Firstcard Provides Financial Access For International Students Without An SSN

At Firstcard, we’re reshaping the college student’s financial experience and helping college students succeed in their financial future one step at a time.

Today, we’re excited to introduce a new feature that allows international students to apply for a credit card without a Social Security Number (SSN), making it easier for international students to access financial products in the U.S.

By removing this barrier, we aim to provide equal opportunities for all students to gain access to financial services.

Why we built this feature

Currently, international students experience a significant barrier when they try to apply for a credit card in the US. Many of their credit card applications are rejected due to the lack of an SSN and the absence of a credit history in the States. Yet, this problem is overlooked.

The founders of Firstcard understand these challenges on a deeply personal level. Our CEO and co-founder, Kenji, arrived in the United States as an international MBA student at UC Berkeley. Despite having a Bank of America account with two years’ worth of living expenses, he was still rejected for a credit card. This did not make sense to Kenji and thus he created Firstcard with one simple goal in mind: Firstcard aims to be the “first” credit card for every student — a credit card that even international students can obtain without hassle and rejection. That’s why we’ve taken the initiative to launch this feature for international students after our initial product launch in September 2023, making credit card access more inclusive.

We want to empower all students to take control of their financial future, regardless of background. Our expanded international student access advances our mission of financial inclusion and student-first approach. We’re constantly improving our products to help more students.

What do international students need to apply for Firstcard

Our new feature simplifies the application process for international students, enabling international students to apply for a credit card just like local students, in under two minutes.

To get started, international students need to provide the following information:

• Your full legal name and date of birth
• Your U.S. residential address
• A valid government-issued ID
• Your passport ID

A recap of Firstcard’s features:

• Start building your credit score early without worrying about overspending
• Accept applications from international students without an SSN
• Earn up to 4.25% APY¹ with Firstcard+ (aka. interest you earn on the money in Firstcard Bank Account)
• Get up to 15% Merchant Cashback² at 29,000 partner merchants around your campus
• Get up to 10% Random Cashback³ on all qualifying purchases
• Your money is protected with Firstcard — automatically insured up to $250,000 by FDIC (backed by the U.S. government)
• No annual fee, no account minimum, no interest, and no overdraft fee

We believe in making financial tools accessible, easy, and rewarding for every student — and that includes international students. The launch of this new feature empowers international students to pursue financial opportunities and benefits in the US just as their American peers do. We are one step closer to bringing financial inclusion to every student.

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Disclosures:

The Firstcard debit and credit cards are issued by Regent Bank, pursuant to a license from Mastercard. Firstcard is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services are provided by Regent Bank; Member FDIC. Valid for 18+ and subject to account approval.

¹The Annual Percentage Yield (“APY”) for the Deposit Account is variable and may change at any time. The disclosed APY is effective as of November 2023. Users with no SSN or ITIN on file are not currently eligible to earn interest. No minimum balance is required. Firstcard+ customers will earn an additional 1% unlimited cashback on all eligible credit card purchases. Exclusions apply. Cashback rewards are not earned on ATM withdrawals, P2P transfers, purchases of gift cards or other cash equivalents, and certain other types of transactions as determined by Firstcard.

²Merchant Cashback: The amount of cashback is determined by the transaction and participating merchants. See firstcard.app/cashback-policy.

³Random Cashback: Users will receive up to 10% of random cashback on qualifying purchases. A qualifying purchase is a purchase that has been processed and accepted by the merchant and has settled in the entrant’s Firstcard account. This purchase may, but not necessarily, include tips, holds, and deposits related to the qualifying purchase. Additionally, the following transaction categories are NOT qualifying purchases and will not be eligible to earn entries into random cashback: ATM withdrawals, wire transfers or cash transfers, purchasing gift cards or other cash equivalents, gambling or online casino, peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers, such as Venmo, Cash App, transfers between Firstcard users, or similar services, gambling, bill payment, prepaid phone recharge and any other transaction types that we may deem ineligible at our sole discretion. See firstcard.app/random-cashback-policy.