Zolve Azpire and Zolve Credit Card review: How can these two cards help you build credit?

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Building credit might seem impossible when you have limited or no credit history. But it doesn't have to be.   

There are plenty of easy and accessible ways to build your credit, whether you're a recent high school or college graduate, are a new immigrant to the U.S. or simply establishing credit later on in life.   

The secured Zolve Azpire Credit Card and unsecured Zolve Credit Card offer consumers easy paths toward building credit with no Social Security or credit checks required.  

• What is Zolve? 
• How can I build my credit with Zolve?
• Benefits and perks
• Rates and fees
• How do other credit-building cards compare?
• Bottom line

Zolve is a fintech company whose mission is to enable fair access to financial products for global citizens. The company offers a wide range of products, from the Zolve Azpire Credit Card and the Zolve Credit Card, to the Zolve banking account, Zolve remittance and student loans. As Zolve is not a bank itself, all banking products are provided by partnering banks.

The secured Zolve Azpire Credit Card is a credit-building card that doesn't require a credit check or a Social Security card to apply. This makes it accessible to those with bad credit, fair credit or no credit history at all. 

It allows consumers to build their credit score with everyday spending and has no pre-set credit — as is the case with most secured cards. Instead, it acts more like a debit card where the money you deposit into a Zolve checking account becomes your limit. You can deposit a maximum of $10,000 to the Azpire Card per billing cycle.  

Starting four months after opening your account, you might qualify to upgrade to the unsecured Zolve Credit Card, at which point your deposit will be returned and you'll be given a credit limit of up to $5,000.

Both Zolve cards report your payments to all three major credit bureaus — Experian, Equifax and TransUnion — which can help raise your credit score.

The Zolve Azpire Card's main focus is to help build credit so there aren't many benefits outside of that. Although it advertises up to 10% in cashback rewards, these are offered through Dosh, which is a cash-back app available to non-cardholders.

After four months of having (and using) the Azpire card, you may qualify to upgrade to the unsecured Zolve Credit Card if your account is in good standing. The card offers more benefits and perks for credit builders to take advantage of, including:

• A credit limit of up to $5,000  
• 5% cashback on five brands of your choice every quarter 
• 1% cashback on all other purchases 
• Exclusive offers through the company's partners
• No foreign transaction fees 

The Zolve Azpire Credit Card has no annual fee and doesn't charge any interest or late fees.

The unsecured Zolve Credit Card also currently doesn't have an annual fee or charge a foreign transaction fee, though the terms and conditions suggest that it may start charging a subscription fee of up to $11.99 per month or up to $119.99 per year in the future. The Zolve Credit Card also charges an up to $40 late fee and offers a 0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases (16% APR thereafter).

While Zolve's credit cards can be useful, they are new to the market and have some room for improvement. For instance, the Azpire card offers cashback rewards only at select merchants through its partnership with Dosh, a cash-back app, which is available to people without the card.  

Because of this, it may be worth considering more established credit-building credit cards, such as the Petal® 1 "No Annual Fee" Visa® Credit Card and the Petal® 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa® Credit Card. Just like Zolve, Petal does not require a credit history to apply, and it reports to all three major credit bureaus. 

The Petal 2 earns 1% cash back on eligible purchases right away and up to 1.5% cash back on eligible purchases after making 12 on-time monthly payments. Both cards also reward users with 2% to 10% cash back offers at participating merchants through the Petal Perks program.

Another option to consider is the Discover it® Secured Credit Card. It earns 2% back at gas stations and restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter and 1% back on all other purchases, and offers a solid welcome bonus. It also offers an easy path to upgrading to an unsecured Discover credit card.

The Zolve Azpire Credit Card can help you build your credit if you don't have a Social Security number or credit history to report. However, it doesn't offer many benefits compared to some alternatives. If you're looking for a more rewarding card, consider the Petal 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa Credit Card or Discover it Secured Credit Card as other accessible credit builders.  

There are also other steps you can take to build credit. For example, you can become an authorized user on a family member's or friend's credit card and use the free *Experian Boost® tool to get credit for paying monthly utility, cell phone and streaming service bills on time.

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*Results may vary. Some may not see improved scores or approval odds. Not all lenders use Experian credit files, and not all lenders use scores impacted by Experian Boost.

For rates and fees of the Discover it® Secured Credit Card, click here.

Petal 1 & 2 Visa Credit Card issued by WebBank.