Your credit report isn’t the easiest document to decipher, and long abbreviations of company names like SYNCB certainly don’t help. While it’s most likely on your credit report for normal reasons, it’s good to understand how it got there and how it might be impacting your credit.
Here’s why SYNCB is on your credit report and what it means for your credit.
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What is SYNCB on my credit report?
SYNCB stands for Synchrony Bank.
Synchrony Bank is a subsidiary of Synchrony Financial, a major financial services company that provides savings products and credit services for consumers and businesses.
Synchrony offers branded credit cards as well as their patented Dual Cards, which can be used as both retail credit cards and general-purpose credit cards on the Visa and MasterCard networks. These cards can also be issued for use on the Discover and American Express networks. 1
If you see SYNCB on your credit report, you probably have a line of credit with Synchrony Bank or one of their retail affiliates.
Synchrony Bank’s affiliates
Synchrony Bank is partnered with dozens of brands, and they’re the leading national supplier of private-label credit cards. 2 If SYNCB appears on your credit report but you don’t have an account with Synchrony Bank, then you may have applied for or opened an account with one of their retail affiliates.
Here are just a few companies that Synchrony Bank’s network issues credit cards for, along with the associated marks that will appear on your credit report: 3
- Abt Appliances & Electronics (Abt Synchrony)
- Amazon (SYNCB/Amazon PLCC)
- American Eagle Outfitters (SYNCB/AEVISA)
- Ashley Furniture
- Banana Republic (Banana Republic SYNCB)
- Belk (SYNCB/Belk)
- British Petroleum (BP/SYNCB)
- CareCredit LLC (SYNCB/Care Credit)
- Cathay Pacific
- CCA Global Partners (SYNCB/CCA)
- CITGO (CITGO/SYNCB)
- Dick’s Sporting Goods (SYNCB/DKS)
- eBay (Synchrony eBay)
- Gap, Inc. (SYNCB/GAP)
- Google (SYNCB/Google)
- JCPenney (SYNCB/JCP)
- Lowe’s (SYNCB/LOW)
- Lyft
- Mastercard (SYNCB/MC)
- Mega Group-USA Inc (SYNCB/MEGA Group USA Inc)
- Old Navy (SYNCB/ONDC)
- PayPal Credit (SYNCB/PPC)
- PayPal Smart Connect (SYNCB/SMRTCN)
- Qurate Retail Group (SYNCB/QVC)
- Sam’s Club (Samsclub/SYNCB)
- TJ Maxx (TJXREWARDS/SYNCB)
- Verizon
- Walmart (SYNCB/WALMART)
If you see items on your credit report labeled SYNCB, it means you likely have (or applied for) a line of credit or credit card with one of the companies listed above. The following are common credit cards issued by Synchrony Bank:
- Amazon Secured Card
- Amazon.com Store Card
- Banana Republic Store Card
- Belk Rewards Card
- Belk Rewards Mastercard®
- CareCredit Credit Card
- Chevron/Texaco Techron Advantage Card
- Lowe’s Advantage Credit Card
- PayPal Cashback Mastercard®
- Sam's Club® Credit Card
- Sam's Club® Mastercard®
Is SYNCB a scam?
No, SYNCB isn’t a scam—Synchrony Bank is a legitimate organization. If their name is on your credit report, it probably indicates that you have an account with them or they checked your credit.
If you’re certain that there’s activity on your credit report under SYNCB that shouldn’t be there, it’s possible you’ve been the victim of identity theft.
We’ll discuss the reasons (both legitimate and fraudulent) that SYNCB might be on your credit report in more detail in the next section.
Why is SYNCB on my credit report?
SYNCB can appear on your credit report for a number of reasons, some negative and some harmless. Here are the four most common reasons why SYNCB might appear on your credit report:
1. Synchrony Bank checked your credit
You’ll see SYNCB on your credit report if Synchrony Bank ran a credit check to determine whether or not to issue you a credit card. This type of check can appear as a hard inquiry or as a soft inquiry.
- Hard inquiries: These generally appear on your credit report when you apply for new credit, such as credit cards, store cards, rewards cards, or installment loans. For example, SYNCB will show up on your credit report if you actually applied for a card from Synchrony Bank.
- Soft inquiries: These show up on your credit report when someone checks your credit but you’re not actually looking to open a new account. For example, if you received an unsolicited offer letter in the mail for a credit card issued by Synchrony Bank, then they may have triggered a soft inquiry during the prequalification process.
Thankfully, soft inquiries won’t affect your credit score. Hard inquiries will usually lower your credit score by a few points, but the effect won’t last more than a year, and the inquiry will fall off your credit report entirely after two years. 4 Note that you usually can’t remove a hard inquiry early unless the bureau added it to your report by mistake.
