Does Samsung Financing Affect Credit Score? Here’s What You Should Know

Samsung Financing is a compelling payment option for buying a new Galaxy smartphone or Samsung TV — but does the financing feature affect your credit score? With each passing year, it seems like tech gadgets get more and more expensive. This is true of phones, laptops, smartwatches, etc. If you want the latest and greatest, chances are you’ll need to pay a pretty penny.

Try as it might to keep its products somewhat affordable, this is a trend not even Samsung can avoid. Just look at the company’s Galaxy S22 series. The baseline S22 starts at $799, the S22+ retails for $999, and the S22 Ultra starts at a hefty $1199. If someone decides to get the Galaxy S22 Ultra with 1TB of storage, they’ll pay an eye-watering $1599. If paying that much money outright is too much to handle, that’s where Samsung Financing comes into play. This is a monthly financing service available exclusively on Samsung’s website. Instead of paying $1599 all at once for a maxed-out S22 Ultra, Samsung Financing lets you pay a smaller amount every month.

Similar to other financing programs, Samsung Financing does affect your credit score. Upon submitting your application, the bank that powers Samsung Financing (TD Bank) checks your credit score. Whether you’re approved or denied, the simple act of applying means you’ll get a hard pull from TD Bank on your credit report. While that may sound scary, it’s a perfectly normal procedure that happens when applying for any new line of credit.

Why The Effect On Your Credit Score Isn’t A Huge Deal

A few credit score points are usually lost with any hard pull, though they should come back within a few months. Hard pulls can also stay on your credit report for up to two years, though some may drop off sooner. Seeing those lost points right off the bat can be concerning, but don’t stress over them too much. Not only will your credit score bounce back after a little while, but making all of your Samsung Financing payments on time can make your score better than it was before applying. In that same vein, missing Samsung Financing payments can be detrimental to your credit report. If you’re going to use Samsung Financing, make sure you can actually afford whatever it is you’re buying.

Assuming you’re OK with all that, Samsung Financing can be genuinely helpful when making a big purchase. Eligible TVs and smartphones sold on Samsung’s website usually have a few different options for Samsung Financing — allowing you to pay over 24, 36, or 48 months. Take the $1199 Galaxy S22 Ultra as an example. 24 monthly payments would only cost $50.01/month, while the 36-month plan knocks payments down to $33.34/month. And there are a few other perks to Samsung Financing. Using Samsung Financing to buy a new phone lets you get it for $0 down, customers don’t need to re-apply for Samsung Financing for additional purchases, and some purchases come with an option to upgrade to a new model with credit back for your old device.

If that all sounds good to you, having your credit score temporarily affected by Samsung Financing is likely worth it in the long haul. Any lost credit score points will eventually return, you get more flexibility with what you can buy, and you’ll always have it as an option for future Samsung purchases down the road.

Source: Samsung

About The Author

Joe Maring
(1515 Articles Published)

Joe has been actively writing and talking about consumer tech since 2012. His biggest passion lies with smartphones, but he’s happy to talk your ear off about just about anything with a CPU. He lives in Kalamazoo, MI with his wife, two cats, and pit bull/boxer mix.

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