Frequently
Asked Questions

Yes, the card is a secured credit card. The money you deposit is how much you can spend with the card.

We believe Firstcard is better than most secured credit cards for the reasons below:.

Traditional secured cards: 

• Require a minimum deposit, which is often 1-2 times the credit limit.
• Charge high interest rates
• Have lots of fees (e.g. annual fee)
• No cashback
• No interest earned on the money you deposit 

Firstcard:

• Does not require a minimum deposit
• No interest charges
• No annual fee, no overdraft fees, no late fees. Absolutely no hidden fees
• Offers up to 15% cashback at more than 29,000 partner merchants*
• Currently offers 1.25% APY on savings for all members and 4.25% APY with the Firstcard Plus subscription**

Additionally, most secured credit cards require that you make a security deposit that is locked up and can’t be accessed until you close the account. With Firstcard, you can use your deposit at any time to pay for monthly charges and build your credit! 

‍_{*See https://www.firstcard.app/cashback-policy for full terms and conditions}

_{**The Annual Percentage Yield ("APY") for the Firstcard Deposit Account is variable and may change at any time. Fees might reduce earnings. The disclosed APY is effective as of October 1, 2023. No minimum balance required. Must have $0.01 in savings to earn interest. Users with no SSN or ITIN on file are not currently eligible to earn interest.}

Firstcard actually does not have a pre-set spending limit. Instead, the amount you deposit is the amount you can spend! For example, if you deposit $500, that amount will be your spending limit, ensuring you only spend within your means and helps you build credit.

We believe in transparent banking. We have no annual fees, no overdraft fees, no late fees, and no interest. We have no hidden fees. Our customer’s financial journeys come with no unexpected surprises.

However, we do charge a $2.50 ATM withdrawal fee.

Yes, if you provide us with your Social Security Number (SSN) or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). If you do not have an SSN or ITIN, your Firstcard account will not earn any interest. 

Simply deposit more funds into your account. What you deposit is what you can spend. Your spending limit will automatically reflect your new deposit balance.

Yes, you are able to transfer your available balance to an external linked bank account.

Certainly! You can use your card at any ATM that supports the Pulse or Mastercard networks! There will be a $2.50 fee on each transaction when you withdraw money from an ATM, in addition to any fees the ATM provider might charge.

Firstcard uses industry standard encryption technology to assist with making your information safe and secure. Your Firstcard account is also insured up to the standard maximum deposit insurance amount of $250,000 through our partner, Regent Bank, Member FDIC.

Your Firstcard account is insured up to the standard maximum deposit insurance amount of $250,000 through our partner, Regent Bank, Member FDIC.

We are required to gather this information by federal law. The PATRIOT Act requires all financial institutions to verify and record Social Security Numbers in order to verify identity. This helps identify and prevent potential terrorists and money launderers from opening bank accounts. This also serves as a security measure to prevent fraudulent accounts being opened in your name. Rest assured, Firstcard uses AES strong encryption to encrypt your SSN.

Yes, international students can apply for Firstcard and use Firstcard to build and improve their credit score just like domestic students. We will report your account activity to the major credit reporting agencies, regardless of whether you have an SSN or not.

Certainly! Firstcard is accepted anywhere Mastercard is accepted worldwide. More good news is that we do not charge any international transaction fees.

Firstcard is made up of two accounts: 

• A Deposit Account where you deposit your funds
• A Credit Account where you borrow money to make purchases – Just like how you would use other credit cards.

To start spending with Firstcard, you will need to first move money into your Deposit Account. The amount of money you can spend on your credit card is determined by the amount you deposit into your deposit account. 

When you use Firstcard to purchase in a store, the card works like any other credit card, and the money comes from the Credit Account. Each month, you will get a credit card bill for all the purchases you made during that billing cycle. Firstcard’s Autopay feature will automatically transfer the money you had already moved to your Deposit Account to your Credit Account to pay back the credit card balance. If you are not enrolled in Autopay, you must make that transfer manually. We highly recommend enrolling in our Autopay feature to build your credit safely with on-time payments.

Your on-time payment is then reported to the credit reporting agencies every month. Over time, these on-time payments can positively impact your credit score.

Autopay is a feature that helps you build your credit score. The feature ensures on-time payment by automatically paying off your Firstcard credit card bills using the money you’ve already transferred to your Firstcard account. We highly recommend you turn on this feature because this is how we can help you build credit! You don’t want to miss a payment!

To turn on the feature, open the Firstcard app → go to “Settings ⚙️ ” → head to “Credit Builder” section → tap “Safer Credit Building: Autopay” → Turn on Autopay”.

Missing payments could negatively impact your credit score. We recommend you enable the Safer Credit Building: Auto Pay feature, which automatically pays your balance using funds already deposited in your Firstcard account.

Your payment habits are reported monthly to the major credit reporting agencies.

Rest assured! We don’t report credit utilization to credit reporting agencies since there is no pre-set credit limit. You can enjoy spending using Firstcard without worrying about high utilization.