What Does “Too Few Accounts Currently Paid as Agreed” Mean?

Last Updated: June 19, 2024

4 min read

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Key points about: paid as agreed on your credit report

If “too few accounts currently paid as agreed” appears on your credit report, it doesn’t necessarily mean you haven’t paid your bills.
There may be steps you can take to positively impact your credit score if “too few accounts currently paid as agreed” appears on your credit report.
Payment history, length of credit history, and credit mix contribute to your overall credit score.

Why does “paid as agreed” appear on your credit report?

If “too few accounts paid as agreed” (or sometimes “pay as agreed”) turns up on your credit report, it usually means one of two things. It could indicate that you have late payments or unpaid accounts on your credit report. Or, it may mean that you don’t have many credit accounts, such as credit cards, loans, mortgages, or other credit lines, demonstrating being paid as agreed in your file. The message may appear on your report even if you’ve been making payments on your existing credit according to your current credit account(s) terms. Lenders use this information to gauge your creditworthiness based on previous repayment activity.

What might help your credit if “too few accounts currently paid as agreed” appears on your credit report?

There are a few ways you may be able to positively impact your credit score if ‘too few accounts currently paid as agreed’ appears on your credit report.

Pay your bills in full and on time

The FICO^® Score ¹ is the most widely-used credit score; 90% of top lenders use FICO^® Credit Scores, including Discover.² This score is calculated using five categories of data: payment history, amounts owed, length of credit history, credit mix, and new credit. Payment history typically accounts for the highest percentage of your FICO^® Score, so paying your credit bills on time and in full can be very impactful.

If keeping track of your credit card due dates is challenging, consider signing up for automated bill pay. Using a tool like DirectPay by Discover could help you avoid missing payments and minimize the chance of late or missed payments being reported to a credit bureau.

Reduce your credit utilization ratio

The amounts owed category, which includes your credit utilization ratio, accounts for another significant percentage of your FICO^® Score. This ratio considers your available credit and how much you use. For example, if all your credit lines add up to $10,000 and your total debt across them is $3,000, your credit utilization ratio is 30%. According to the Office of Financial Readiness, it can help your credit score to maintain a low credit utilization ratio, the lower the better.

Keep your credit accounts open

The length of your credit history tells credit bureaus how you’ve been able to manage your credit limits and debts over the span of your lifetime credit use. This could mean that a more extended credit usage history may contribute to a good credit score. So, even if you’ve paid off a credit card and don’t intend to use it much, it may be beneficial to keep that account open, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Maintain a healthy mix of credit

FICO^® Scores also take credit mix into account, considering the different types of credit you have, like credit cards, retail accounts, mortgage loans, car loans, installment loans, etc. It may be helpful to have more than one type of credit, but it’s not necessary to have all these types of credit. Be cautious before considering a buy now pay later plan, as the credit reporting regulations are different for each program and may not help your overall credit score.

Consider opening new credit lines

New lines or means of credit access contribute to your FICO^® Score, but they should be handled carefully. Opening several credit accounts in a short amount of time can be seen as a risk for creditors, particularly for individuals with a brief credit history.

Did you know?

If you’d like to access new credit accounts, consider opening just one, which may help improve how lenders (and credit bureaus) evaluate your risk as a borrower over time. A secured credit card could be a good option for those with a limited credit history or those seeking to rebuild their credit history, like the Discover It^® Secured Credit Card.

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Ultimately, improving the status of your credit report and credit score takes time. If you’ve only had credit for a short while, you may have to wait it out. As time passes and you build a longer credit history with a broader mix of credit types, “too few accounts paid as agreed” may eventually stop surfacing as a reason why your credit score is not higher.

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