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What is SYNCB/ONDC on my credit report?
SYNCB/ONDC stands for Synchrony Bank/Old Navy Discover Card.
The Old Navy brand is owned by clothing retailer Gap, Inc., which has partnered with the financial company Synchrony Bank to issue credit cards since 1999. 1
Synchrony Bank has issued two credit cards under the Old Navy brand name:
- Old Navy store card
- Old Navy Visa card
As the name suggests, if SYNCB/ONDC is on your credit report, it suggests that you either recently applied for one of Old Navy’s cards or you already have one.
SYNCB/ONDC is associated with old credit cards
SYNCB/ONDC is actually an outdated acronym, and if you see it on your credit report, it’s probably associated with a fairly old credit account. That’s because Gap, Inc. switched their credit cards from the Discover credit network to Visa in 2007. (The D in “ONDC” stands for “Discover,” which is why this acronym is now out of date.) 2
Current accounts are likely to appear under either of the following names:
- SYNCB Old Navy
- Old Navy Visa/SYNCB
Other obsolete names for SYNCB/ONDC
In the past, Old Navy cards may also have appeared on your credit report as GECRB/ONDC. The “GECRB” stands for General Electric Capital Retail Bank, one of Synchrony Bank’s earlier names before it separated from GE in 2015. 3
If you see SYNCB/ONDC or GECRB/ONDC on your credit report, it probably has something to do with an old credit account from before these changes occurred.
Future changes to the Old Navy’s credit cards
Confusingly, in addition to the changes Old Navy has made to their cards in the past, they also plan to switch to a new card issuer in the future. This will also affect how their credit checks appear on your credit report.
Starting in May 2022, Barclays Bank will take over the credit card portfolios of Gap, Inc. and its affiliated brands. Gap’s credit cards will also transition to the Mastercard network. 4
If you have a card from a Gap-affiliated brand like Old Navy, you may soon see Barclays Bank on your credit report instead of SYNCB.
Synchrony Bank’s other affiliates
As the nation’s largest issuer of private-label credit cards, Synchrony Bank partners with dozens of businesses. If SYNCB appears on your credit report and you’ve never applied for an Old Navy card, you likely have an account with one of Synchrony Bank’s many other affiliates.
Is SYNCB/ONDC a scam?
No, SYNCB/ONDC isn’t a scam. Synchrony Bank and Old Navy are legitimate organizations. If they’re 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/ONDC 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/ONDC might be on your credit report in more detail in the next section.
Why is SYNCB/ONDC on my credit report?
SYNCB/ONDC can appear on your credit report for a number of reasons, some negative and some harmless. It’s possible for it to show up even if you don’t have a Old Navy credit account.
Here are some reasons why SYNCB/ONDC might be on your credit report:
1. Synchrony Bank checked your credit
You’ll see SYNCB/ONDC on your credit report if Synchrony Bank ran a credit check to determine whether or not to extend credit to you. This type of credit check can appear as a hard inquiry or a soft inquiry.
- Hard inquiries: These generally appear on your credit report when you apply for new credit, such as credit cards, store cards, or installment loans. For example, if you applied for a Old Navy credit card, Synchrony Bank probably triggered a hard inquiry when reviewing your application.
- Soft inquiries: These show up on your credit report when someone checks your credit but you’re not actually in search of new credit. 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 usually lower your credit score by several points, but the effect won’t last more than a year, and the inquiry will fall off your credit report entirely after two years. 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 Old Navy credit account
SYNCB/ONDC will appear on your credit report if you currently have or previously had a Old Navy credit account. Even if you closed your account, SYNCB/ONDC can stay on your credit report for 7 years (if the account was delinquent due to missed payments) to 10 years (if the account was in good standing).
You might find your Old Navy 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 Old Navy credit account
SYNCB/ONDC can show up on your credit report if someone else added you as an authorized user to their own Old Navy 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 Old Navy credit account, their activities on the account could affect your credit score.
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 notice a 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/ONDC hard inquiry on your credit report but you’re sure you didn’t apply for a Old Navy credit account, it could be a sign of identity theft.
If you think that SYNCB/ONDC is on your credit report because someone’s trying to fraudulently open accounts in your name, take these steps:
- Contact the company that made the hard inquiry (which will be Synchrony Bank, unless they hired another company to perform the inquiry for them). 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.
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/ONDC affect my credit score?
There are several ways that SYNCB/ONDC can affect your credit score, depending on whether they triggered an inquiry or manage one of your accounts.
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.
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 SYNCB/ONDC 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 SYNCB/ONDC account will affect your credit score, familiarize yourself with the factors that make up your FICO score and VantageScore.
How to remove SYNCB/ONDC from my credit report
If you want to delete SYNCB/ONDC from your credit report, then try one of the following approaches.
1. Send a dispute letter
If you see an item listed under SYNCB/ONDC on your credit report that you suspect is a mistake, then you can dispute it by writing something known as a credit dispute letter.
You should send your letter to whoever you think the error originated with. You can send it to:
- Synchrony Bank: Send your letter directly to them if you believe they made the original mistake (e.g., they reported a credit check to the bureaus that you never actually authorized).
- The credit bureaus: Write to the credit bureaus if you believe the error originated witih them (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 your card issuer (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 credit dispute, the credit bureau will be required to investigate and correct any inaccurate information on your report, usually within 30–45 days.
2. Use a credit repair company
A credit repair company will act as a middleman between yourself and your card issuer (and the credit bureaus). They might be able to get a hard inquiry or another SYNCB/ONDC item off your credit report by helping you gather evidence and handling all the required communication.
However, be wary of scammers. There are restrictions on the cost of credit repair—by law, credit repair companies are not allowed to charge you before they’ve helped you. 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/ONDC off your credit report.
