You moved to the United States with years of clean credit history in your home country, and you walked into a bank to apply for a credit card. The answer was no. Not because you’re risky. Because your credit history simply does not exist here.
That’s the problem Nova Credit set out to fix. The company built a product called the Credit Passport, which pulls your foreign credit report, translates it into a format US lenders understand, and sends it directly to the lender during your application. In theory, you get treated like someone who has been building credit in the US for years.
In practice, it works — but with some important limits that most articles in 2026 still aren’t being honest about.
What Is Nova Credit and How Does the Credit Passport Work
Nova Credit is a financial technology company founded in 2016. Its core product is the Credit Passport: a translated version of your home-country credit report that US lenders can read and evaluate.
When you apply for a credit product with a Nova Credit partner, the lender asks if you want to use your international credit history. You authorize Nova Credit to pull your report from your home country’s credit bureau. Nova Credit retrieves that report, standardizes it using a scoring model calibrated for US lenders, and delivers it as part of your application.
The lender sees your payment history, credit utilization, length of history, and account types — all in a format they recognize. If your foreign credit is strong, they can approve you on that basis alone.
The process typically takes a few days to two weeks, depending on how quickly your home country’s bureau responds. Once the lender has the report, they make a decision within their normal timeline, usually one to three business days.
What Nova Credit does NOT do: it does not automatically create a US credit score. It does not get reported to Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion. It does not replace the need to build US credit history over time. It is an accelerator for that first approval, not a substitute for everything that follows.
Which Countries Does Nova Credit Cover in 2026
Nova Credit currently supports approximately 20 countries. The coverage is strongest in markets with established credit bureau infrastructure. As of 2026, the supported countries include: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Dominican Republic, India, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Coverage quality varies by country. For applicants from India, Canada, Mexico, UK, and Australia, the data translation tends to be cleaner because those countries have robust credit reporting systems similar to the US model. For countries with less standardized reporting, the translation has more gaps.
If your home country is not on the list, Nova Credit cannot help you. Applicants from China, Pakistan, Vietnam, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and most of Central America currently have no coverage.
Which US Lenders Accept Nova Credit in 2026
This is where most guides written in 2024 or early 2025 are now wrong.
American Express ended its Nova Credit partnership in 2025. For years, AmEx was the most visible Nova Credit partner. That partnership is gone. If you apply for an AmEx card today, your foreign credit history through Nova Credit will not be considered.
The active Nova Credit partners in 2026 are:
| Lender | Product Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Deserve | Credit cards | Secured and unsecured options for immigrants |
| Westlake Financial | Auto loans | Financing for used and new vehicles |
| MPOWER Financing | International student loans | F1 and M1 visa holders |
| Prodigy Finance | Graduate school loans | MBA, engineering, law programs |
| Verizon | Cell phone / postpaid plans | No SSN requirement |
| Oportun | Personal loans | Focus on underserved communities |
For credit cards specifically, Deserve is now the primary route. Deserve’s products are designed for immigrants from day one. They accept ITIN, report to all three bureaus, and have no SSN requirement.
How to Use Nova Credit: Step by Step
You do not sign up for Nova Credit directly and then apply to lenders. The process is lender-initiated.
- Go to a Nova Credit partner lender’s application page (Deserve, Westlake, etc.)
- Complete the standard application
- When prompted, choose to add your international credit history
- Authorize Nova Credit to access your home-country credit bureau
- Nova Credit contacts your bureau, retrieves and translates your report
- The translated report is added to your application automatically
You do not pay anything in most cases. Lenders typically absorb the cost of pulling the Nova Credit report. On rare occasions, a fee up to $50 applies.
One thing to know: you cannot see your own translated Credit Passport before the lender does. Nova Credit does not provide a consumer-facing portal where you can review the translated report in advance. You authorize the pull, and it goes directly to the lender.
Does Nova Credit Build Your US Credit Score
No. Using Nova Credit does not add anything to your Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion file. It only helps you get approved for a credit product. Building actual US credit history requires what comes after the approval.
Once you have a US credit card, auto loan, or personal loan through a Nova Credit-partnered lender, the ongoing payment history from that account does get reported to the bureaus. That is what starts building your US score. Nova Credit just got you in the door.
For immigrants starting from zero without a credit history in a covered country, or without strong foreign credit, Nova Credit is not an option. You need a different strategy: a secured credit card, a credit-builder loan, or an ITIN-based account. See our guide to building credit as an immigrant from zero.
Nova Credit vs Building Credit From Scratch
The comparison is about timeline. Without Nova Credit, an immigrant who arrives in the US with no domestic credit history typically needs 12 to 24 months to reach a score above 700. With Nova Credit and strong foreign credit, you can be approved for an unsecured credit card on your first week in the US.
The catch: this only applies if you have the foreign history and your country is covered. If neither condition is true, Nova Credit is not a factor in your plan.
Who Nova Credit Is Best For
Nova Credit makes the most practical difference for H1B and L1 visa holders from India, UK, Canada, or Australia who arrive with 5+ years of foreign credit. It also helps graduate students on F1 visas who need international student loans through MPOWER or Prodigy, Mexican nationals with a Buró de Crédito file applying for auto loans through Westlake Financial, and Brazilian or Philippine immigrants with established credit histories.
Nova Credit is a weaker fit for immigrants from countries not on the coverage list, immigrants with limited home-country credit history, or immigrants who already have 12+ months of US credit history.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Nova Credit free to use?
For most applicants, yes. The partner lender typically covers the cost of the Credit Passport pull. In rare cases a fee up to $50 applies, but this is not standard with the current partner set.
Does using Nova Credit hurt my credit score?
No. Nova Credit pulls your foreign credit report, but that pull does not trigger a hard inquiry on your US credit file because you don’t have one yet.
Can I use Nova Credit with any lender?
No. Only formally partnered lenders can receive the Credit Passport — currently Deserve (credit cards), Westlake Financial (auto loans), MPOWER and Prodigy Finance (student loans), Verizon (cell plans), and Oportun (personal loans).
What happened to the American Express partnership?
AmEx ended its Nova Credit integration in 2025. Guides from 2024 recommending Nova Credit for AmEx cards are outdated. The current primary credit card partner is Deserve.
Can I use Nova Credit with only an ITIN?
Yes. Nova Credit and its partner lenders accept ITIN as the primary identifier. SSN is not required.
What if my home country is not on the Nova Credit coverage list?
You cannot use the Credit Passport. Your best alternatives are a secured credit card that accepts ITIN, a credit-builder loan, or becoming an authorized user on a US resident’s account.
Bottom Line
Nova Credit solves a real problem. For immigrants who arrive with years of solid foreign credit from a covered country, the Credit Passport can compress years of US credit building into months.
The catch in 2026 is that the lender network is smaller than it was. The AmEx partnership is gone. You’re primarily looking at Deserve for credit cards, Westlake for auto loans, and MPOWER or Prodigy for student lending. If those products fit your situation, Nova Credit is a legitimate and underused advantage.
If your country isn’t covered, or your foreign history is thin, start with a credit card without SSN and build from there. For more context, see the CFPB’s guide on credit reports and scores and the IRS ITIN program overview.
The EducaDinero editorial team specializes in personal finance for Latino immigrants in the United States. Our goal is practical, unbiased guidance with no hidden affiliate bias.