Regions Bank and Self Financial Partner to Improve Consumers’ Financial Health

Regions Bank and credit-building platform Self Financial teamed up to help consumers improve their financial standing.

The collaboration will assist Region’s Consumer Banking customers in building credit and improving financial health by using Self’s credit-building service, according to a Tuesday (Nov. 7) press release. Customers can have their rent, cellphone and utility payments reported to the three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

“We were drawn to work with Regions because of our shared commitment to working toward financial inclusion,” said Self Financial Chief Strategy Officer Chris LaConte in the release. “Working with Regions enables us to support more consumers who either are new to establishing credit, or they’re in need of solutions that reflect how they’re already responsibly managing bills and other payments.”

By reporting payment histories to the credit bureaus, Self enables customers to establish credit without going into debt by using credit cards or loans, per the release.

“[T]here are millions of Americans who rent their homes, but many aren’t recognized by the credit bureaus for successfully making those payments,” LaConte said in the release. “Self addresses this problem by enabling consumers to have their payment histories taken into account so they can get the credit they deserve.”

The news comes exactly three months after Regions Bank introduced new ways for business clients to manage customer billing and communications.

Business clients have access to customer communications management software that lets clients create, deliver and track communications to initiate customer payments.

“At a time when business clients often need to do more with less, automation and technology provide efficient alternatives to the manual process of billing and receivables,” Bryan Ford, head of treasury management for Regions Bank, said at the time. “This, in turn, helps companies focus more on customer service and product development while we step in and make their cash flow simpler.”

Last month, James Garvey, then Self Financial CEO, spoke to PYMNTS along with two other executives about consumers who live paycheck to paycheck.

Companies such as Self, said Garvey, are dedicated to helping users build credit as individuals, apply for loans held by bank partners and pay down those loans through customized plans and secured cards. Responsible saving and spending help consumers build cushions that could conceivably serve as down payments on a house.