Arro Credit Card Review: Arro Card Fees, the $60 Membership, Arro Credit Builder Pricing, and Which Bureaus It Reports To

The Arro Card is a no-deposit Mastercard with a credit line from $50 up to $2,500, a starting APR of 24.99% and a membership fee of up to $60 a year, which Arro says can be discounted to as low as $12 in the first year. The separate Arro Credit Builder costs $12 a month or $96 a year. Arro's own pages disagree about bureaus: its FAQ says all three, but the disclosure on every page says Experian and Equifax.

We read arrofinance.com in September 2026, including the card page, the Credit Builder page, the how-it-works comparison table and every answer in its FAQ, so the figures below come from Arro itself rather than from other reviews. CreditPal is a credit coaching tool, not a card or a credit builder, and we earn nothing whichever product you choose.

What is the Arro credit card?

Arro is a mobile-only app from ArroFi Inc that bundles three things: the Arro Card, the Arro Credit Builder, and an AI money coach called Artie. The card is a real Mastercard, virtual and physical, issued by Community Federal Savings Bank, Member FDIC. It works online and in stores, which already makes it more useful than the closed-loop lines sold by Kikoff or Kovo that you can only spend inside one app.

Approval does not depend on your credit score. Arro's FAQ says "Your credit score has no impact on Arro's approval process" and that its model uses "some factors from your credit report, if available, and alternative data, such as your income." Applying is a soft inquiry only. You need an SSN or ITIN, to be 18 or older, and a US bank account with a positive balance, and Arro asks you to link "the account where they earn income or receive benefits so we can verify income."

Arro card fees: what the card actually costs

The card page lists four numbers: a maximum credit line of up to $2,500, a starting APR of 24.99%, an annual membership of up to $60, and 1% cash back. The FAQ fills in the membership detail: "Arro membership costs $60 per year. This is discounted to as low as $12 for the first year based on your starting credit line."

So the first-year price depends on the line you are approved for, and Arro does not publish the table that maps one to the other. What you can plan around is $60 a year from year two. On Arro's own comparison table the card's line runs "From $50 up to $2,500," which means a new member can easily start near the bottom of that range and pay a membership fee that is a large share of the line itself.

Two other points from the FAQ are worth knowing before you sign up. The 1% cash back applies to grocery store and gas purchases, not everything. And deleting the app does not end the membership, so cancel through Arro rather than uninstalling.

The 24.99% APR only matters if you carry a balance. For a credit building card, the right way to use it is to put a small recurring bill on it and pay the statement in full, in which case the membership is the whole cost. We explain how a small balance on a low limit reads to the scoring models in our guide to credit utilization.

Arro Credit Builder pricing

The Credit Builder is a separate product with a separate fee. Its page advertises "$12/month, no commitment," with an intro offer of $0.99 for the first month according to the FAQ and a "Pay For 3 Months, Get The 4th Free" promotion on monthly billing. The annual plan is "$8/month (billed annually)," so $96 up front.

What you get is described as a "$2,000 Reported Tradeline," a credit builder line of credit provided by Cross River Bank, Member FDIC, through Arro's partner Upward. It shows up on your reports as an account from Upward, not from Arro. Arro does not describe the $2,000 as money you can spend, so read it the same way you would read Kikoff's or Kovo's reported lines: it is a number that helps your utilization math, not a cash line.

The Credit Builder is also Arro's route into the card for people it does not approve straight away. The page lists three steps to "graduate": complete 13 credit-building lessons, make 6 on-time Credit Builder payments, and connect your primary bank account to Budget Insights. Arro frames it as a path, not a promise.

Does Arro report to all 3 credit bureaus?

Arro's own site gives two different answers, and this is the single most important thing to check before you pay. The FAQ answer to "Does Arro report to all 3 credit bureaus?" reads: "Arro reports to all three major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion." The legal disclosure printed at the bottom of every page on arrofinance.com says: "We report payment history to Experian and Equifax."

The Credit Builder is not in doubt. Its own FAQ says payment history "is reported directly to the two of the three major credit bureaus: Experian and Equifax," its page says the same thing twice, and the footer agrees. So the Credit Builder is a two-bureau product. The card is described both ways. One more FAQ answer, "Will Arro actually help my credit score," says "Arro reports your payment history to, and building that track record" with the list of bureaus simply missing, which suggests the copy has been edited more than once.

