CUSTOMER Q&A: Self

For millions of Americans, establishing credit (or rebuilding it after setbacks) can feel out of reach. Traditional products often come with barriers that disproportionately affect people with thin or no credit files, such as high security deposits or lengthy application processes. 

That’s where Self Financial comes in. Through accessible tools such as their Credit Builder Account, secured Self Visa® Credit Card, and Rent and Bills Reporting, the company helps customers build credit history, savings, and financial confidence on their own terms.

We sat down with Kristian Lund, Senior Vice President of Market Innovation and Strategy, to talk about how trusted account connectivity and access to high-quality transaction data help the company support millions of consumers as they work to improve their financial lives.

Plaid: Tell us a bit about Self’s mission and the challenges consumers face.

Kristian: Our mission is to help people build credit, savings, and financial confidence, particularly after having been excluded from traditional credit systems. Tens of millions of adults in the U.S. have little or no credit history, which can limit access to affordable loans, housing, or even employment.  Many want to build credit but face high upfront costs or a lack of accessible financial products.

Self’s solutions are designed to meet people where they are and ensure there are no dead ends in their credit-building journey. To date, we’ve served more than 4 million customers and unlocked billions of dollars in credit access.

Plaid: What barriers did Self encounter in helping customers begin their credit-building journey?

Kristian: There were two challenges to address. The first was accessing and gathering fragmented financial data to facilitate rental, utility and telco data reporting. We needed a secure, low-friction option that would allow customers to verify and link their bank accounts; this would enable us, in turn, to verify and validate reportable payment transactions to help build their credit. The second challenge was overcoming our Credit Builder Account’s manual payments experience, which was high in friction and prone to errors. Integrating Plaid helped streamline this part of the flow, making it easier for customers to begin building credit with confidence, knowing their payments would be accurately captured.

Plaid: How does Plaid help power Self’s credit-building ecosystem today?

Kristian: Plaid is effectively the connectivity backbone across our products. It supports secure, reliable bank account connections that improve onboarding and payment funding for our Credit Builder Account. Plaid’s transaction data also enables us to identify recurring rent, utility, and phone payments, allowing customers to build credit using payments they’re already making. For Self Cash, our cash-advance product, Plaid supports real-time verification, fraud prevention, and qualification insights. Taken together, Plaid helps us deliver more inclusive, automated, and user-friendly experiences at scale.

Plaid: Why Plaid?

Kristian: Plaid’s network coverage, reliability, and consumer familiarity made it the clear choice. With millions already using Plaid to connect their financial accounts, the experience is intuitive for our customers and reduces friction. Just as importantly, Plaid’s values align with our commitment to broaden access to credit and financial wellness.

Plaid: What impact have you seen since integrating Plaid?

Kristian: We’ve seen a major shift in how customers originate and fund Credit Builder Accounts. Plaid grew from powering 14% of these originations in 2018 to nearly 50% by 2025. During this period, Plaid-linked ACH payments outperformed debit transactions by 4–6 percentage points in payment success rates and contributed to higher revenue assurance, even as our volume scaled.

In addition, by leveraging Plaid’s transaction data, we improved our models for identifying recurring rent, utility, and phone payments, bringing millions more consumers into the credit-building ecosystem.

Plaid: Practically speaking, what does all this mean for your customers?

Kristian: With Plaid as an option, all of our customer’s information is consolidated. This enables us to help customers begin building credit more quickly and seamlessly, and for many within just a few months 

We often hear from customers with no traditional credit history who used Rent and Bills Reporting to establish their first tradeline. Those with existing credit profiles see an average 25-point score increase, and some have seen their score rise even more after six months of rent and utility reporting.

Plaid: What’s next for Self?

Kristian: We’re excited to be expanding beyond credit building to help consumers become more loan-ready, access credit more affordably, and manage liquidity challenges through products like Self Cash. As our vision of credit building continues to incorporate inclusion, automation, and the use of real-time financial data, Plaid will play a central role, helping us transform everyday financial behaviors into opportunities for long-term financial health.