What Is Creditworthiness?

Definition and Examples of Creditworthiness

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Updated on May 8, 2022

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Woman reviewing loan application with loan officer — Photo:
Rob Daly / OJO Images / Getty Images

Definition

Your creditworthiness is a measure of how well you’ve handled your credit and debt obligations. Creditors can tell how you've managed borrowing money by looking at your credit report, which is a record of the activity on your credit accounts. Your credit score is based on the information in your credit report.

Definition and Example of Creditworthiness

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, "Someone who is creditworthy has enough money or property for banks and other organizations to be willing to lend them money." But you must also demonstrate that you know how to responsibly handle your money, your property, and any debts you take on.

What contributes to creditworthiness can vary, depending on the type of account for which you’re applying. The larger the debt you’re looking to take on, the more creditworthy you have to be. Mortgage lenders typically have higher standards of creditworthiness than credit card issuers.

Alternate name: Credit score

Note

You can be approved for some credit cards if you have a low credit score, but you might have a hard time being approved for an auto loan.

How Creditworthiness Works

Credit reports can be several pages long. They're very time-consuming to review. Creditors and lenders will use credit scores to measure creditworthiness rather than reviewing complete credit reports. These scores are an objective measure of your creditworthiness based on your credit report information.

Your credit score is a three-digit number, typically ranging between 300 and 850. The higher your score, the more creditworthy you are, which means that you’re more likely to repay your debt obligations on time. As a result, more creditors and lenders will be willing to approve your applications and reward you with lower interest rates. They're not taking on a lot of risk by lending to you.

Note

The Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) is the most well-known credit scoring system. It's used by the major credit reporting bureaus.

How often you pay your bills on time is the biggest factor that affects your creditworthiness. Late payments and other delinquencies can make you less creditworthy. They can make it harder to get approved for new credit cards and loans.

Your creditworthiness is also affected by the amount of debt you're carrying. Having high credit card balances can make it more difficult to have your loan applications approved. You already owe a lot of money.

Note

The best habits to get into to make sure your creditworthiness is healthy are to keep your credit card balances below 30% of your credit limits, pay down your loan balances, minimize your new applications for credit, and only apply for new accounts as absolutely necessary.

The Importance of Creditworthiness

Staying on top of your creditworthiness is important even when you don't have a credit card or loan application planned for the near future. Many other businesses, such as cell phone carriers and cable service providers, will consider your creditworthiness, too. Keeping your credit in the best shape possible means that you never have to worry when a business wants to check your credit.

Keeping track of your credit score is the best way to stay on top of your creditworthiness. You can check for free by signing up for Credit Karma, Credit Sesame, or WalletHub. These services give you access to your credit score as well as tips on improving your score and your creditworthiness.

How to Improve Your Creditworthiness

You'll have to prove to creditors and lenders that you’re not at risk of defaulting on your credit obligations if you’re having trouble getting approved for new accounts.

Start by taking care of past-due accounts and debt collections. A creditor might remove an account from your credit report in exchange for payment if you can negotiate a "pay for delete." However, paying the account will benefit your creditworthiness even without this deletion.

Start building a positive payment history by making timely payments on your accounts going forward. Consider opening a secured credit card to add to your credit report if you don’t have any active, open accounts. You’ll improve your creditworthiness and your ability to be approved for other credit cards and loans as you make timely payments on this type of card.

Note

A secured credit card is one where you make a deposit with the lender. You'll receive a credit line equal to the amount of the deposit in exchange. These lenders report to the credit bureaus.

Make bigger down payments on loans if possible. You might be able to get approved for a mortgage or car loan even without the best creditworthiness if you make a larger down payment. This means you're borrowing less. It reduces the amount of risk the lender is taking on.

Having a co-signer can also improve your odds of getting approved if that person is creditworthy. A co-signer agrees to be responsible for the payments on your credit card or loan when and if you’re unable to make them on your own. Be careful with this option; falling behind on your payments will affect both your credit and theirs.

Key Takeaways

Creditworthiness is a measure of how well an individual manages their debts.
Creditworthiness is commonly measured by an individual’s credit score. The higher the score, the more creditworthy that person is considered to be.
Your creditworthiness can determine what kind of interest rate you’re offered on loans, or whether you’re approved for a loan at all.
A number of options exist for improving your creditworthiness.

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Sources

The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.