What is Portify? | Portify Review

Portify is a simple way to build your credit score through a single membership fee.

The subscription service was originally targeted at people from non-standard backgrounds (freelancers and gig economy workers) who have it rough when it comes to credit scoring and securing loans due to inconsistent incomes.

The app now offers a range of smart tools for anyone looking to improve their credit score.

Portify’s mission is to offer users a personalised, clear and achievable path to better financial standing.

Create your FREE Portify Account in just 3 minutes!
See & track your TransUnion credit score.
Works with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.

Who Owns Portify?

Portify was founded in May 2017. Sho Sugihara (CEO) and Chris Butcher (CTO) – the founders – met through Entrepreneur First.

Portify is backed by leading investors who share the company’s values. Notable investors include VC firms Redalpine and Kindred Capital.

How Does Portify Build My Credit Score?

Instead of credit checks, Portify uses open banking to evaluate users’ financial situations.

The award-winning credit building app observes recurring expenses and sends smart alerts to encourage on-time payments.

Portify has partnered with all the big UK credit reference agencies to report on-time payments. Since positive repayment history makes up 35 per cent of your credit score, this can help improve it.

If you’re unlikely to have enough to pay upcoming bills, they open a credit line that can credit your bank account with enough balance to settle your recurring expenses on time.

Another way they help build your credit score is by structuring your membership as a loan agreement. In other words, Portify can report your membership fee payments as credit repayments to Experian. All you need to do is to make timely membership fee payments.

How Does Portify Make Money?

Portify’s income comes from membership subscriptions.

Portify Statistics

Over 100k people are investing in their credit scores with Portify.

In December 2019, they secured £7 million in funding to offer gig economy and freelancers access to credit.

Portify’s 24 employees help them generate their £1 million revenue from their headquarters in London.

Create your FREE Portify Account in just 3 minutes!
See & track your TransUnion credit score.
Works with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.

Portify Pros and Cons | Portify Review

Pros

• Authorised and regulated by the FCA
• You can start building your credit score in less than 3 minutes
• They use open banking data to improve your credit score as opposed to credit checks
• Low monthly fees
• Your data is secured using AES 256-bit end-to-end encryption
• Portify support is responsive and useful

Cons

• You have to pay a monthly fee to enjoy the benefits
• UI could be better

Portify Plans and Fees | Portify Review

Portify currently offers a basic free service and two tiers of paid membership plans.

Both paid plans offer the Portify Credit Boost.

Is Portify Legit? | Portify Review

Portify take their customers’ finances and trust seriously and have undertaken several measures to ensure that your personal data is safe and secure.

Publications such as TechCrunch and Wired have covered Portify, and you can also check public reviews by Portify users on Trustpilot, App Store and Google Play store.

Portify Financial Services Limited (an appointed representative of Portify Limited provides credit facilities.

Create your FREE Portify Account in just 3 minutes!
See & track your TransUnion credit score.
Works with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.

What is Flex Finance? | Portify Review

Flex Finance is a service that helps users avoid overdraft fees and payday loans by giving them access to interest-free funds.

The service is offered as part of the Portify Plus membership to act as a financial safety net against emergencies.

To access Flex Finance, you need to download the Portify app, create an account, fill out the affordability check and sign up for the Portify Plus membership plan.

Once you pass the affordability check, start your membership and accept the Terms & Conditions to receive instructions on making a Flex Finance withdrawal.

The exact amount each member is eligible for depends on their financial situation.

How Long Should I Wait to Receive My Funds From Portify?

Portify release funds as soon as their system verifies and approves your application.

First-time withdrawals can take up to 72 hours. Before your funds are released, your bank account has to be verified. Subsequent withdrawals, however, are much faster.

Once the funds are released, it can take up to two hours for you to receive them.

What Bank Accounts Do I Need To Connect?

Before they can approve you, Portify needs to verify your earnings to ensure you can afford Flex Finance.

You can help them do this by connecting your main bank account with at least a few months’ worth of transaction data.

New bank accounts have slim chances of accessing Flex Finance.

Create your FREE Portify Account in just 3 minutes!
See & track your TransUnion credit score.
Works with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.

Does Flex Finance Affect My Credit Score?

To assess your eligibility for Flex Finance, Portify performs a hard credit check. This means that Flex Finance will impact your credit score.

Successful membership fee payments and repayments build a positive payment history which translates to an improved credit score.

A missed subscription fee or repayment will be reported to Experian and will adversely affect your credit score.

If Portify ever needs you to do something that could affect your credit score, they will let you know beforehand.

How Do I Increase My Limit on Flex Finance?

From the onset, it’s worth mentioning that increases are not guaranteed.

There’s no way for Portify to change your Flex Finance limit manually. Portify assess your affordability (income and outgoings) continuingly to decide what amount of Flex Finance they can offer you.

They also consider your payment activity. To become eligible for higher amounts, consider repaying your withdrawals on time and be up to date with membership fee payments.

After the assessment, Portify will update the Flex Finance amount you’re eligible for in your app.

My Card Isn’t Accepting Charges, What Do I Do?

