Yonder Credit Card (only for London residents) review
- Representative example:
- When you spend £1,200 at a purchase rate of 29.94% (variable) p.a. with a fee of £15 per month, your representative rate is 66.7% APR (variable).
- Foreign transaction charge
- 0%
- Intro bonus
- Up to 10,000 points
- Earn rate
- 5 points per £1 spent
Our verdict
Looking to build a credit profile, and earn rewards? Yonder uses Open Banking to understand your spending habits and help you get the most from its credit card.
Offering the opportunity to build a positive credit profile, with the perk of no spending fees abroad and earning rewards on your everyday spending (as long as you repay your balance in full either each week, fortnight or month), the Yonder credit card is an appealing option. And have you seen the stylish metal card design? What more could you want?
Let’s talk about the rewards. Yes, it’s great to see a credit cards offer this option, but unless you’re a Londoner or planning to travel to redeem your points, wider UK residents might benefit from another rewards credit card at this present time. Or if you are planning to carry over a balance each month, you might be trading in those reward points for interest. Yonder also offers an additional rewards benefit of worldwide travel insurance, which according to Yonder is valued at "£175". Additionally, as a Mastercard credit card, you could access the Mastercard World Elite benefits.
Overall, if used correctly, the Yonder credit card could be a great asset if you are planning to make a positive impact on your credit score, whilst earning rewards at the same time. Yonder will report your monthly repayments to Experian. If you keep on top of your debts and pay them on time, you could start building your credit score and potentially unlock other financial facilities like a mortgage. But, if you don’t, you could create a negative impact on your credit score.
Pros
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Stylish design and made out of metal
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Earn rewards points on your everyday spending
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Worldwide travel insurance cover
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Access to Mastercard World Elite benefits
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No spending fees abroad
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Smart fraud protection with the Yonder app (available on iOS and Android)
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Uses open banking rather than traditional credit checks to see if you're eligible for the card
Cons
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Account fee of 1 month for £0, £15 per month thereafter (which is fairly high)
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Fairly high annual purchase rate compared to other cards
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Not all banks have integrated with Yapily, the open banking provider Yonder uses, this might draw out your application process
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Currently, rewards can only be redeemed in London (but it plans to expand and select retailers offer online experiences which can be redeemed anywhere).
Details
Product Overview
| Issuer | Transact Payments |
| Network | Mastercard |
| Representative APR | 66.7% |
| Annual/monthly fees | 1 month for £0, £15 per month thereafter |
| Purchases | 29.94% |
| Maximum credit limit | Subject to status |
| Additional cards available | If you have lost or damaged your credit card, the first replacement card will be free and any additional replacement cards (above one) will cost £40 (per year). |
| Introductory Rewards | First month free for new members, £15 p/m thereafter. Plus, 10,000 bonus points. |
| Incentive | First month free for new members, £15 p/m thereafter. Plus, 10,000 bonus points. Earn 5 points per £1 spent and up to 25 points per £1 at selected partners. Membership includes worldwide travel insurance and no FX fees. |
| Potential costs | 4.0 ★★★★★ |
| Doing its job | 5.0 ★★★★★ |
| Extras | 4.5 ★★★★★ |
| Overall Finder score | 4.5 ★★★★★ |
What are the fees and charges for the Yonder card?
| Minimum monthly payment | £35 (or the total amount you owe if less) or 5% of the statement balance plus interest and charges |
| Annual/monthly fees | 1 month for £0, £15 per month thereafter |
| Foreign usage charge (EU) | 0% |
| Foreign usage charge (rest of world) | 0% |
| Additional card fee | £0 |
| Additional card fee note | If you have lost or damaged your credit card, the first replacement card will be free and any additional replacement cards (above one) will cost £40 (per year) |
What are the application requirements for the Yonder card?
| Minimum Age | 18 |
| Residency | UK resident |
| Additional Criteria | You don't need a UK credit score to apply, but Yonder will run a soft check if you have a credit report and let you know if you're eligible before you processed with your application. |
The Yonder Credit Card (only for London residents) is issued on the Mastercard network so it's accepted at more than 50 million merchant locations across more than 210 countries and territories.
