How can a Canadian establish US credit score
Sorry. As far as I know, a person's SS is the only way to establish credit. This is the first thing they ask whenever you apply for any service in the US. 1) The easy way is to find a job and they will assign you an SSN.  2) Here's the hard way.  If you're Canadian, open a TD Boarderless account in the U.S.  Put a small investment into any investment that would generate some type of income, such as capital gain, dividends, interest and etc...  Then you will need to file a US tax return to declare your income if you receive U.S. tax slips (although you're likely below the min filing requirement) at year end.  To file a U.S. tax return, you may  need what's called an ITIN or individual tax id number.  With the ITIN, you can get credit from the US TD boarderless account (only).  Consider getting a prepaid US credit card with the TD account to futher build credit at that specific bank.  It's not much credit, but you do start with creating a history. set up a US company (WY is cheap and easy), go south and open a personal and business bank account, ask for the itin form. file for the itin. set up your EIN for the company. get a credit card for both. pay some mail forwarding service with it. file for taxes in the next year using your itin. prepaid cards do not link to your tax id
My son who is now 21 has never needed me to cosign on a loan for him and I did not need to establish any sort of credit rating for him to establish his own credit.  One thing I would suggest is ditch the bank and use a credit union. I have used one for many years and opened an account there for my son as soon as he got his first job. He was able to get a debit card to start which doesn't build credit score but establishes his account work the credit union. He was able to get his first credit card through the same credit union without falling work the bureaucratic BS that comes with dealing with a large bank. His interest rate may be a bit higher due to his lack of credit score initially but because we taught him about finance it isn't really relevant because he doesn't carry a balance. He has also been able to get a student loan without needing a cosigner so he can attend college.  The idea that one needs to have a credit score established before being an adult is a fallacy. Like my son, I started my credit on my own and have never needed a cosigner whether it was my first credit card at 17 (the credit union probably shouldn't have done that since i wasn't old enough to be legally bound), my first car at 18 or my first home at 22. For both my son and I, knowing how to use credit responsibly was far more valuable than having a credit score early. Before your children are 18 opening credit accounts with them as the primary account holder can be problematic because they aren't old enough to be legally liable for the debt. Using them as a cosigner is even more problematic for the same reason. Each financial institution will have their own rules and I certainly don't know them all.  For what you are proposing I would suggest a small line of credit with a credit union. Being small and locally controlled you will probably find that you have the best luck there. "The problem is not the credit score; it is the ""competing"" inquiries. Multiple inquiries will be considered as one if done withing a short time period (2 month, IIRC) and for the same kind of credit, because people do shop for rates, you're not the first one to do that. So don't worry about that. What you should be worrying about is banks asking questions about these inquiries, which is an annoying (at least for me) technicality. You'll have to explain to each of the banks that you want a pre-approval from that you're going to take the mortgage from them, and not from anyone else. In writing, with your signature notarized. Which is OK because it's done (the signature and notarizing) at closing, but you'll have to ""convince"" them that they're the chosen ones to get approved. Other than that it's pretty simple. I've done that (including the declaration that I'm not going to take any loans based on the other ""competing"" inquiries), and it worked fine when I took the original mortgage, and when I refinanced it later in a similar ""shopping"" fashion. Do it closer to the actual bidding, because closing does take at least 3-4 weeks, and the rate lock is usually for 30-60 days, so not much time to shop if you take that road." I would say you are typical.  The way people are able to build their available credit, then subsequently build their average balances is buy building their credit score.  According to FICO your credit score is made up as follows: Given that you had no history, and only new credit you are pretty much lacking in all areas.  What the typical person does, is get a card, pay on it for 6 months and assuming good history will either get an automatic bump; or, they can request a credit limit increase. Credit score has nothing to do with wealth or income.  So even if you had 100K in the bank you would likely still be facing the same issue.  The bank that holds the money might make an exception. It is very easy to see how a college student can build to 2000 or more.  They start out with a $200 balance to a department store and in about 6 months they get a real CC with a 500 balance and one to a second department store.  Given at least a decent payment history, that limit could easily increase above 2500 and there could be more then one card open.   Along the lines of what littleadv says, the companies even welcome some late payments.  The fees are more lucrative and they can bump the interest rate.  All is good as long as the payments are made. Getting students and children involved with credit cards is a goal of the industry.  They can obtain an emotional attachment that goes beyond good business reasoning. First step is to see if you have any family members which can co-sign for you so you can get a credit card, then from there as you pay off the credit cards payments you can slowly build credit. However, since you don't have any previous credit history it'll be a slow process. I think that would be a good first step in the right direction. Alternatively, you can see if close relatives such as your parents can help pay for a financial advisor who can help you much better with issues like these In the US, money talks and bullshit walks. You can skip any credit history requirement if you demonstrate your ability to pay in a very obvious way. Credit history is just a standardized way of weeding out people that cannot reliably pay, instead of having to listen to an individual's excuses about how the bank overdrafted their account five times while they were waiting for their friend to pay them back for bubble gum. If you can show up with a wad of cash, you can get the car, or the apartment, or the bank account without the troubles of everyone else.  