2. You have a Synchrony Bank credit account
SYNCB will appear on your credit report if you currently have or previously had a Synchrony Bank credit account. Even if you closed your account, SYNCB can stay on your credit report for 7 years (if the account was delinquent due to missed payments) or 10 years (if the account was in good standing). 5
You might find your Synchrony Bank credit account marked as closed even if you never took any active steps to close it. This can happen due to account inactivity—it’s common for lenders to close credit accounts if they haven’t been used for a while.
3. You’re an authorized user on someone else’s Synchrony Bank credit account
SYNCB can show up on your credit report if someone else added you as an authorized user to their own Synchrony Bank credit account.
You might have been named as an authorized user by your:
- Spouse
- Child
- Parent
- Friend
- Business partner
If someone designated you as an authorized user on their Synchrony Bank credit account, their activities on the account could affect your credit score. 6
If the primary cardholder is a responsible person and a reliable borrower, being an authorized user on their account will probably improve your credit score by helping you build a positive payment history. On the other hand, you might see a small drop in your credit score if the primary cardholder neglects their payments or cancels their account with unpaid debt.
Similarly, your use of someone else’s credit will affect their credit score, so take care when acting as an authorized user.
4. You’re a victim of identity theft
If you see a SYNCB hard inquiry on your credit report but you’re sure you didn’t apply for a Synchrony Bank credit account, it could be a sign of identity theft.
If you suspect that someone’s trying to fraudulently open accounts in your name, take these steps:
- Contact the company that made the hard inquiry (Synchrony Bank). Tell them you didn’t authorize the inquiry. Ask them for details (i.e., when and under what circumstances their records show the inquiry was authorized).
- Report the identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Go to www.identitytheft.gov and answer the questions to generate an identity theft report and recovery plan.
- Contact any of the three main credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion) and have a fraud alert placed on your credit report. You only need to contact one of the bureaus; they’ll coordinate with the others, and your fraud alert will be acknowledged by all three. 7
You may also want to freeze your credit (or get a credit lock, which is very similar).
Carefully monitor your credit reports over the next few months for further signs of fraudulent activity.
How does SYNCB affect my credit score?
There are several ways that SYNCB can affect your credit score, depending on whether it’s been reported as an inquiry or an account.
Hard inquiries
As mentioned, a single hard inquiry will have a small, short-term effect on your credit, usually lowering your FICO score by up to five points and your VantageScore credit score by 5–10 points. 8 9
This effect is usually cumulative, so too many hard inquiries can really hurt your score. However, a single inquiry isn’t something to worry about—your credit score ranges from 300 to 850, which means 5 points in either direction isn’t significant.
Open and closed accounts
If you have an open or closed Synchrony Bank account on your credit report, then it’s contributing to your credit score by influencing the following factors:
If the account is open, then it’s also contributing to your credit utilization rate (also known as your debt-to-credit ratio).
To learn how your Synchrony Bank account will affect your credit score, familiarize yourself with the factors that make up your FICO score and VantageScore.
How to remove SYNCB from my credit report
If you want to delete SYNCB from your credit report, then try one of the following approaches.
1. Send a dispute letter
If you see an item listed under SYNCB on your credit report that you suspect is a mistake, then you can dispute it by sending a dispute letter to Synchrony Bank and/or the credit bureaus.
Send your letter to Synchrony Bank if you believe the error originated with them (e.g., they reported a late payment when you actually paid on time). Send it to the credit bureaus if you believe they made the mistake (e.g., they confused you with someone with a similar name or Social Security number).
Either way, it’s usually a good idea to send copies of the letter to both parties (the bureaus and Synchrony Bank). They may contact each other as they investigate the matter, and it’s important to make sure everybody has received the relevant information.
Once you’ve filed your dispute, the credit bureau will be required to investigate and correct any inaccurate information on your report, usually within 30–45 days. 10
2. Use a credit repair company
A credit repair company will act as a middleman between yourself and your creditors (and the credit bureaus). They might be able to get a hard inquiry or other SYNCB item off your credit report by helping you gather evidence and handling all the required communication.
However, be wary of scammers. By law, credit repair companies are not allowed to charge you before they’ve helped you. 11 If they ask for payment upfront, hire a different company.
Although hiring a credit repair company can save you some time and hassle in disputing items on your credit report, bear in mind that they can’t do anything for you that you can’t do yourself.
They also won’t necessarily be able to erase valid negative information or turn a bad credit score into a good credit score overnight. Think carefully before hiring a third-party company to get SYNCB off your credit report.