Why it matters: a lender that pulls your TransUnion file will not see a tradeline that reports only to Experian and Equifax. Some lenders pull a single bureau, and you rarely know in advance which one. If three-bureau coverage is the reason you are buying, ask Arro in writing which bureaus your specific account reports to, then check your TransUnion report after two statements. We explain how lenders choose a bureau in which credit bureau lenders use.

Arro is not alone here. StellarFi's pages name only Experian and Equifax, and Ava reports its card to three bureaus but its rent reporting to TransUnion only. We covered the StellarFi version in our StellarFi review.

Arro versus other no-credit-check builders

On price alone, Arro is mid-pack. Here is what the first year costs for the cheapest way into each product, on each vendor's own current pages:

Read across the third column and Arro's real advantage is clear. It is one of the few products in this group that gives you a card you can use at a gas station or grocery store, with no deposit. If the Arro Card approves you at a sensible line, the membership is fair value for that. The Credit Builder is harder to justify: at $96 to $144 a year for a two-bureau line you cannot spend, it costs more than Grow Credit or Kikoff for less coverage. We lay out the whole category, with net costs, in our comparison of credit builder apps, and the cheapest subscription-based option in our Grow Credit plans and pricing breakdown.

Is Arro legit?

Yes. Arro is a real company with named, FDIC-member banking partners on both products: Community Federal Savings Bank issues the card and Cross River Bank provides the Credit Builder line through Upward. It uses a soft inquiry to apply, publishes its APR and membership range, and says plainly on every page that "Late payment may negatively impact your credit score."

The weak spots are about clarity, not legitimacy. The first-year membership is a range tied to a credit line you only learn after applying, the bureau coverage is stated two ways, and the Credit Builder is a second subscription layered on the first. Statements start on the 7th of the month once the account has more than 30 days of history, so do not expect a tradeline to appear in your first few weeks.

Because Arro sizes your line from the income it sees in the account you link, it only counts what lands in that account. If your earnings arrive from several platforms, an income tracker for creators and sellers helps you see and document the full total, and it is worth routing most of those payouts into the account you give Arro before you apply.

Who should get the Arro card, and who should not

The Arro Card fits someone with a thin file, a steady income into a bank account, and a need for a real card they can use anywhere. If you are approved at a few hundred dollars or more and keep the balance low, it is a reasonable first card for $60 a year.

It fits poorly if your file is not thin but damaged. A new card with a small line does very little against a collection, a charge-off or a 30-day late already on your reports, and a second tradeline from the Credit Builder does little more. That is the situation most people searching for a credit builder are really in, and it is the one CreditPal is built for. It reads your file read-only, explains which of your existing accounts is costing you the most points, lets you simulate a change before you make it, and sequences the fixes in the order that pays, from $7 a month. It opens no accounts and lends nothing, so it works alongside an Arro Card rather than instead of one.

Arro card FAQ

How much does the Arro card cost?

The Arro Card's membership is $60 a year, and Arro says it can be discounted to as low as $12 in the first year depending on your starting credit line. The card's starting APR is 24.99%, which only applies if you carry a balance. There is no security deposit. The separate Arro Credit Builder is $12 a month or $96 a year.

What is the Arro card credit limit?

Arro's own comparison table puts the card's line at "From $50 up to $2,500." The $2,500 is a maximum you reach by leveling up in the app, not a starting line. Arro sets the first line from your income and cash flow, and it says members can earn real-time increases through the app.

Does the Arro card do a hard credit check?

No. Arro says applying for the card will not impact your credit score and that it performs a soft inquiry only. The Credit Builder is also soft inquiry only. Approval uses income and cash flow from your linked bank account, plus some credit report factors if you have a file.

Does Arro report to TransUnion?

Its FAQ says the Arro Card reports to Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, but the disclosure on every page of its site says Experian and Equifax, and the Credit Builder FAQ confirms that product reports to Experian and Equifax only. If TransUnion matters for a loan you plan to apply for, confirm with Arro and check your TransUnion report after two statements.

Is the Arro Credit Builder worth it?

For most people, only if you are using it to qualify for the Arro Card. At $96 to $144 a year it reports a $2,000 line from Upward to two bureaus, which costs more than Grow Credit's Build plan or Kikoff's $5 tier for less coverage. Its real value is the published path to the card: 13 lessons, 6 on-time payments and a linked primary bank account.