Should you have a good credit rating to be able to date?

Of all the things we can acquire in this lifetime, love is the one thing you’re not supposed to buy. And yet, in 2024, a lot of people are doing just that. Not only are there endless dating apps charging hundreds of pounds before anyone has even had the chance to swipe left, now there’s a litany of platforms putting people’s finances front and centre in the dating game. Take Neon Money Club, the American financial company that has just launched a new dating app called Score aimed specifically at those with “good to excellent” credit.

“Financial wellness often takes a backseat,” explains CEO Luke Bailey in a press release. “Score aims to elevate the discussion around financial health, which has remained stagnant for decades. Before you can educate people, you need to get their attention. With Score, we’re bringing the conversation to dating.”

While users won’t see one another’s credit scores, which will be verified by Neon Money Club, only those with a credit score upwards of 675 will be eligible to sign up to the app. It’s available for a limited time, too, with TechCrunch reporting Score’s lifespan at “around 90 days”. The idea is to match financially like-minded people.

The app has sparked controversy, with people pointing out how it could perpetuate a class divide, given that Black and Hispanic Americans are more likely than other racial groups to have a credit score below 640. There are other concerns, too – like the fact that two people both happening to pay their bills on time has no bearing on their romantic compatibility.

Seriously, is dating that bad that we’ve got to the point that people are just assuming two people with financial literacy are automatically going to be a good match for one another? Isn’t that sort of the same as saying two people who both happen to wear matching socks are going to fall in love because of their, erm, shared desire to be hyper-organised? Really?

It’s at this point that I should perhaps admit my own lack of financial literacy. Yes, I have a credit card. No, I’m not really sure why. As a freelancing single millennial with absolutely no hope of getting a mortgage any time soon, I’m not monitoring my credit score, let alone trying to improve it. Frankly, it seems like a futile endeavour given the state of the UK’s housing crisis and the increasingly fantastical dream of ever owning a home.

I would not make it onto Score – nor would, I suspect, many of my friends. That doesn’t mean we wouldn’t be a good match for people who would, though. Why would it? The premise of Score is predicated on the frankly bizarre idea that being financially literate is a driver for attraction. How many times have you asked someone about their credit score on a first date? Never? What about the general state of their finances? Really, not once?

Funny that. Look, I understand the idea behind Score. Of course, having a similar approach to one’s finances can bleed into other aspects of their character. It can be a sign of organisation, ambition, drive… and wealth, obviously.

But these are not the things we should be considering in our pursuit for love. None of them is going to guarantee the single most important thing when it comes to finding your person: chemistry. And despite what many dating apps will tell you, that’s not something you can buy. Because as much as we might hate to admit it, love is a cosmic, unpredictable, and often inexplicable thing.

Look at the successful couples you know. Ask how they met. How many of them begin that story with something along the lines of, “I never would have thought I’d end up with someone like them”? I’ll bet it’s quite a few. And I’ll bet my non-existent mortgage that on their first date, they didn’t talk about credit once.