Credit Savvy was a free Australian credit monitoring app that showed your Experian credit score. It closed permanently on 14 May 2025. If you relied on it to track your credit health, this guide explains what it showed, where it fell short, and what to do next to get an accurate picture of your credit file.
What Is Credit Savvy?
Credit Savvy was a free Australian credit monitoring platform that displayed your Experian credit score and alerted you to changes on your Experian credit file. It operated under the CBA/Aussie Home Loans group and earned revenue through optional financial product referrals, not from subscription fees or charging users to check their score.
Once you created an account and verified your identity, the app showed your Experian credit score within a rating band, a summary of enquiries and open accounts recorded at Experian, and alerts when something on your file changed. Checking your score was a soft enquiry. It left no trace on your credit file and had no impact on your rating.
Was Credit Savvy Free?
Yes. There was no subscription fee, no trial period, and no credit card required. The platform earned money through optional product referrals. If you clicked through and submitted a formal credit application, that created a hard enquiry on your file, which can temporarily lower your score. Checking your score through the app itself never created a hard enquiry.
The free model covered one bureau only: Experian. What the app showed you was real data. Whether it reflected everything a lender would see was a different question, and that gap is where most users ran into surprises.
Once you created an account and verified your identity, the app showed your Experian credit score within a rating band, a summary of enquiries and open accounts recorded at Experian, and alerts when something on your file changed. Checking your score was a soft enquiry. It left no trace on your credit file and had no impact on your rating.
What Did Credit Savvy Actually Show You?
The app gave you access to the following from your Experian credit file:
- Your Experian credit score: A number within a rating band (Below Average, Average, Good, Very Good, or Excellent)
- A credit report summary: Enquiries, open accounts, and negative listings such as defaults or court judgments recorded at Experian
- Score history: A graph showing how your score moved over time
- Change alerts: Notifications when something on your Experian file changed
What it did not show you:
- Data held by Equifax, which operates as a separate bureau with its own credit file on you
- Debts, defaults, or enquiries recorded exclusively with Equifax
- Any tools to challenge or dispute listings on your file
If a lender had reported information about you to Equifax but not to Experian, none of that appeared in Credit Savvy. You could have seen a comfortable score, applied for a home loan, and still received a decline because the lender checked your Equifax file instead.
Credit Savvy Score vs Your Real Credit Score
Australia now has two main consumer credit reporting bureaus: Experian and Equifax. illion, previously the third bureau, was acquired by Experian in October 2024. Its consumer credit data has since been consolidated into the Experian bureau.
Each bureau holds its own version of your credit file and calculates its own score. These can differ significantly depending on which lenders reported information to which bureau. According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Equifax is the largest consumer credit bureau in Australia and most credit providers use it as their primary bureau. A clean Experian score in Credit Savvy gave you no visibility into what Equifax held on your file.
ASIC’s MoneySmart confirms that which bureau a lender uses is entirely the lender’s decision. Credit Savvy had no visibility into that choice.
Where Can You Access Your Experian Score Now?
Since Credit Savvy closed, former users have two main options at no cost:
- CommBank app: You can access your Experian credit score through the CommBank app without needing to hold a CommBank financial product.
- Directly through Experian: You can request your credit report and score directly from Experian Australia at no charge.
What Credit Savvy Did Not Tell You About Negative Listings
A lower score was worth investigating, not just accepting. The app could tell you something had changed on your Experian file, but it could not tell you whether a listing was accurate, legally valid, or contained errors that gave you grounds for a dispute.
Australian credit files carry incorrect information more often than most people expect. A default may have been listed after a debt was already settled. Enquiries from lenders you did not authorise may appear on your file. Repayment history entries may reflect a lender’s reporting error rather than your actual payment behaviour.
Under Australian privacy law, specifically Part IIIA of the Privacy Act 1988 and the Privacy (Credit Reporting) Code, you have the right to access your credit file and dispute inaccurate information, regardless of which bureau holds the listing.
If you have a default entry you do not recognise, our invalid default removal service explains what makes a listing disputable. For enquiries recorded without your authorisation, our credit enquiry review service covers the grounds for a challenge.
Your Credit Score Is Low. Here Is What to Do Now.
A low score is a starting point, not a final answer. Here is a practical sequence to follow:
1. Request your free credit reports from both bureaus. Experian and Equifax each provide one free report every three months, or within 90 days of a declined application. Request both in the same week for a consistent picture.
2. Identify every negative listing. Look for defaults, late payment records, court judgments, and credit enquiries. Note the creditor name, the date listed, and the amount.
3. Check each listing against your own records. Discrepancies are the first signal a listing may be contestable.
4. Understand what can be challenged. Inaccurate items can be disputed with the bureau or the original credit provider. Unresolved disputes can be escalated to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).
5. Get expert help for complex situations. Our repayment history dispute service and court judgment dispute assistance explain how those processes work in detail.
Australian Credit Savers holds Australian Credit Licence (ACL) 578002 and is a member of AFCA (Membership No. 104645).
Find Out What Your Credit File Actually Shows
If your Credit Savvy score raised questions, or if you have not reviewed your full credit file since the app closed, book a free credit assessment with Australian Credit Savers as your clearest next step. Our team will review your file, identify any listings that appear inaccurate or disputable, and walk you through exactly what can be challenged.
Call 1800 844 185 or book your free credit assessment online.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Credit Savvy the same as my actual credit score?
Credit Savvy shows your Experian credit score, which is one of two you can have in Australia. Lenders may check Equifax instead, so the number shown may not match what your lender sees when you apply for finance.
Does using Credit Savvy affect my credit score?
No. Checking your score through Credit Savvy is a soft enquiry. It does not appear on your credit file and has no impact on your rating.
Why is my Credit Savvy score different from what my bank told me?
Your bank accessed your file at a different bureau. Banks and lenders choose which bureau to query, and many use Equifax rather than Experian. Each bureau holds separate information and calculates its own score independently, which is why differences are common.
Can I fix a low Credit Savvy score through the app?
Credit Savvy has no dispute or correction tools. To challenge inaccurate listings, you need to raise a dispute directly with the relevant bureau or credit provider or work with a licensed credit repair service to manage the process on your behalf.
Which credit bureau does Credit Savvy use?
Credit Savvy pulls data exclusively from Experian. If a lender uses Equifax to assess your application, which many do, your Credit Savvy score will not reflect what they see. Requesting your free report from both bureaus gives you the full picture.
Key Takeaways
- The app shows your Experian credit score only. Many lenders check Equifax instead, so the numbers can differ.
- Checking Credit Savvy is a soft enquiry. It will not appear on your file or affect your rating.
- A low score is worth investigating, not just accepting. Some negative listings are inaccurate and can be formally disputed.
- Getting your full reports from both bureaus gives you the most accurate picture of what lenders can actually see.