How does a soft credit inquiry affect my customer's credit?

What is a soft credit inquiry and does a soft credit inquiry affect your customer's credit score?

A soft credit inquiry does not affect your customer's credit score.  Soft inquiries are promotional inquiries used when a lender wishes to extend an offer of credit.  

Soft credit inquiries are only visible to the consumer when accessing their own credit report.  Lenders will not be able to see soft inquiries on a consumer credit report and soft inquiries are never used as factors in credit scores. 

When you receive a MonitorBase database monitoring alert or when a consumer is using your SoftPull technology we are accessing the consumer's credit as a soft credit inquiry on behalf of your lending institution.