Arro Card: costs, limits, and what to do when $300 is not enough

What the Arro Card is

The Arro Card is a credit card made for people that mainstream issuers turn down. It comes from Arro, also searched for as Arro Finance, a Los Angeles-area fintech founded in 2021. The card is a Mastercard issued by Community Federal Savings Bank, Member FDIC. It is unsecured, which means there is no deposit, and Arro makes its decision from the income and balance it can see in your bank account. Your credit score is not the deciding factor, and applying involves only a soft inquiry.

Everything runs through the Arro mobile app: the application, the virtual card, payments, and the short finance lessons that raise your limit. More in how the Arro Card works and the Arro app.

Arro Finance, the company

Arro Finance, often typed as arrofinance after its web address arrofinance.com, is the business name of ArroFi Inc. It launched publicly in October 2022 with a $10 million seed round and put its app on the App Store and Google Play in September 2023. Besides the card it sells the Arro Credit Builder and offers a free cashflow tool, Arro Insights. Its leadership, funding and bank partners are set out on our Arrofinance company page.

Who can get it

There is no minimum credit score. Reviewers who went through the application report these requirements: age 18 or over, a valid SSN or ITIN, a checking account that connects through Plaid, a positive balance of more than $50, and regular deposits of about $1,000 a month. You also need a smartphone.

Income does not have to be a salary. Listings for the card say benefits and other steady deposits can count. The full list, with sources, is on the requirements page, and the application steps are set out separately. Remember that only Arro can accept an Arro Card application.

What it costs

Pay the statement in full and the membership is your only cost. Older articles quote a 16% APR and a $36 fee. Those figures date from the card's launch. We track the differences on the fees and APR page.

A year of costs, worked out

These figures are membership plus interest, less 1% cash back. Put in your own numbers with the Arro Card cost calculator.

How the limit grows

Most members start between $50 to $300. Arro raises the line when you complete lessons and tasks in the app and pay on time, with a ceiling of $2,500. Individual increases are small, often around $10, so reaching a four-figure limit takes months of steady use.

A small limit needs care. Scoring models look at how much of your limit you use, and $60 on a $200 line already counts as 30%. Paying the balance down before the month ends keeps the reported figure low. See credit limit increases.

Rewards and the Credit Builder

The card pays 1% cash back on gas and groceries, credited automatically to your statement. On a starter limit that is a few dollars a month, as we show on the cash back page.

Arro also sells the Arro Credit Builder, a separate subscription at $12 a month that reports a $2,000 tradeline to Experian and Equifax. It cannot be spent. Arro describes it as a route to the card after six on-time payments.

When something goes wrong

Arro's support works by email at [email protected], and there is no cardholder phone line. These are the problems members raise most, with the short answer to each.

Logging in

Login happens only in the Arro app. Update the app, request a new verification code, and try your other identifier (email or phone). We have no login on this site. Login help

Payments showing as pending

Bank payments can take 4 to 5 business days before your credit is available again. Arro says debit card payments post within one business day. Payment help

The card has not arrived

Plastic usually takes about 7 business days. Use the virtual card in your phone wallet meanwhile, and ask support for a replacement after two weeks. Card not arrived

Application denied

Denials usually trace back to low or irregular deposits, a thin balance or overdrafts in the linked account. A denial does not affect your credit. Why Arro denies applications

Stuck on the waitlist

Arro does not publish how its waitlist works or how long it lasts. You can build credit elsewhere while you wait. Waitlist

Wrong limit on a credit report

Some members report limits shown far above their real one. Dispute it in writing with Arro and with each bureau. Reporting errors

Closing the account

Email Arro and ask to close it. Deleting the app does not cancel the card. How to cancel

All contact routes and escalation steps are on the customer service page.

Is Arro legitimate, and is it any good?

Arro is a real company with a bank-issued card, coverage from NerdWallet, U.S. News and TechCrunch, and more than 300,000 app downloads. It is legitimate.

Whether it is good depends on what you need. Members who use the card lightly and pay on time describe score gains and growing limits. Others describe slow payments, missing cards and reporting mistakes. Trustpilot's 155 reviews split almost evenly between five stars and one. We set out both sides in complaints and pros and cons, and give our own 3.5 out of 5 in the review.

Alternatives worth checking

• Chime Card: no fee and no interest, funded with your own money from a Chime account. Arro vs Chime
• OpenSky: no credit check and no bank account needed, with a $200 deposit. Arro vs OpenSky
• Self: a savings-backed card that also builds an installment record. Arro vs Self
• Kikoff: a reported credit line from $5 a month. Arro vs Kikoff
• Grow Credit: builds credit from subscriptions you already pay. Arro vs Grow Credit
• Atlas: the most similar card, with 0% APR and a higher membership. Arro vs Atlas
• Mission Lane: a mainstream unsecured card with higher limits and a hard pull. Arro vs Mission Lane
• Surge and Reflex: higher starting limits at a much higher price. Arro vs Surge, Arro vs Reflex

The full table is in cards like Arro.

If you need money, not a credit line

Arro does not lend cash. There is no Arro loan and no cash advance, and a new limit will not stretch to a large bill. For that, see options when the Arro limit is not enough.

Our loan request form is a separate service. Read how it works, the rates and fees explanation and our responsible lending page before you use it.