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology.

Last Updated:January 21, 2024

What are the Types of Credit?

Credit is an arrangement in which the borrower accepts funds from the lender in exchange for agreeing to pay interest for the time the funds are kept with the borrower and committing to repaying the funds for a defined time. 

Mortgage loans, letters of credit, bank guarantees, consumer loans, trade loans, etc., are a few examples of the various types of loans.

It signifies a lender's faith in the borrower's ability to repay a loan. Someone with solid credit shows that they have earned the lenders' high level of trust, and their lenders have faith in their ability to make payments on time.

Creditworthiness enables you to pay in installments for things you might otherwise be unable to make. In addition, the option to pay for things over time through a series of (often monthly) payments is provided by it. 

The lender will, however, charge you interest if you make purchases in credit and let you pay them off gradually.

Lower interest rates apply to individuals and corporations with solid scores instead of bad ones. On the other hand, a person with a poor score may even be unable to get a loan.

EquifaxExperian, and TransUnion are the three major consumer credit-rating agencies that keep and update histories monthly. Your score is determined using the data in your respective report.

A score is generated by two businesses, FICO® and VantageScore, and is then used by potential lenders to assess your creditworthiness. In addition, this data is used to analyze whether or not you should be approved for a loan and how much interest to charge you.

Types of credit

Every business requires funding at some point to run smoothly. There are numerous funding options available in the market for businesses. Some of them are:

Trade Credit

It refers to loans in business transactions, such as selling goods on credit. 

It is with the understanding that the customer would pay the seller later and purchase goods on credit, knowing that the buyer will pay the seller later. It is granted by the borrower's capacity for repayment or credit-taker. 

In some instances, it is granted based on a connection to the person requesting the creditor by corporate regulations. For example, in a large company, all consumers are subject to the same loan policies.

Consumer Credit

Money, commodities, or services offered on the understanding that the consumer will pay later with fees associated with using the loan are referred to as consumer loans. It is created especially for consumers to provide them with several advantages. 

Hire-purchase items, personal loans, credit insurance, vehicle financing, etc., are all examples of this kind. A consumer loan is granted based on the consumer's creditworthiness, and the regulations are uniform for all parties. 

Another example of it is making purchases on an EMI schedule. The overdraft option provided by banks is also considered a consumer loan.

Revolving Credit

It is characterized by a continuous loan, in which the lender extends a loan to the borrower as long as the account is open and regularly funded by payments. 

As is the case with credit cards, which require payments to be made monthly or quarterly. It will be renewed every month until the account is terminated. Some examples of Revolving Credit are: 

  • Credit cards are more than just pieces of plastic; they allow you to make purchases, transfer balances at high-interest rates, and borrow money to assist with your financial needs.
  • Personal lines of credit: Much like a credit card, it enables you to borrow money as needed up to a given limit. However, unlike unsecured personal loans, it doesn't disburse money in a single lump sum payment. 
    • Instead, you have access to a credit line, which you may use a check or a bank transfer to access.
  • HELOCs (Home Equity Lines of Credit): These are revolving loans that let you borrow money against the equity you have in your home. HELOCs require you to use your home as collateral, so proceed cautiously. Many people who need to make significant home upgrades use this loan.

Open Credit

Both installment credit and revolving ones are features of Open Loans. For example, if no available credit limit is established, the card is issued, the user uses it throughout the month, and at the end of the month, the cardholder receives the bill to pay it back and keep using the service. 

Bills for utilities such as electricity, gas, and telephone service are instances of accessible loans, which are open to everyone and can be used first and paid for later.

Installment Loan

Bank loans are extended through installment loans. When we borrow money from banks as a loan, the bank sets up a fixed monthly installment as the loan's repayment option, with interest, up until a certain period until the loan is fully repaid, including interest. 

The bank or financing firm levies a fee if the borrower cannot make the installment payment.

You cannot use your line of credit to make additional purchases using installment loans. Instead, you receive a one-time lump sum loan that you must pay back over time, with interest.

With this type, you have complete control over the length of your payment period, which is a benefit. It's finished when you pay the required amount. In most circumstances, you can pay off your debt early; however, certain creditors who accept installment payments do not.

Using a loan for a specific item, such as a home, car, or smartphone, is common in installment credit plans. They have typically secured loans as a result. However, the creditor may take the actual item you bought with the loan if you don't pay it back.

Mutual Credit

Money is not used as it is in communal loans. Instead, credit turns into a mutual loan when one person owes another for something that another person owes the first.

It is thus canceled together, and if any balance is left over after that, it is resolved using cash or an equivalent.