Approval for any credit card depends on your status. The representative APRs shown represent the interest rate offered to most successful applicants. Depending on your personal circumstances, the APR you're offered may be higher, or you may not be offered credit at all. Fees and rates are subject to change without notice. It's always wise to check the terms of any deal before you borrow. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables is provided by Moneyfacts.
What is the Yonder credit card and how does it work?
Founded in 2021 by former Clearscore employees Tim Chong, Theso Jivajirajah and Harry Jell, Yonder says it aims to help its customers build their relationship with credit – as long as they live in London and are prepared to pay £15 a month as a membership fee. If you use it correctly and you keep on top of your repayments, you could also earn rewards while you spend. You can choose to repay weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
The London-based fintech firm believes that the traditional (and potentially outdated) methods of checking customers’ eligibility for credit cards can marginlise those who are trying to iron out a patchy credit history. After running an initial soft credit check, Yonder uses Yaplily’s open banking to assess your real-time spending data and provide you with an appropriate credit limit suited to you and not what is written on a credit report.
Case study: Isaiah is building his credit profile through Yonder
Isaiah (Zing) Peralta
Works in Finder's Publishing team
I recently moved to the UK from Australia and I've been interested in building a credit profile to give myself a head-start with hope that I can apply for a larger line of credit down the track, say a mortgage. However, I found that there were almost no options to apply for a credit card that I could find for individuals like myself who either just arrived in the country or have no credit history.
A common gap in the application process was, in order to progress through I would need to provide--on average--at least 2 years of evidence that I've been living in the country - which I haven’t. It quickly became evident that are very few lenders and products in the market that feasibly offer a line of credit to people in my position. After thorough research, I discovered I could do a few things to boost my credit report and also came across the company Yonder. Whilst I found navigating through the credit landscape tricky, Yonder did make it easy and less daunting.
After an initial conversation with the Yonder team via their live-chat on their app, I applied through their website after 3 months. Their process was fairly straightforward. I used the app, spoke to a person via their live chat messaging service, which then followed a combination of uploading my evidence via their app and a chain of emails to an approval that followed fairly seamlessly after! I received a slick physical metal card after about 5 days and added my digital card to my phone wallet and have been using the card since. Managing the card is all digital and customer service is all online and swift.
On the side of perks, Yonder's points system is a nice bonus to have, their dining perks seem to cater for a London based lifestyle if you are foodie, where they have numerous partnered restaurants. There’s also options to spend points on meal deliveries, travel, and online food markets (would recommend)! I live in Bristol and still have been able to use the perks! Also nice to see they've been expanding their partnerships too.
After using the card for a few months. I was able to download my credit report, and my credit with Yonder has been recognised by the credit bureaus which have been the signals I’ve been aiming for to build credit!
Overall, If you would like to build your credit and benefit with extra perks. I’ve had the right experience with Yonder and would recommend it.
If there's one thing you'd tell a friend who's thinking of getting this, what would it be?
If you're looking to build credit, this card can help you do that. The rewards and perks are a huge bonus given that there are few lenders in the market who would offer the same for someone who might be new to the country or not have credit history.
Latest updates for Yonder
17 April 2023: In April 2023, Yonder raised a £62.5M in its Series A funding. This means that Yonder raised money from investors to enhance its credit card product. Yonder has stated that it plans to use this money to grow its team, expand the Yonder Credit Card outside of London into another UK city before the end of the year, and finally, invest more into its rewards programme.
Features
- Earn rewards. Yonder offers some appealing rewards features with this credit card, if you live in or plan to travel to London. With an earn rate of 5 points per £1 spent (added after each transaction), you can redeem your rewards at the Yonder-picked restaurants, bars and tickets to events. When you redeem your points, Yonder will cover the cost up to a fair-use limit. “For example, for 3,500 points at Kricket we’ll cover your meal and drinks up to £100. Anything above that amount will be charged to your card.” (Example as of 28 April 2022).
