One Mission, Two Cards: Introducing Petal 1

We founded Petal to help people access honest, simple and responsible credit. This mission matters even more in today’s turbulent economy, when credit has become harder to obtain than any time in the past decade.

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Today, we’re introducing a new credit card—Petal 1—that represents the next step forward in accomplishing our mission. 

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Like the first card we introduced, Petal 1 is a no-annual-fee Visa® credit card paired with a mobile app that delivers the modern features, tools, and guidance that customers need to financially succeed.

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Petal 1 is a different card, designed to include an even larger audience: consumers who already have a credit history and want to improve their credit safely, responsibly, and affordably. (Read more about the features of Petal 1 and our existing card below).

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Today, nearly half of all Americans have a non-prime credit score. Unfortunately, this will only increase with the fallout from COVID-19.

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Many of these consumers—whose financial lives may have been thrown into disarray by sudden unemployment, unexpected medical bills, or family financial obligations—don’t qualify for mainstream credit cards. Instead, they’re forced to use predatory financial products like payday loans and auto-title loans that charge 100%+ APRs and can trap people in debt for years. Those that do qualify for cards are often required to pay steep, mandatory fees just to use their card—annual fees, activation fees and “monthly maintenance fees” are the norm. 

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Petal 1 is designed to give consumers with more complicated credit histories a better option, in an economy where it’s become much harder to get a credit card if your credit history is anything short of perfect.
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Petal 1 is optimized for responsible credit-building. There’s no upfront or annual fee to use the card. In fact, if customers make their payments on-time, there are no fees at all (since fees apply only for late and returned payments). With Petal 1, credit limits are between $500 and $5,000, variable interest rates range from 19.99% to 29.49%, and members receive between 2% and 10% cash back when they shop at select merchants. The Petal mobile app gives members access to credit score tracking, budgeting tools, subscription management, and automated payment options—everything they need to make financial progress. 

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‍Our “Cash Score” makes this possible. By analyzing banking history, in addition to credit history, Petal’s technology platform enables better assessments of creditworthiness and helps provide access to credit with higher limits, lower prices, and better perks. Insights from cash scoring help make credit accessible, even in a volatile and uncertain economy.

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Petal 1 is a perfect complement to the flagship Petal Card, which is now called Petal 2. That card is getting some updates today as well — with a new name, a new look, and lower APRs. Together, they’ll form a graduated system of cards designed to help members access credit, improve their credit scores, and achieve long-term financial success. 

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Until now, we have focused on expanding access for people who are new-to-credit or have shorter, “thin file” credit histories. Petal 2 has helped tens of thousands of these consumers get credit and start their journey towards financial success. Our data shows that people who had no credit score when they joined Petal have achieved an average score of 673 after three months using the card. 

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We’re proud of that progress, but it’s not enough. So many other communities are being underserved and overcharged in today’s credit system, especially in the wake of COVID-19. With the introduction of Petal 1, we hope to help solve this problem and put many more Americans back on the path to financial success. ‍

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Petal credit cards are issued by WebBank, Member FDIC.