The Fortiva Mastercard, issued by The Bank of Missouri, is an unsecured credit card built specifically for consumers with bad credit who can’t afford a security deposit for a secured card.
It reports to all three major credit bureaus and can help rebuild credit when used responsibly. But it also carries fees high enough that the card only makes sense in a narrow set of circumstances.
Here’s what credit score you’ll need, what the real costs look like, and when this card is the right tool versus when a secured card or a different subprime option would serve you better.
Typical Credit Score Range for Fortiva Mastercard
There’s no strict minimum credit score for the Fortiva Mastercard. The card is designed for subprime borrowers, and approvals happen across the poor (300 to 579) and fair (580 to 669) credit ranges.
Some applicants report approvals with scores in the low 600s and even with 10 or more recent hard inquiries on file, which is unusually lenient compared to most unsecured cards.
That said, your credit score determines your terms. Lower scores mean higher annual fees, higher APRs, lower starting credit limits, and monthly maintenance fees that kick in after the first year. The card isn’t a single product so much as a tiered offer where your specific terms depend on what Fortiva’s underwriting model thinks of your profile.
Subprime Borrower Spending and What It Means for Your Application
Fortiva applicants typically fall into one of three situations. The first is rebuilding after a bankruptcy, foreclosure, or series of charge-offs that have closed off most other credit options.
The second is a thin credit file with limited history, often younger applicants or recent immigrants who haven’t built enough track record to qualify elsewhere.
The third is someone currently carrying active collections or late payments who needs an unsecured line and doesn’t have the cash for a secured card deposit.
The Bank of Missouri evaluates income and existing debt more than credit score specifically, since most applicants already have damaged credit by definition. Reporting accurate income matters because it directly influences your starting credit limit, and low credit limits combined with the annual fee can eat most of your available credit before you make a single purchase.
What Else Does The Bank of Missouri Look At?
Fortiva’s review focuses on different factors than a prime credit card issuer would:
- Income relative to existing obligations: The Bank of Missouri wants to see that you can make minimum payments even at the card’s high APR. Steady income matters more than high income.
- Recent bankruptcy discharge: A discharged bankruptcy doesn’t automatically disqualify you. Many Fortiva approvals come from post-discharge applicants looking to rebuild.
- Active collections: Unresolved collections don’t block approval the way they would at a prime issuer, but they do push you toward worse terms.
- Prior Fortiva or Atlanticus accounts: The Bank of Missouri partners with Atlanticus Services Corporation on Fortiva. A prior Fortiva account that went negative can complicate a new application.
- Address and identity verification: Because subprime cards are a common fraud target, Fortiva puts more weight on address stability and ID verification than most issuers.
What Do You Get With the Fortiva Mastercard?
This is where the card requires careful evaluation. Fortiva offers two versions, and both come with significant fees:
- The standard Fortiva Mastercard: No rewards. Annual fee of $49 to $175 the first year, $0 to $49 after. A monthly maintenance fee of $5 to $12.50 kicks in starting year two, which adds $60 to $180 annually.
- The Fortiva Cash Back Rewards Mastercard: Earns 3% cash back on gas, groceries, and utilities, and 1% on everything else. Higher annual fee ($85 to $175 first year) but the monthly maintenance fee is waived the first year.
The standard APR ranges from 22.74% to 36% depending on creditworthiness, with most approvals landing near the top of that range.
The math matters. If you’re approved for a $500 credit limit with a $175 annual fee, you have $325 of actual usable credit the day your card arrives. Running up the balance on fees alone is the most common failure mode with this card.
There’s no security deposit required, which is the card’s main advantage over secured alternatives. Secured cards from Capital One, Discover, or Chime start with lower or zero fees but require $49 to $200 in upfront cash. Fortiva trades that upfront cost for ongoing fees that typically end up costing more over a 12-month period.
How to Strengthen Your Application Before Applying
These steps address what The Bank of Missouri actually weighs, and more importantly, help you decide whether to apply at all:
- Check whether you can afford a secured card instead: A Capital One Platinum Secured or Discover it Secured with a $200 deposit will cost you less over a year than Fortiva’s fees and reports to the same three bureaus. If you have the deposit money, that’s almost always the better path.
- Pre-qualify through Fortiva’s website: Fortiva offers pre-qualification with a soft pull that shows your likely terms without affecting your credit score. Run this before applying so you know exactly what annual fee and APR you’re getting.
- Report all legitimate income: Household income, self-employment income, and benefits income all count. Higher reported income can translate to a higher starting credit limit, which helps offset the fees.
- Address any Fortiva or Atlanticus history first: If you’ve had a prior Fortiva account that closed negatively, resolve it before applying for a new one.
- Plan for the maintenance fee at year two: The monthly fee kicks in after year one. If your credit has improved by then, graduating to a better card before the maintenance fees start is the right move.
Bottom Line
The Fortiva Mastercard fills a narrow but real gap. It provides unsecured credit access to people with damaged credit who can’t come up with a secured card deposit, and it reports to all three bureaus.
For that specific situation, it works as a short-term credit-building tool, not a long-term card. The fees make it expensive to hold past the point where your credit has improved enough to qualify for better options.
Before applying, check whether a secured card with a refundable deposit would cost you less, use Fortiva’s pre-qualification tool to see your actual terms, and plan to graduate to a better card within 12 to 18 months once your credit supports it. Those three steps keep Fortiva useful without letting it become a long-term drag on your finances.