To release Flex Finance funds to you, Portify needs to be able to charge your card. But sometimes, cards deny charges.

The common reason for this is your bank denying Portify permission to charge your card

To sort this, simply reach out to your bank and request them to permit charges to ‘PORTIFY’.

Some cards don’t allow recurring payments. If you have such a card, you’ll need to use a different account and card to apply for Flex Finance funds.

What’s The Minimum Balance I Need?

Portify cannot accept your application if you’re 1.) In your overdraft 2.) Have impending transactions that would put you into your overdraft.

Why Can’t Portify Verify My Debit Card?

Portify has to verify that your debit card is connected to the bank account you’ve linked to Portify to approve you for Flex Finance.

They will be unable to verify your card if the card you’re paying the membership fee from isn’t connected to the bank account you’d like Flex Finance funds released to.

Create your FREE Portify Account in just 3 minutes!
See & track your TransUnion credit score.
Works with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.

Membership Information| Portify Review

Portify membership includes Free, Lite and Plus versions.

When Should I Expect My Credit Score to Increase?

You should start seeing your credit score improve 3-4 months after signing up.

Depending on the credit reference agency, it can take up to 3 months for Portify to appear on your credit file.

Remember, it’s not just Portify that impacts your credit score. There are other factors that affect it. This means that you should work on the other areas for Portify’s positive impact to reflect your score.

Why Do I Need to Provide My Address History?

Your address history is required to confirm your identity and to report you to credit reference agencies correctly.

When creating a Portify account, ensure that you record your address as it appears on your credit files.

It’s worth checking your TransUnion, Equifax and Equifax credit files to ensure that your info with them is up to date.

When Might Portify Not Be The Right Service for Me?

Portify doesn’t come without risk.

Failing to pay your Portify memberships on time or repaying any credit they extend to you late can harm rather than build your credit score.

Do not use Portify if you had a CJJ, IVA or bankruptcy declaration in the last 12 months.

Will Portify Build My ClearScore Credit Score?

The agency Portify reports to depends on the type of membership you have with them.

They have two types of membership: Portify Life and Plus.

The Plus membership helps build your TransUnion, Equifax and Experian credit scores, while Lite builds only your Experian Credit score.

Since ClearScore uses data from Equifax, you’ll be able to improve your score on ClearScore with the Plus membership.

Create your FREE Portify Account in just 3 minutes!
See & track your TransUnion credit score.
Works with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.

Will Portify Build My Credit Karma Score?

Since Credit Karma uses data from TransUnion, you’ll be able to improve your score on Credit Karma with the Plus membership.

Will Portify Build My Experian Credit Score?

Yes. Both Portify Lite and Plus memberships can help build your Experian credit score.

Will Portify Build My TransUnion Credit Score?

You will be able to build your TransUnion credit score with Portify Plus membership.

Will Portify Build My Equifax Credit Score?

You will be able to build your Equifax credit score with Portify Plus membership.

Create your FREE Portify Account in just 3 minutes!
See & track your TransUnion credit score.
Works with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.

Bank Accounts | Portify Review

Portify allows you to connect up to 5 bank accounts to your Portify app.

As of this writing, Portify works with the following banks: Barclays, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, Lloyds, HSBC, First Direct, RBS, TSB, Marks & Spencer, Revolut, Nationwide, Santander, Monzo, Virgin Money, Tide, Tesco, Ulster Bank, TransferWise and Starling.

They’re always adding new providers, so check back if you don’t see your bank on the list.

How Do I Disconnect My Bank?

Click on the profile tab, head to bank connections and tap the “X” next to the bank account you want to disconnect from Portify.

After confirming, Portify will disconnect from your account and erase all data associated with it. If you do this, most features in the Portify app will stop working.

You’ll not be able to detach your bank account if you have any outstanding funds due.

How Do I Add My Most Recent Transactions Into The App?

The balance you see in your Portify app is the one of your connected bank account.

Portify updates your account balance in real-time, but sometimes it can take a couple of days for your bank to submit the transaction data.

In case of any delays, you can refresh the transaction feed on the app home screen. Another option is to disconnect your bank and reconnect it after a few seconds.

If, after doing this, your balance is still not updated, get in touch with the Portify Customer Support team.

How Do I Hide My Bank Account Details?

It’s possible to hide your bank account in the Portify app, although this will prevent Portify from being able to assess your eligibility for Bills Monitor.

To do this, click on the profile tab, head to “Bank Connections,” click on the bank account you want to hide and untick “Visible.”

Doing this will update the app, and transactions from this particular account will no longer be shown.

Create your FREE Portify Account in just 3 minutes!
See & track your TransUnion credit score.
Works with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.

Portify Plus | Portify Review

Portify Plus can help build your credit score by improving your credit utilisation rate and encouraging on-time payments of your recurring expenses.

After analysing your account history and identifying recurring bills and subscriptions, Portify will send you smart alerts to remind you to make on-time payments.

Subject to eligibility, Portify will open a accredit line to add funds to your bank account to ensure recurring expenses are paid in full.

