Nova Credit announces first-of-its-kind American Express partnership that enables immigrants to use their international credit history to apply for a credit card

Today Nova Credit and American Express announced that American Express is the first payments company to offer newcomers the ability to use the Credit Passport®, powered by Nova Credit, to access their credit reports from certain countries.

This is the first time newcomers to the U.S. have been able to seamlessly share their international credit history with a credit card issuer. Previously, new arrivals have been forced to start from scratch in building a U.S. credit history, which makes basic tasks like getting an apartment lease, a cell phone plan or student loan nearly impossible. By using Nova Credit, not only can newcomers apply for an American Express card using the credit history they’ve already built, but they can also use the card to begin to build their U.S. credit score. Discover if having multiple credit cards will help build your credit history faster.

“We’re removing a barrier for millions of newcomers to the U.S. who arrive and instantly lose access to the credit history they built elsewhere,” said Sara Milsten, Senior Vice President, New Member Acquisition, U.S. Consumer Services at American Express. “We can’t issue a credit card without knowing a person’s credit history. It’s like a whole chapter is missing. Nova Credit’s Credit Passport® helps American Express give people access to their international credit data and support financial inclusion for all people going places with purpose.”

People who have recently immigrated or returned from Australia, Canada, India, Mexico, and the UK can apply for an American Express credit card by selecting the option to share their international credit history in the online application. By clicking the box “I don’t have a credit history in the U.S.” within the online application, applicants can use other means of identification such as a driver’s license, passport, green card or visa number to complete the application. 

This is an enormous milestone for the 50,000 newcomers who move from one country to another every single day. Migration is an incredibly vulnerable period of transition, where families must often learn a new language, retrain professionally and adapt and integrate into life in a new country. Our partnership with American Express is an important step in allowing newcomers to land on their feet and access and build credit from the day they arrive. Through this partnership and others, Nova Credit is creating a world beyond borders.

You can use your foreign credit history from eligible countries to apply for an American Express ® Personal Card in the U.S.

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