Building credit and protecting yourself from identity theft

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FreeKick offers free or low-cost identity monitoring for families, including babies and children, who ideally should not have a credit profile.

UnfortunatelyIdentity theft can affect anyone with a Social Security number. This means that even a baby can become a victim of identity fraud.

FreeKick also offers accounts to help teens and young adults build credit without taking on debt. With FreeKick, young adults can kick-start their financial wellness journey. This FreeKick review examines what the platform has to offer.

• Teens can build credit without paying interest (and potentially avoid fees, too).
• Parents don't need good credit to help their children build good credit.
• Identity theft protection for children, teenagers and adults.

What is FreeKick?

FreeKick is a fintech company that offers identity protection and credit building services through an FDIC-insured savings account. FreeKick is a subsidiary of Austin Capital Bank, which also owns CreditStrong. FreeKick's mission is to protect and prepare children and support schools. It fulfills this mission both through the products it offers and through regular donations to schools.

What does it offer?

FreeKick offers identity theft monitoring for the whole family. Its credit-building products are specifically designed for parents of teens and young adults ages 13 to 25.

Identity protection for families

Most adults know to monitor their credit report for suspicious or unauthorized activity. But identity theft monitoring and insurance can be expensive, especially if you have multiple children in the house. FreeKick provides identity theft monitoring for two adult parents and up to six children ages 0-25.

Children can become victims of identity fraud, and it often goes undetected. When you sign up, FreeKick checks to make sure your children don't have a credit profile in their name. If so, make sure the profile is legitimate. If this is not the case, FreeKick will notify you immediately.

If you become a victim of identity theft, FreeKick offers up to $1 million in identity theft insurance and premium identity recovery. Insurance can cover small costs, such as the cost of registered mail to receive new documents, or larger costs, such as legal fees if you are sued for identity theft.

Credit building option for teens and young adults

When you open a FreeKick account, you can add up to six additional accounts to help your teen or young adult child build credit. This type of account is commonly referred to as a credit building account. FreeKick offers various models for building credit.

With the first model, a one-time deposit is possible. FreeKick then reports the account as an open line of credit equal to the account balance.

With the second model, you have to make monthly deposits into the account. FreeKick reports these deposits as payments. With both methods, a child can claim the account when they turn 18. FreeKick then reports all of its credit behavior to the three major credit reporting agencies. By building credit this early, your children may be able to skip the painful years of trying to build credit without access to real credit products.

Avoid fees with a $3,000 deposit

FreeKick costs $149 per year, but the fee is waived with a one-time deposit of $3,000. As long as you have a balance of $3,000, you don't have to pay for any FreeKick services. The deposit is FDIC insured and earns a small amount of interest on the FreeKick account.

Earn interest on your credit building accounts

FreeKick helps you build credit and protect yourself from identity theft. But it is also a savings account. As a saver, you have the choice between a CD or a traditional savings account. Each account pays a small amount of interest.

If you choose a savings account, you can add money to the account over time. Interest rates vary depending on the product used, but the interest rate on a standard account is 0.01% per year for people with less than $10,000 in their savings account.

Are there any fees?

As mentioned, FreeKick charges $149 per year for identity protection and up to six accounts designed to help kids build credit. However, you can waive this fee by making a one-time deposit of $3,000. The deposit will earn interest at a nominal interest rate for as long as you keep the account open.

How does FreeKick compare?

When it comes to credit building products, FreeKick is the only credit building loan with a free option (fee waiver). Many people who are building credit resort to this secured credit cards. Not all secured cards charge fees, but the available balance can tempt some people to overspend.

FreeKick doesn't work the same way. You can't spend money you don't have. As you spend your savings, your credit limit decreases. This makes FreeKick more similar Himself, which offers credit building loans for people with poor or limited credit. But FreeKick is beneficial for self lenders because it charges no interest and gives you the option to waive fees.

Kikoff is another online lender designed to help customers build credit. It offers a $750 credit limit that can be used to purchase digital products from the Kikoff Store. Credit line installment payments are reported to two major credit reporting agencies. There is no interest charged on the credit building loan, but there is a $5 monthly fee.

Free kicks Identity Theft Monitoring for the whole family is also excellent value for money. If you can afford to keep $3,000 in a bank account, you don't have to pay the $149 annual fee for FreeKick identity monitoring. You will have to give up some interest income, but free monitoring offers value and security.

How do I open a FreeKick account?

To open a FreeKick account, select the “Sign In” button in the top right corner of the FreeKick.Bank homepage. Enter your name, email address, phone number, home address and social security number. You must connect the FreeKick account to your checking account and fund the account. Transfer at least $3,000 if you want to waive the $149 annual fee.

Once your account is set up, you can add all of your children to the account. As long as your children have Social Security numbers, FreeKick can monitor their profiles for credit-related activity.

Is it safe and secure?

Accounts with FreeKick are FDIC insured. This means that even if the bank goes bankrupt, you can get your money back up to $250,000. Additionally, FreeKick is an identity theft monitoring and insurance platform. You enter a lot of sensitive information on the site, including your name, Social Security Number (SSN), birthdates, and more. You also add your children's personal information. FreeKick collects and stores this information in a database with bank-level encryption and security.

Overall, FreeKick appears to offer a high level of security for savers and for people who primarily use identity theft products.

How do I contact FreeKick?

Austin Capital Bank, FreeKick's parent company, is located at 8100 Shoal Creek Blvd Suite 100, Austin, TX 78757. You can call FreeKick at (833) 288-5004 between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Central Time. You can also use the chatbot on the website or in the app.

Is it worth it?

FreeKick is an excellent option for parents who want to protect their children's identities and help their children boost their credit scores. While the $149 annual fee is reasonable for the services FreeKick offers, it is far better to deposit $3,000 and waive the fee. You miss out on some interest income (the interest rates on FreeKick accounts are quite low), but you get valuable benefits in return. If you can afford to have $3,000 tied up, FreeKick is a great option for you.

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