Credit Sesame is a relatively new provider capitalizing on consumer interest in both credit scoring and social media. They offer a service to consumers which accesses and scores a consumer profile and awards “badges” for different score tiers that can be shared with third-parties by the consumer. Their Credit Badges tool awards participating consumers with four rating levels:
Member Badge – This badge doesn’t utilize any data anyone who signs up for Certified Badges gets a membership badge.
Good Credit Badge – Your score is between 680 – 739. This means you are have been managing your credit well but you haven’t doing much more than paying your bill on time.
Excellent Credit Badge – You receive this badge when your score is higher than 740+ and your portfolio gets pulled in to see how you’ve been managing your investments and loans.
Guru Badge – This badge is definitely the highest honor. The Guru Badge is unlocked when you have excellent credit and an impeccable portfolio. This means Credit Sesame has scoured the internet and there are absolutely no payment plans or loans that you can be enrolled in that are more optimal than the ones you are currently using.
Why would consumers want to share this generally personal data? Credit Sesame has some specific applications:
Founder and CEO of Credit Sesame, Adrian A. Nazari, mentioned many reasons why showing/seeing credit standing could boost credibility. For example, popular site such as eBay and Amazon.com can showcase these badges to demonstrate buyers ability to pay for certain products.
Another example he brought up was with internet dating. “With 30% of marriages ending in divorce,” said Nazari referencing a University of Utah study, “knowing credit standing can be very valuable.”
The places this could be applied is endless, but don’t worry if your credit isn’t where it’s at. All badges are private until you decide to make them public. This new Credit Sesame feature adds a bit of competition as well as recognition for those who want to improve their credit.
As of now the company offers an HTML embedded code for you to share on Twitter and Linkedin and they are working to partner with large sites such as Amazon.com, eBay and Craigslist.
Click here for more: http://www.mybanktracker.com/bank-news/2011/09/21/credit-sesame-credit-badges-add-social-aspect-to-credit-scores/’
