Zable credit card review : Can it help build your credit?
- Representative example:
- Representative 48.9% APR (variable). Based on assumed borrowing of £1200. Rate of interest 48.9% (variable) annual.
- Minimum credit limit
- £200
- Foreign transaction charge
- 0%
- Account fee
- £0
Our verdict
A straightforward card for people who don't have excellent credit, offering a stripped-back fee structure. But it's key you repay in full each month.Formerly known as the Level card, this is the first credit card from personal loans giant Lendable.
Lendable is known for providing credit to a broad range of credit profiles, and describes its Zable credit card as a tool to build your credit rating (AKA a "credit-builder credit card"). Technically, all credit cards do this, provided you use them correctly, but credit builders can be easier to get approved for and sometimes offer a few extra features to help you on your journey to a better credit score. If you've been turned down for other cards, the Zable card may still be a possibility. But the Zable card doesn't really come with any features to give extra help to build your credit, although it's at least accompanied by a decent app offering alerts, controls and real-time spending updates.
If you're not sure what your credit record looks like, you can check yours for free with Finder.
The main appeal of the Zable card is that it doesn't charge currency conversion fees if you use it abroad – instead converting currency at standard Mastercard rates. There's also no fee for exceeding your credit limit and no annual/monthly fee.
However, the stripped-back fees should come with a few notes of caution. Firstly, going over your credit limit is a terrible idea despite the absence of a penalty fee, because it'll get recorded in your credit file making it harder (and more expensive) for you to borrow money in the future. Secondly, cash withdrawals at home or abroad will incur a fee. Using a credit card to withdraw cash is always a bad idea – it's generally expensive and once again, it's a red flag on your credit file.
If you do take this card with you on holiday, don't forget that if a merchant offers to bill you in either sterling or the local currency, choose the local currency. Otherwise, it's the merchant's bank's currency conversion fees that will apply and not your preferential ones.
All in all, the Zable card is more straightforward than most credit cards, with an easy-to-use app that will send you a notification when you're eligible for a credit limit increase.
With any credit card, it's wise to clear the balance in full each month, but that's especially true when you'll be paying an interest rate of at least 48.9%.
Pros
-
No overseas spending fee.
-
No annual fee.
-
No over-limit fee.
-
Get notified in the app as soon as you're eligible for a credit limit increase.
-
No minimum income requirement.
Cons
-
If you don’t clear your full balance each month, you'll be charged a high rate of interest (at least 48.9%) on your purchases.
-
If you don’t pay your balance on time, you could be charged a late fee of £12.
Details
Product overview
| Issuer | Transact Payments Limited |
| Network | Mastercard |
| Representative APR | 48.9% |
| Annual/monthly fees | £0 |
| Purchases | 48.9% |
| Cash advances | 48.9% |
| Minimum credit limit | £200 |
| Maximum credit limit | Subject to status: £1,500 |
| Incentive | |
| Potential costs | 2.9 ★★★★★ |
| Doing its job | 4.4 ★★★★★ |
| Extras | 4.0 ★★★★★ |
| Overall Finder Score | 3.4 ★★★★★ |
What are the fees and charges for the Zable Credit Card?
| Minimum monthly payment | £5 or the total of any interest plus 2% of the outstanding balance (whichever is greater) |
| Annual/monthly fees | £0 |
| Foreign usage charge (EU) | 0% |
| Foreign usage charge (rest of world) | 0% |
| Cash advance fee | 3% (min. £3) |
| Late payment fee | £12 |
| Exceeding limit fee | £0 |
What are the application requirements for the Zable Credit Card?
| Minimum Age | 18 |
| Residency | UK resident, must live in mainland UK, including Northern Ireland |
| Availability | Available to new customers |
| Additional Criteria | You must not have received a county court judgment (CCJ). |
The Zable credit card 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.
How to apply
First, you can use Finder's eligibility checker to find out if you'd be likely to get approved for the Zable credit card. This won't impact your credit score. If it's good news, you can then proceed to Lendable's online application, which takes 10–15 minutes to complete.
Repayment options
When you apply, you'll be asked to set up a continuous payment authority (this gives Lendable permission to take fixed or varying amounts on a date that doesn't have to be specified beforehand) to ensure that no repayments are missed. This is also a great way to protect your credit score, which can be severely damaged by late payments on loans or cards. You can choose from the following regular repayment options. If you can, opt to pay the full balance off each month, so you'll avoid being charged interest. You can make manual overpayments whenever you like using the app.
| Minimum amount | Fixed amount | Fixed percentage | Full amount |
|---|---|---|---|
Why do I have to sign a continuous payment authority?
If you’ve been approved for the Zable credit card, you’ll be required to set up a continuous payment authority (CPA) when you open your account to ensure that you pay at least the minimum required payment every month. Most credit cards give you the option to set up a direct debit (which is generally a smart choice), but only a few cards targeting less-than-perfect credit scores insist on a CPA. The key difference between a CPA and a direct debit is that a direct debit is an instruction to your bank to send payments to your card issuer, while a CPA is a contract between you and the card issuer granting it permission to take varying payments from your debit card if and when it needs to.
That’s not a huge deal provided you trust Lendable. Should you? Well, it’s a UK-based firm, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and it’s a member of CIFAS (the UK’s leading fraud prevention service), so it’s likely “above board”.
Unless they had taken a deep dive into the T&Cs, early adopters of the Zable credit card might’ve felt caught out by the interest terms (which have since changed, thankfully). The terms previously stated that if you didn’t set up a CPA to clear your full outstanding balance every month, then you might accrue interest from the date of the purchase through to the date you clear the balance, even if you did pay it off your balance in full each month. That was highly unusual, as most cards would waive the interest on purchases for cardholders who cleared their full balance each month however they did so – by direct debit, CPA or even ad hoc bank transfers.
Now, Zable has a 35 day interest free period if you pay statement balance in full each month. Just make sure your balance is paid on or before your chosen repayment date to make use of this interest-free period.
Customer reviews
Zable scores highly on customer review site Trustpilot. It has a score of 4.6 out of 5 from more than 4,780 reviews (updated June 2024), giving it an “excellent” rating.
Positive reviews mention the quick application process and access to credit upon approval, whilst some wanted a higher credit limit.
On the App Store, Zable scores 4.9 out of 5 based on over 85,000 reviews (updated June 2024).
Who is this card good for?
Lendable is offering a simple and appealing card to suit a variety of credit profiles, with stripped-back fees to boot (albeit with a few caveats). The Zable credit card could be a sensible option if you can’t get approved elsewhere, offering a respectable app and the appeal of avoiding currency conversion charges when spending abroad.
You certainly stand less chance of being caught out by any unexpected charges with the Zable card. However, if you don’t think you’ll pay off the card in full each month, it will be be an expensive option.
Frequently asked questions
Finder credit card scores
Our experts score credit builder credit cards to determine their value against similar products on the market. We look at a number of important factors, like interest rates, credit limits, features to help you track your credit, 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.
