Recently I was introduced to Credit Karma (www.creditkarma.com). Credit Karma is a site where they allow you to get daily credit score updates. However, the score is based on some weird TransUnion algorithm which ranges between 150-950. Experian and Equifax typically caps the score at 830-850.
I heard of this site first on SlickDeals, but apparently it’s been on FatWallet for some time. With most financial sites, I’m quite weary about giving up information. Even if they’re legit, it’s a honey pot for identity thefts.
I searched around and found these 2 articles:
Online Financial Innovations Announces FinovateStartup, a New Conference Showcasing Dozens of the Most Innovative Financial Technology Startups (Show)
FinovateStartup Conference
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–On April 29, dozens of the most innovative technology startups in finance and banking will gather at the FinovateStartup conference in San Francisco to showcase the future of banking, lending and finance.
Each presenting startup will have five minutes on stage to demo their product to an audience of hundreds of press, bloggers, analysts, venture capitalists and industry executives. The demos will be followed by intimate networking sessions where attendees will get direct access to the presenting companies and their executives.
The eighteen startups that have committed to FinovateStartup to date include (in alphabetical order): Andera, Boulevard R., Buxfer, Cake Finnacial, CreditKarma, ExpensrMotley Fool’s CAPS, ClairMail, First ROI, Guardian Analytics, Jwaala, Lending Club, Mint, Prosper, SmartHippo, UnifiedMoney, Wesabe, and Wonga. More startups are committing daily and will be announced soon.
General admission tickets for this event are limited. Tickets for last year’s fall Finovate conference sold out in only six weeks. To reserve yours today please visit www.finovate.com. Press passes are available by emailing finovate@netbanker.com.
About the FinovateStartup Conference
FinovateStartup is a demo-based conference for innovative banking and finance technology startups. Held in the entrepreneurial hotbed of San Francisco, the event offers an insight-packed glimpse of the future of money via a fast-paced, intimate and unique format. FinovateStartup is organized by Online Financial Innovations. For more information on the event, please visit www.finovatestartup.com.
About Online Financial Innovations
Founded in 1995 by former banker Jim Bruene, Online Financial Innovations is a Seattle-based research company. OFI is best known for publishing the Online Banking Report, a regular newsletter featuring in-depth analysis, relevant data, and informed recommendations to financial services executives in 50 countries. For more information and free sample reports, visit www.onlinebankingreport.com, email info@netbanker.com or call (206) 517-5021. You may also find OFI’s blog on the latest in online finance & banking at www.netbanker.com.
A Start-Up Offering TransUnion Scores (Show)
Credit Karma Inc., a San Francisco marketing start-up backed by current and former executives of E-Loan Inc., has begun offering free daily credit scores online.
Other sites offer free rough estimates of credit scores, but CreditKarma.com provides an exact score.
However, it is not a FICO score; it is produced by the Chicago credit bureau TransUnion LLC’s proprietary model.
FICO scores, produced by Fair Isaac Corp. of Minneapolis, are on a scale of 300 to 850; the Credit Karma scores range from 300 to 900.
A spokeswoman for Credit Karma said consumers who check their scores on its site receive targeted advertising from companies that pay to promote their products and services there.
However, consumers’ personal information is never provided for the companies to make additional pitches, she said.
Advertisers currently include cell phone and cable companies, but could soon include big box retailers, Credit Karma said.
The site, which is in beta testing, was launched last month.
Credit Karma is funded in part by Chris Larson, the cofounder and chief executive of Prosper Marketplace Inc. of San Francisco and the cofounder and former chairman and CEO of E-Loan, and by Mark Lefanowicz, the current president of E-Loan. (Popular Inc. of San Juan, Puerto Rico, bought the Pleasanton, Calif., online lender in 2005.)
Anyway, reading into the thread, it appears that your full social security number isn’t actually stored on the site, but I guess you just have to take their word for it. I decided to sign up just to try it out. I already had Wamu’s credit card which provides monthly credit scores, but daily scores sounded interesting. Anyway, my number was rather high compared to the scores I’ve seen before, but as I stated earlier, this is using some weird TransUnion algorithm.
Interestingly enough, to get daily scores, you have to log in daily and enter your social security number (or was it the last 4 digits), meaning it might be true that they don’t store your full SSN on their site.
Update:
If you want to try out this site, use the following invite code: CKFRND
Do you have any invite codes?
Shoot, forgot to post the invite code! Adding it now.