Is it a myth you need a credit card to be able to get a mortgage?

The credit card story may be more of a myth than a necessity for a mortgage, though there will be many examples to support either opinion. A historic concern around credit rating and your 'score' has led many to see a credit card as a short-term boost, but if you have a couple of bank accounts, you pay your car insurance via monthly payments on a credit facility, possibly have car finance, and importantly, on the voters' roll, that should be more than enough. Mortgage lenders want to be able to trace your background, and if you have bank accounts at different addresses, and are hard to trace on the voter's roll, it will be harder to get a mortgage. There are plenty of lenders with manual underwriting if it becomes a real issue, but ensuring all your finances are up to date and correctly registered should normally be enough.

You do not need a credit card to get a mortgage, and your case is proof of that. Having a credit card and managing it well can help build a credit profile, but it is only one part of the picture and not a requirement in every case. Lenders are interested in the overall strength of an application, not just whether someone has borrowed on a card before. They will look at income, employment stability, deposit, existing commitments, bank account conduct and, most importantly, affordability. Where someone has little or no credit history, there may be less information for a lender to assess, which can narrow the options slightly, but it does not mean they cannot get approved. A strong, well-run financial profile can still be enough to secure a mortgage, even without ever having had a credit card.

Hey. I hope you're well!
I'm a mortgage broker and I help people without a credit card get mortgages all the time. Although, it is not always as straightforward as you might think.
The high-street lenders like Nationwide, Natwest etc. credit score all mortgage applications and if someone doesn't have any credit agreements on their credit file, it can sometimes be tricky for them to accumulate a high enough score for those lenders to approve the mortgage.
It is frustrating when this happens as you would imagine that someone who has never needed to borrow money would be an ideal mortgage client!
But, there are over 100 lenders and they all score their applications differently so if one says no, there will be plenty that would say yes. So, in the rare instances that an application does get declined due to a lack of a credit history, I would just submit an application to a different lender and the outcome would likely be different.
I hope this helps
JP

Owning a credit card is not intrinsically linked to being able to get a mortgage. Lenders will check your credit report in order to get an understanding of who you are. This is their main way of getting to know their prospective clients. Therefore if you have a lack of information on your credit file it can be difficult for them to make a decision about whether you are a good bet to lend to or not. Often if you have a lack of credit on your file, this may result in lenders still providing a mortgage however requiring you to put more deposit down to minimise their risk. Would you lend hundreds of thousands of pounds to someone you know very little about? This is why historically the advice has been to take out a credit card, pop something small onto it each month and then clear it off. This gives the mortgage lender comfort that you can manage your finances. Setting up a direct debit for the minimum payment on the card is essential as you wouldn’t want to forget to pay one month

No credit card, no problem. You don’t need a credit card to prove you’re good with money; lenders look at the bigger picture, like steady income, savings, and whether you pay bills on time. The obsession with credit scores over credit history is misplaced; it’s just one piece of the puzzle, not the whole story.

Lenders are not just looking for a credit card or a headline credit score — they are assessing your overall financial behaviour. That includes whether you have made payments on time across things like utilities, mobile phone contracts, loans, and how you run your bank account. Missed payments, defaults or persistent overdraft use will matter far more than whether you have ever held a credit card.

A credit card can help build a profile, but it is not essential. In fact, if you have a card but rarely use it, many lenders will place little weight on it as there is no meaningful repayment history.

If you want to strengthen your position, focus on consistency: pay all bills on time, stay within agreed limits, keep credit balances low, and make sure you are on the electoral roll. It is the overall pattern that lenders are interested in, not one specific product.

Needing a credit card to get a mortgage is a load of old codswallop. Many years ago it was a nifty tip, but now, its a myth and a totally outdated one.
This stemmed from the days when young adults were trying to buy homes and navigate the new 'Computer Says No' era. Back then, you needed to have a credit footprint and if you didn't you were stuck.
Since then, the computer systems have become much more advanced, Lender Criteria has improved and the First Time Buyers have become much older.
The vast majority of First Time Buyers now have a credit footprint without even trying; simply by being registered at addresses correctly and paying for their phone.
The credit card isn't essential and actually if you rush out and spend on credit cards frivolously, it could go against you.
The key thing now is no missed payments or bad debt. Keep your finances simple and tidy and most mortgage lending doors will be open to you.

Banks and building societies do not insist that every borrower has a credit card before agreeing to issue a mortgage. What they really want is evidence that you can borrow sensibly and keep up with the monthly repayments. If you have never had any form of credit, some lenders may struggle to assess you because there is less of a track record to look at.

Plenty of people get mortgages without credit cards, especially if they have a strong income, stable employment, a good-sized deposit, and a clean record on things like mobile phone bills, car finance, or other regular commitments.

The key issue is not the absence of a credit card itself, it is whether the lender can see enough proof that you are financially reliable. In many cases, having no missed payments, being on the electoral roll, and running your bank account well matters more than owning a credit card. More of the lenders are also autoverifying income by tapping into HMRC data.