Portify can then share this positive behaviour with all three major UK credit reference agencies.

This means that Portify Plus can build you Experian, TransUnion and Equifax credit scores.

Failing TransUnion Security Checks?

If you’re sure you provided the correct answers to security questions but still don’t pass, Portify advises you to speak to TransUnion. They have zero control over the process.

TransUnion is strict on details. You will need to ensure that your name, DOB, and address match your Portify account details.

How Does Bills Monitor Work?

To help you pay your bills on time, Portify will scan your account for recurring bills and subscriptions and, once a month, check which expenses they can cover to protect your credit score.

If they don’t think you have enough money in your account to pay the bill in full, Portify will notify you seven days in advance to top up your account.

If they don’t see enough money in your account 48 hours before the bills are due, they will notify you again and give you the option to credit your account with the difference to ensure you can pay your eligible bills using their credit line.

This avoids any harm to your credit score from missed bill payments or overdraft usage.

Purpose to repay your withdrawal within 30 days to avoid being reported to the credit reference agencies as this will lead to a late marker on your credit file, which can hurt your credit score.

Create your FREE Portify Account in just 3 minutes!
See & track your TransUnion credit score.
Works with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.

Which Credit Score Does The Portify App Show?

The Portify app shows your TransUnion credit score.

TransUnion has a score range from 0-710.

The bands and ratings are:

628–710 – Excellent

604–627 – Good

566–603 – Fair

551–565 – Poor

0–550 – Very Poor

Portify Account Settings | Portify Review

You can set your preferences on your account settings

What Is My PIN?

Your PIN is a four-digit code you’ll set and use to log into Portify.

By preventing other people from accessing your account, your PIN helps keep your account safe.

Consider requesting a reminder to be sent to your phone if you’re having trouble remembering your PIN. You can do this by clicking “Help” at the bottom left of the PIN screen.

How Do I Delete My Account?

If you decide that it’s finally time to bid Portify goodbye, you can do it by sending an email to team@portify.co.

After authenticating your identity, Portify will delete your account and it will no longer be accessible.

They will let you know as soon as this is complete.

If you have an outstanding membership or credit boost subscription, this will be considered an early termination. Click here for more details.

You will need to repay any outstanding Flex Finance balance before Portify can close your account.

You have the right to request the deletion of your personal data under GDPR. To request this, email team@portify.co and they will get back to you within 45 days.

There are some exceptions, though. Suppose Portify has used this info to make a lending decision (e.g., giving you access to Flex Finance, Credit Boost, Portify Lite, Portify Plus, etc.). In that case, they will need to retain some personal data for a minimum of six years to fulfil their legal obligations.

Please read their privacy policy for more information about this.

Create your FREE Portify Account in just 3 minutes!
See & track your TransUnion credit score.
Works with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.

Is Portify Safe? | Portify Review

Portify has in place several measures that enhance the privacy and security of your personal data.

Portify uses the same end-to-end 256-bit TLS encryption method all major banks use. They also never store any of your sensitive details on their servers.

They cannot access or move your money. They only have read access to your banking and financial transaction data.

What is TrueLayer?

Portify uses a reputable third-party provider called TrueLayer to connect to your bank account.

London-based TrueLayer is recognised as an authorised payment institution that provides account information and payment initiation services.

Regulated by the FCA under the Payment Services Regulations, they work directly with leading banks to securely help Portify retrieve vital data.

Click here to see how TrueLayer handles security details.

What Happens if Portify Gets Hacked?

Since Portify does NOT store your bank credentials, your account can’t be breached even if their databases and servers are compromised.

Portify has been certified by IASME for its security standards. Portify uses external security vendors to routinely penetration test their systems to ensure your data is safe if they get hacked.

Is Portify Regulated? | Portify Review

They are authorised and regulated by the FCA under firm registration number 828125/826665. You can find them on the FCA register here.

Create your FREE Portify Account in just 3 minutes!
See & track your TransUnion credit score.
Works with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.

Portify Customer Support | Portify Review

Portify regularly conducts research calls with its members. You can share your feedback and ideas to help them improve their products and services. If you’d like to record your interest in an interview, you can email them team@portify.co.

If you have a complaint, Portify promise to do their best to investigate your complaint quickly and fairly.

Formal complaints should be emailed to complaints@portify.co.

Expect a response in 2-3 business days, but a final response can take up to 8 weeks.

If you’re still not happy with the final response, contact them again and they will conduct a new review and try to solve your issue.

Who Are Portify’s Competitors? | Portify Review

LOQBOX is Portify’s closest competitor in the credit building industry.

Other competitors include Tiller Money, Hardbacon, Nira, Aion Sigma, Chip, Perpay and Nubi.

Portify Review Verdict:  Should I Use Portify? | Portify Review

Portify is committed to providing a service that helps its users improve their credit score.

Their app combines a range of features that predict your cash flow and expenses and help you stay on top of them.

If you’re a gig worker with an irregular income, we recommend Portify to help you build your credit score.

Create your FREE Portify Account in just 3 minutes!
See & track your TransUnion credit score.
Works with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.