But you can begin building credit with a secured credit card pretty easily. This will be useful for things like utilities and sometimes jobs. Also, banks won't be opposed to giving you credit if you have a lot of money in an account with them. You should be able to maintain an exemption from all socioeconomic problems in the United States, solely due to your experience with money and assets. There's an excellent new service called SelfScore that offers US credit cards to international students. They work with students without a credit history and even without an SSN by using other qualifying factors such as major, financial resources in their home country, and employability upon graduation. Worth clarifying: it's neither a secured credit card nor a prepaid card. It's a proper US credit card with no annual fees and a relatively low APR designed to help students build US credit. The spending limit is relatively small but that probably doesn't matter for just building a credit history. You can improve your credit score simply by being an authorized user on someone's credit card account.  They don't even physically have to give you a card to use, they can just add you to the account as an authorized user and your credit score will be affected.  Be forewarned though, it can be negatively impacted as well.  Only participate in such a scheme if it's with someone trustworthy and reliable. The short answer is, with limited credit, your best bet might be an FHA loan for first time buyers.  They only require 3.5% down (if I recall the number right), and you can qualify for their loan programs with a credit score as low as 580. The problem is that even if you were to add new credit lines (such as signing up for new credit cards, etc.), they still take time to have a positive effect on your credit.  First, your score takes a bit of a hit with each new hard inquiry by a prospective creditor, then your score will dip slightly when a new credit account is first added. While your credit score will improve somewhat within a few months of adding new credit and you begin to show payment history on those accounts, your average age of accounts needs to be two years or older for the best effect, assuming you're making all of the payments on time. A good happy medium is to have between 7 and 10 credit lines on your credit history, and to make sure it's a mix of account types, such as store cards, installment loans, and credit cards, to show that you can handle various types of credit. Be careful not to add TOO much credit, because it affects your debt-to-income ratio, and that will have a negative effect on your ability to obtain mortgage financing. I really suggest that you look at some of the sites which offer free credit scores, because some of them provide great advice and tips on how to achieve what you're trying to do.  They also offer credit score simulators, which can help you understand how your score might change if, for instance, you add new credit cards, pay off existing cards, or take on installment loans.  It's well worth checking out. I hope this helps.  Good luck! "I'm not aware that any US bank has any way to access your credit rating in France (especially as you basically don't have one!). In the US, banks are not the only way to get finance for a home.  In many regions, there are plenty of ""owner financed"" or ""Owner will carry"" homes.  For these, the previous owner will provide a private mortgage for the balance if you have a large (25%+) downpayment.  No strict lending rules, no fancy credit scoring systems, just a large enough downpayment so they know they'll get their money back if they have to foreclose.  For the seller, it's a way to shift a house that is hard to sell plus get a regular income. Often this mortgage is for only 3-10 years, but that gives you the time to establish more credit and then refinance.  Maybe the interest rate is a little higher also, but again it's just until you can refinance to something better (or sell other assets then pay the loan off quick). For new homes, the builders/developers may offer similar finance. For both owner-will-carry and developer finance, a large deposit will trump any credit rating concerns.  There is usually a simplified foreclosure process, so they're not really taking much of a risk, so can afford to be flexible. Make sure the owner mortgage is via a title company, trust company, or escrow company, so that there's a third party involved to ensure each party lives up to their obligations." "US based so I don't know how closely this translates to the UK, but generally speaking there are three things that contribute to a strong credit score. Length/volume of credit history. This is a combination of how many accounts appear in your history along with how long they have been open.  Having a series of accounts that were maintained in good standing looks better than only having one.  Maintaining an account in good standing for a prolonged period (3+ years) is better than a bunch of short term items.  ""Ideally"" your credit history should contain a mix of term loans that were paid per contract and a few (1?) revolving account that shows ongoing use.  The goal is to show that you can handle ongoing obligations responsibly, and manage multiple things at the same time. Utilization. Or how much you currently owe vs how much people have agreed to lend you.  Being close to your limits raises questions about whether or not you can really handle the additional debt.  Having large availability raises questions about whether you would be able to handle it if you suddenly maxed things out.  Finding the correct middle point can be challenging, the numbers I have seen thrown around most by the ""experts"" is 20-30% utilization. Recent Activity. Or how much new debt have you taken on?  If someone is opening lots of new accounts it raises red flags.  Shopping around for a deal on a auto loan or mortgage before settling on one is fine.  