The news: Experian has launched a high-yield digital savings account as part of its Smart Money product. The account offers up to a 4.00% annual yield and has no minimum deposit or requirement for direct deposit.

How it works: Experian’s savings account is now one of two neobank deposit products tied to the company’s credit monitoring service, and, in keeping with the traditional neobank model, is more about selling credit products and collecting data than it is about banking. Experian’s banking app resembles Credit Karma’s: Both feature integrated credit score reporting, credit card shopping, loan prequalification, and insurance quotes.

The catch is that users of the banking products first need to sign up for an Experian membership. Based on the data they create by using the banking products, customers can improve their credit scores by integrating its cash flow-based credit scoring tool.

Zoom out: While Experian Smart Money has the neobank archetype—offering a checking account, debit card, and subscription features such as extra-high-yield savings, all under a financial inclusion banner—it doesn’t need to rely on interchange or skimming interest paid on accounts held by a partner bank. Instead, it can use the account to attract consumers to its fee-based credit monitoring services, earn commissions from distributing credit products, and expand the nontraditional credit data it collects—strenghtening the universe of consumer data that it packages and resells.

Implications for banks: Experian Smart Money should remind banks that they hold rich data on customers’ money habits. Instead of selling the data, they should use it to target products and services more effectively. Combining internal data with traditional credit bureau data creates a picture of their customers that only they have.