Do secured credit cards exist in the UK

thevdm

I'm not looking at applying for one for some time as I am waiting for discharge at the minimum before that happens. Just doing some research in advance.


I've seen theat Capital One used to do a secured credit card in the past, but no longer seem to offer the service. Are there actually any UK providers who do offer this type of card?

sleepyjones

Would a secured Credit card not just be the same as a pre-pay credit card?

I gather a "secured" credit card is where you pay a deposit which is returned when the card is closed, this sounds a lot like a pre-pay card, where you would pay £250 onto it and then be able to spend £250 on it and the cycle repeats, so technically you're only spending the "deposit" you paid?
I don't know how/if these report to agencies though if your trying to build credit.

Found the FAQ for the Capital One Secured card : https://www.capitalone.co.uk/support/faqs/secured-card.jsf

But they don't seem to list the actual card on their site, I have read that if you're declined for a classic card they may offer you the Secured card instead, although I can neither confirm nor deny that this is the case, might be worth calling them and asking.

thevdm

Secured credit cards work in a slightly different way to a pre-pay card in that you aren't spending the money that you front and instead are using credit (usually to the value of the deposit).



The main difference that matters is that a secured credit card can be used to build credit history, whereas the pre-pay cards don't help in that way.


Capital one seem to be the only reference I can find of such a card in the UK too, although it looks like it might have been discontinued as there's no information past the FAQ.

boo_star

thevdm wrote: »

Secured credit cards work in a slightly different way to a pre-pay card in that you aren't spending the money that you front and instead are using credit (usually to the value of the deposit).



The main difference that matters is that a secured credit card can be used to build credit history, whereas the pre-pay cards don't help in that way.


Capital one seem to be the only reference I can find of such a card in the UK too, although it looks like it might have been discontinued as there's no information past the FAQ.

IIRC you can't apply for their secured card, you're offered it if you don't meet the criteria for any of their other cards.

Willing2Learn

boo_star wrote: »

IIRC you can't apply for their secured card, you're offered it if you don't meet the criteria for any of their other cards.

Yes, a decade ago, when I got my original card from CapitalOne, I made an application for one of their Classic cards but was declined. CapitalOne then immediately made me an offer for a Secured card.

thevdm

Ok, that would make sense, similar to how some banks offer a basic account only after you've applied and been rejected for a current account.