One person is a creditor and a debtor, much like in business. As a result, they divide the payments equally.

Service Loan

An in-service loan refers to a loan given for earlier used services. Like attorneys, accountants bill after the returns are filed and before the case is concluded. Examples of service loans include telephone, gas, electric, and post-paid bills. 

Borrowers who use service loans can make payments at predetermined intervals after using the service. However, if the service recipient doesn't pay at predetermined intervals, it may stop services or impose a late payment fee.

How each type of credit affects your credit score

Several criteria determine your score, some of which are given more weight than others.

Your payment history is the factor FICO views as being most important to your score. It represents 35% of the overall. Paying your bills on time can improve your score; if it doesn't, it will hurt it. 

Regardless of the kind of account you have, this is always the rule.

30% of your FICO score is based on how much debt you have relative to your total limit. For this reason, it's crucial to handle your revolving loan accounts effectively.

A few of the ways to improve your credit score are:

Pay Your Bills Promptly

The primary aspect that affects your FICO score is on-time payment history. The simplest way to avoid interest accumulation on your credit card debt is to pay it off monthly.

In addition to the late fees and penalties imposed by the creditor, missing payments will also lower your score. However, paying attention to your monthly fee is essential if you have more outstanding loan balances or cannot make a full payment. 

Set up automatic monthly minimum payments by working with your financial institution.

Repay Any Overdue Balances

Payment less than a month overdue won't be recorded on your report. You'll get a bad mark on your record, and your score will drop if you miss a payment by more than 30 days. 

Therefore, it's crucial to deal with late payments as soon as possible because your credit will continue to be harmed for an extra 30 days for each delay.

Contest Any Errors On Your Credit Report

Make it a point to challenge any errors you find on your report so they don't affect your score.

For example, identity problems, balance errors, transposed numbers, and duplicate entries can all be disputed by contacting the credit bureau where the error first appeared in the report. 

In most cases, complaints can be reported via phone or mail. Contrary to popular belief, mistakes on loan records happen much more frequently. As a result, nearly 6,000 volunteers participated in the inquiry in 2021.

And more than 34% of them discovered at least one inaccuracy in their reports.

Limit Challenging Questions

In a short period, avoid submitting several loan applications. Every time a business runs a check to evaluate an application, it conducts a "hard pull" or "hard inquiry."

Hard pulls may lower your score by a few points and can remain on your report for up to two years. 

But not every check affects your rating. For example, your score is unaffected by "soft" queries, such as those made by prospective employers, auto insurers calculating premiums, or credit card issuers seeking pre-approval offers.

Purchase A Secured Credit Card

A secured credit card can be viable if you have no credit history or need to repair bad credit. If you consistently make on-time payments, the line of credit with a secured credit card gives you a chance to restore your credit.

Most financial institutions ask you to provide a cash security deposit that is frequently equal to or greater than the opened line of credit to obtain a secured credit card.

Your security deposit won't be taken as long as payments are paid.

But it would help if you use caution. Since the credit limit on the card is probably modest, you could easily overspend and raise your utilization rate, which is the second-most significant element in determining your score. Conversely, your score will decrease if you have a high utilization rate.

So, if you choose a secured credit card, keep a close eye on your spending and stay under 30% of the limit.

Obtain A Credit-Building Loan

For those with little to no history who wish to raise their score, perhaps, a credit-builder loan is a possibility. In addition, you can qualify for a credit-builder loan without having to undergo a tough draw on your report.

If you are accepted, the borrowed money is kept in a bank and is not accessible to you until all payments have been made.

Typically, the process gives you a choice between a loan term that works with your budget and the monthly payment amount. Even though you don't receive the money immediately, your history of timely payments is reported to the rating agencies, which aids in your historic building.

Summary

Any personal finance plan to enhance financial health must include building good credit. To diversify your credit and aid in credit-building, it's crucial to concentrate on all three categories of loan accounts.

One of the essential elements in obtaining a good score is having a wide variety of credits. However, numerous sensible strategies exist to build credit without requesting an excessive number of new credit lines. 

Additionally, keeping a solid payment record will raise your score and make you eligible for loans with lower interest rates.

Bank credit facilities are a contract or arrangement between the borrower and the banks that allows the borrower to borrow money for an extended period. Companies use credit facilities primarily to meet funding requirements for various business operations. 

On the other hand, banks make money by charging interest on the principal amount lent to the borrower.

Research and authored by Khadeeja C Abbas  | LinkedIn

Reviewed and Edited by Aditya Salunke and Ankit Sinha I LinkedIn | LinkedIn

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