With a credit card without a Schufa query, people with a low credit rating can enjoy the advantages of a credit card. We will show you where you can find out about offers.
Students, the unemployed, the self-employed, minors – various groups of people have a low credit rating due to their income and assets or the payment behavior they have shown so far.
When applying for a credit card with its own credit limit, card companies check the creditworthiness of the applicant with a Schufa query. Credit cards with a line of credit are not available to those with poor credit.
The Protection Association for General Credit Protection (Schufa) collects information about the payment behavior of citizens. Based on the data, she calculates the so-called Schufa score. Lenders use the key figure to ensure that customers are financially able to repay loans.
All German citizens can request information about their stored data from Schufa once a year free of charge.
Credit cards that interested parties receive without a Schufa check are usually prepaid credit cards. Credit cards based on credit do not have their own credit line. Therefore, they can usually also get people with a low or even negative Schufa score. There are even offers for minors.
Overdrawing the card is impossible due to the lack of a credit limit. Apart from the credit card limit, the prepaid credit card offers many advantages that other credit cards also offer. This includes the internationally flexible use for cash withdrawals. It can also be used as a payment card or offers interesting additional services.
Be careful with prepaid credit cards from the gas station: Prepaid credit cards can not only be applied for at banks, but can also be purchased anonymously at gas stations without a credit card application and for a low purchase price. In the long run, gas station cards are usually significantly more expensive than other credit card offers. Since the credit cards are sold without information about the conditions, fees and services, customers do not know what they are getting themselves into. For example, cash withdrawals with prepaid cards from the petrol station are often not possible, but fees for card loading are frequent.
Thanks to a linked checking account, debit credit cards usually do not require a credit check. Like prepaid credit cards, the cards do not have their own credit line. Instead, expenses are deducted from the linked account within a few days. Holders therefore do not have to top up the credit card account themselves.
The money on the checking account serves as a credit balance. As soon as the cardholder overdraws the checking account and thus claims overdraft interest, he must be able to demonstrate a corresponding credit rating.
The o2 Banking Debit MasterCard is one of the debit cards without Schufa.
Virtual credit cards work in a similar way to prepaid credit cards in terms of usage and billing. Holders must top up the credit card account with a credit balance, there is no credit limit. In contrast to regular prepaid credit cards, the cards only consist of payment data. Holders usually only get a plastic card for a surcharge.
The credit card details are sufficient to make purchases on the Internet. You can also use an NFC-enabled smartphone to pay at compatible checkout terminals. Since the credit cards do not provide small loans, they are available without a credit check. The online credit card from netbank is one of the virtual credit cards without Schufa.
The last alternative for people with a low or negative Schufa score is to apply for a basic account with a credit card. Every citizen of the EU has the right to a basic account. With such an account, the bank or savings bank checks the creditworthiness of the applicant. However, a rejection as a result of the Schufa query may not be pronounced. The bank can reject the application if the applicant already has an account with another bank in Germany.
Few basic accounts are tied to a credit card. For example, Consorsbank’s basic account includes the Visa debit card.
A loan is always linked to the creditworthiness of the borrower. There is therefore no credit card with a credit limit without the Schufa score having been determined in advance. People with a negative Schufa entry or people who have a low credit rating due to their living conditions cannot apply for a credit card with a credit line – and that’s a good thing. Anything else would be at high risk for banks and cardholders. The bank would risk suffering the damage of a loan default and the borrower would risk getting into a debt whirlpool.
While the prepaid credit card model is a bit more inflexible than a regular credit card, it allows people with poor credit ratings to enjoy the benefits of a credit card. Customers can withdraw cash from ATMs and make card payments online and in stores. At the same time, credit cards without a credit line provide security for both parties.