- Slick metal card. The Yonder credit card has a stylish design and you won’t need to worry about the card snapping, as it is made of metal – I know, super slick! And if you’re techy or prefer to pay on your phone, Apple Pay is available for this credit card. But remember, as much as it is fun to whip out a metal card at the checkout, only spend as much as you can afford.
- Smart fraud protection. Yonder allows you to instantly freeze and unfreeze your card in the app if you need to.
- App. With the Yonder app, you have the option to manage your repayments, request cashback and receive instant payment notifications. You can also use the app to initially apply for the Yonder credit card. The app is available on iOS and Android but is not currently supported on tablet devices.
- Worldwide travel insurance. The Yonder credit card comes with worldwide family insurance for the cardholder, partner and children under the age of 25 (no excess). Travel insurance covers, stolen and delayed baggage, travel cancellation and delays, personal liability and medical expenses. Make sure you read the T&Cs for the full details, including how much is covered.
- Share your points. Send Points is Yonder’s new feature that allows you to – you guessed it – send points (or a selected experience) to your friends. So next time you’re planning a group meal or you want to give your friend a birthday treat, you can send them your redeemed points straight from the app.
Repayment options
You can choose how often you’d like to repay your balance, either weekly, fortnightly or monthly. To repay, you can either do so manually through Yonder’s app or you can set up a direct debit.
A direct debit protects you from forgetting to make a repayment and damaging your credit score – making it harder and more expensive to borrow money in the future – and getting hit with a penalty fee as a result. You can arrange a direct debit for repayments when you apply for the credit card.
It’s best practice to repay your debts in full each month, particularly if you are planning to rebuild positive credit. If this isn’t always possible, you must repay the minimum amount of £35 (or the total amount you owe if less) or 5% of the statement balance plus interest and charges. However, if you do not repay your debts in full each month, you will sacrifice any reward points and may earn more in interest than you will earn in rewards.
- Warning: Late repayments can cause you serious money problems. For help, contact the government’s free money advice website, MoneyHelper.
Yonder customer reviews
Yonder has received positive reviews from customers, according to customer review sites including Trustpilot, the Apple App Store and Google Play.
It currently has a TrustPilot rating of 4.7 out of 5 from more than 550 reviews (updated March 2024). Although still a new credit card, Yonder’s customers who rated the card the full 5 stars, stated that it is a “great user-friendly card”.
Reviews for the Yonder app are mostly positive as well. On the App Store, the app has 4.9 out of 5 stars, based on 99 reviews. On Google Play it has 4.9 out of 5 stars, based on just 41 reviews.
How to apply
You can register your interest by filling out the initial registration form on Yonder’s website or app, Yonder will then invite you to apply.
You don’t need a UK credit score to apply for the Yonder credit card, but Yonder will run a soft credit check if you have a credit report and let you know if you’re eligible before you proceed. If you are eligible, Yonder will then run a hard credit check on your credit report.
If you do not currently have a UK credit score, Yonder will ask you to verify your identity and connect your most used bank accounts to help it give you a credit limit that’s right for you.
If you’re looking to build a positive credit report, with no spending fees abroad and an added bonus of earning rewards on your everyday spending, the Yonder credit card offers just that. Challenging traditional credit checks, Yonder uses open banking to create a personalised credit limit that reflects your daily spending and not what it says on your credit report. But unless you live in London or travel to the UK’s capital often, you might not be able to make use of the rewards scheme to its full potential. ”
How does it compare?
Yonder's card
Other popular reward cards
Approval for any credit card depends on your status. The representative APRs shown represent the interest rate offered to most successful applicants. Depending on your personal circumstances, the APR you're offered may be higher, or you may not be offered credit at all. Fees and rates are subject to change without notice. It's always wise to check the terms of any deal before you borrow. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables is provided by Moneyfacts.
Finder credit card scores
Our experts score rewards credit cards to determine their value against similar products on the market. We look at a number of important factors, like welcome bonuses, introductory and ongoing earn-rates, any caps or restrictions on the points you can earn, plus the potential costs involved with running the card both in the short and longer term.
You can read more about our scoring criteria on our credit card methodology page.
Frequently asked questions
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