Credit bureaus record two types of checks on your credit report: soft and hard inquiries. Both show information about your credit profile, but the level of detail is different and only one can affect your score.
What is a soft inquiry?
A soft inquiry (soft pull) provides a basic view of your credit health. It doesn’t affect your credit score, and other lenders can’t see it. Soft inquiries are used for non-lending purposes such as viewing your score or checking eligibility for certain products.
What to know?
Requires your permission
Doesn’t impact your credit score
Only you can see it on your credit report
Other lenders can’t see it
When KOHO uses soft inquiries?
When creating a KOHO account
When you view your credit score in the KOHO app
When we check eligibility for features like Pay Later, Cover, or Credit Building subscriptions
What is a hard inquiry?
A hard inquiry (hard pull) happens when a lender needs more detailed information to make a lending decision. This can cause a small and temporary decrease in your credit score.
What to know?
Requires your permission
Can slightly lower your credit score for a short period
Other lenders can see it on your report
When KOHO uses hard inquiries?
Hard inquiries are only used when applying for lending-based products that require a full credit assessment. KOHO doesn’t currently offer a product that uses a hard inquiry, but this may apply to future lending products.
For our Line of Credit through Fora (our partner):
a soft inquiry is used for pre-approval, and
a hard inquiry is only used if you move forward with the full approval.