Opening 5 new credit lines in the past 6 months, probably going to knock you down a bit.  One of the concerns here is have you had the accounts long enough to demonstrate that you will be able to handle them in the long term. One route that was suggested to me in my early years was to go take out a 6mo loan from a bank, and just place the money in a CD while I made the payments.  Then repeat with a longer term.  Worst case, you can cash out the CD to pay off the loan in an emergency, but otherwise it helps show the type of history they are looking for. All that said, I have to agree with Pete B's answer.  Don't play the credit game if you don't really need to.  Or play it just enough to stay in the game and plan your finances to avoid relying on it.  (Advice I wish I had taken long ago.)" Canada, like other second-rate economies with weak currencies, provides USD accounts.  It is not the same vice versa.  It is rare to find a direct deposit foreign currency account in the US as it is the world-leading currency. "As user quid states in his answer, all you need to do is open an account with a stock broker in order to gain access to the world's stock markets.  If you are currently banking with one of the six big bank, then they will offer stockbroking services.  You can shop around for the best commission rates.  If you wish to manage your own investments, then you will open a ""self-directed"" account.  You can shelter your investments from all taxation by opening a TFSA account with your stock broker.  Currently, you can add $5,500 per year to your TFSA.  Unused allowances from previous years can still be used.  Thus, if you have not yet made any TFSA contributions, you can add upto $46,500 to your TFSA and enjoy the benefits of tax free investing. Investing in what you are calling ""unmanaged index funds"" means investing in ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds). Once you have opened your account you can invest in any ETFs traded on the stock markets accessible through your stock broker. Buying shares on foreign markets may carry higher commission rates, but for the US markets commissions are generally the same as they are for Canadian markets.  However, in the case of buying foreign shares you will carry the extra cost and risk of selling Canadian dollars and buying foreign currency.  There are also issues to do with foreign withholding taxes when you trade foreign shares directly.   In the case of the US, you will also need to register with the US tax authorities.  Foreign withholding taxes payable are generally treated as a tax credit with respect to Canadian taxation, so you will not be double taxed. In today's market, for most investors there is generally no need to invest directly in foreign market indices since you can do so indirectly on the Toronto stock market.  The large Canadian ETF providers offer a wide range of US, European, Asian, and Global ETFs as well as Canadian ETFs.  For example, you can track all of the major US indices by trading in Toronto in Canadian dollars.  The S&P500, the Dow Jones, and the NASDAQ100 are offered in both ""currency hedged"" and ""unhedged"" forms.  In addition, there are ETFs on the total US Market, US Small Caps, US sectors such as banks, and more exotic ETFs such as those offering ""covered call"" strategies and ""put write"" strategies. Here is a link to the BMO ETF website. Here is a link to the iShares (Canada) ETF website." "It's probably important to understand what a credit score is.   A credit score is your history of accruing debt and paying it back.  It is supplemented by your age, time at current residence, time at previous residences, time at your job, etc. A person with zero debt history can still have a decent score - provided they are well established, a little older and have a good job.  The top scores are reserved for those that manage what creditors consider an ""appropriate"" amount of debt and are well established.  In other words, you're good with money and likely have long term roots in the community.  After all, creditors don't normally like being the first one you try out... Being young and having recently moved you are basically a ""flight risk"".  Meaning someone who is more likely to just pick up and move when the debt becomes too much. So, you have a couple options.  The first is to simply wait.  Keep going to work, keep living where you are, etc.  As you establish yourself you become less of a risk.   The second is to start incurring debt.  Personally, I am not a fan of this one.  Some people do well by getting a small credit card, using some portion of it each month and paying it off immediately.  Others don't know how to control that very well and end up having a few months where they roll balances over etc which becomes a trap that costs them far more than before. If I were in your position, I'd likely do one of two things.  Either buy the phone outright and sign up for a regular mobile plan OR take the cheaper phone for a couple years." "Patience has never been my strong suit Unfortunately this is what you need to build up credit. The activities that increase your credit score are paying your bills on time and not using too much of the available credit that you do have. The rest (age of accounts, recent pulls, etc.) are short-term indicators that indicate changes in behavior that will make lenders pause and understand what the reasons behind the events are. Also keep in mind that your credit score shouldn't run your life.  It should be a passive indicator of your financial habits - not something that you actively manipulate.   Is there anything I can do to raise my score without having to take out a loan with interest? Pay your bills on time, and don't take out more credit than you need.  You're already in the ""excellent"" category, so there's no reason to panic or try to manipulate it.  Even if you temporarily dip below, if you need to make a big purchase (house), your loan-to-value and debt/income ratio will be much bigger factors in what interest rate you can get.  As far as the BofA card goes, if you don't need it, cancel it.  It might cause a temporary dip in your credit, but it will go away quickly, and you're better off not having credit cards that you don't need." Spend less than you earn. If you have no job (source of income), then you can not possibly stay out of debt as you have to spend money to live and study.