Credit scores are tricky, and knowing which actions will improve or harm your score can often feel like a guessing game. And how often should you check your score, anyways? Will doing so too often lower it?

Luckily, you don’t need to keep second-guessing when it comes to keeping track of your credit score. If you’re signed up for First Merchants mobile and online banking, you can view your credit score, for free, right in our app thanks to SavvyMoney. And, using our built-in credit score monitor won’t ding your credit.

So how can this complimentary tool help you prosper?

Keep Track of Your Score

Of course, one of the main benefits is that you’re able to easily track your credit score without any negative impacts. Go ahead, refresh it every five minutes if you need to—it won’t affect it at all.

Having an easily accessible, easy-to-read score built into your banking app means that you can learn about changes quickly and adjust accordingly. You can even access a detailed Credit Report through SavvyMoney.

As you pay off debt, watch your score increase over time, and celebrate each milestone—or quickly correct course if a bill goes to collections and your score falls. Or, as you research loans and mortgage options, compare your current score to listed requirements so you can ensure your application passes with flying colors.

Use the Score Analysis function to see a quick, scannable breakdown of why your score is where it is, with sections on key contributors, like payment history, credit age, and number of credit inquiries.

You can also use the built-in goal setting and action plan functions to work towards a specific credit score or use the Credit Score Events graph to track how your score has changed over time.

Use Alerts to Protect Yourself

Keeping a close eye on your credit score and credit report is one of the best ways to prevent fraud. With SavvyMoney, you can access alerts easily—either through your online or mobile dashboard, or by opting-in to emails about changes in your credit score.

SavvyMoney actively monitors changes to your score and proactively informs you so you can act quickly if someone opens an unauthorized account. With alerts, you’ll get timely information on changes to your credit score, new accounts opening, registered address changes, and more, so you can stop fraud, fast.

If you think someone has stolen your identity, contact us immediately, and follow these steps to report it to the authorities.

Model Your Credit

Have you ever wondered how getting a new loan or closing a credit card will impact your credit score? Now you can find out under the Score Simulator tab. Here, you can explore how different choices will impact your score before you take action. This can help with long-term planning or help you decide if opening a new card or increasing your credit limit is a good idea, long-term.

Use the three subsections—New Credit, Balances, and Payments, to explore how each one will affect your score. You can even combine options across different subsections to get a clear, full picture of how your score might change.

Using Score Simulator will not impact your credit in any way, so you can explore safely and figure out a solid action plan to improve your credit long-term.

Paired with our other Personal Finance features, Savvy Money becomes a powerful tool to help you tackle debt and improve your financial stability, one step at a time.

Want to take control of your credit score? Download our app to get started now!