M&T Secured Credit Card Review

Who is the M&T Secured Credit Card for?

The M&T Secured Credit Card is for those who want to build or rebuild their credit score. This card comes with numerous benefits and low rates to help people with lower credit scores work their way up to better cards. With a minimum of a $250 deposit, this card can be used by anyone of any income to help build their credit score. The credit you get is based upon the amount you deposit into the bank. You can deposit as much as you like without any maximum credit limit. 

This secured card also comes with security and protection features to ensure that your information is safe and your experience is worry-free. There are also easy payment options that make paying off the card hassle-fee. Having an easy payment procedure is essential for a secured credit card because you do not want to make any late payments and have your credit score go down even further. 

Overall, this is a great card to help you improve your credit score. It limits the amount of credit you can access to make sure that you can afford and pay back all of your purchases. Once you rebuild your credit score there are many other cards with higher rewards rates that you can graduate to. This card is also perfect if you are willing to make purchases that you can readily afford. 

No Annual Fee

Cardholders do not have to pay an annual fee so they can get all the benefits that come with this card free of cost. Most secured cards have an annual fee but here, you can rebuild your credit score with no out of pocket costs. This is especially important if you are a student or someone who does not have the money to spend on an annual fee. 

Security Benefits 

This card comes with M&T Assurance, a security program provided by the bank for all cardholders. This program comes with fraud prevention, detection, and resolution. They give you visa secure and chip technology to help keep your information safe at the point of sale. The bank also gives you real-time fraud monitoring and M&T alerts to notify you if there are any fraudulent purchases on your account. Finally, you get expedited card replacement and Visa Zero Liability policy which covers you for all fraudulent purchases and immediately replaces it hassle-free if your card is stolen

You can also temporarily lock your credit card if it is stolen or misplaced. This is an important feature as it stops any purchases that you have not authorized and keeps your information safe. This coupled with the easy card replacement feature always has you covered no matter what happens to your card. 

Payment Features

You can use a digital wallet with this card and pay instantly at any pay station that accepts digital payments. This makes your purchases quick and convenient while also keeping your information safer and decreasing the possibility of theft. You can shop safely with all of the security benefits that this card comes with.

Also, when you pay your credit card online from an M&T account, you can get immediate credit line availability. Instead of waiting for your credit to go through, it can happen instantly allowing you to spend immediately after you pay your credit line. This can be important if you have to pay bills or other payments that are time-sensitive. 

Rates and Fees

The M&T secured card has an APR of 17.24% (variable) for both purchases and balance transfers. The rate is not based on your creditworthiness, unlike most credit cards, as this is a secured card used to rebuild your credit score. For cash advances, the APR is 22.24% so you must be careful when you are withdrawing cash using this card. There is also a penalty APR of 24.99%, which means you need to make all of your payments on time to save as much money as possible. 

This card also has a balance transfer fee of 4% with a $10 minimum. It is not recommended that you transfer outstanding balances onto this card as this should not be a permanent card but one that will help you graduate to a better card. This card has a cash advance fee of 3% with a minimum of $10, so you need to keep track of your ATM withdrawals to save as much money as possible. Also, there is a 3% foreign transaction fee so be wary if you want to use this card in another country.  There are also late payment fees of up to $35 and returned payment fees of up to $25.

This card provides the tools necessary to rebuild your credit score but if you make late payments, then this card can cost you greatly. You must buy items you can truly afford with the money in your account so you do not risk any late payments or incurring interest. 

Conclusion

The M&T Secured Credit Card is for anyone who needs a solid card to help rebuild their credit score. This card has a $250 minimum deposit which ensures you can buy only what you can afford. With all the security features of this card, you do not have to worry about fraud or theft. There are serious penalties for late payments so you need to make sure that you can make all of your payments on time. Overall, this is a great secured card to help rebuild anyone’s credit score. 

You can apply for the M&T Secured Credit Card online here.