Credit builder loans
Secured card vs credit builder loan: which fits you?
A side-by-side look at how secured credit cards and credit builder loans work, what each asks of your cash flow and which habits each one builds.
Credit Builder Loan · In development
A Credit Builder Loan that builds toward your own funds
Make regular payments over a set term. Part of each payment covers the program’s cost and the rest builds up as funds attributable to you, received at the end of the term. It’s designed to help you build a history of on-time payments.
Not available yet. The Credit Builder Loan is in development. Payment amounts, terms, costs, the lender, how funds are held and the provinces we’ll serve are all still to be confirmed. Nothing on this page is an offer of credit or a quote.
How it works
How a Credit Builder Loan would work
It’s the reverse of a traditional loan: instead of receiving money first and paying it back, you make the payments first and receive the funds at the end.
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Choose a payment plan
Pick a payment amount and schedule that fits your budget. Available amounts, frequencies and terms are to be confirmed.
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Make regular payments
Pay on schedule, ideally with automatic payments, so a busy month never turns into a missed payment.
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Watch your funds build
Each payment is split: part covers the program’s cost, and the rest builds up as funds attributable to you.
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Receive your funds
At the end of the term you receive your accumulated funds, under the final terms.
Payment history is designed to be reported to credit bureaus once agreements are in place.
Illustration calculator
See what you’d pay and what would build toward your funds
Adjust the payment, schedule, term and cost scenario. Everything updates instantly and stays on your device.
Adjust the illustration
Whole dollars from $25 to $500. Real payment options are to be confirmed.
Enter a whole-dollar amount between $25 and $500.
Your illustration
Not a quote · Not an APRAttributable to your funds at the end of the term
$2,100.00
24 monthly payments over 24 months
- Total of your payments
- $2,400.00
- Illustrative program costs
- $300.00
Each $100.00 payment: $87.50 to your funds, $12.50 to program costs
Assumptions behind this illustration
- This is an illustration, not a quote or an offer. Evolve Capital Credit products are not available yet.
- Each payment is split into a program cost and an amount attributable to your funds using the cost share shown. That split is not an interest rate or an annual percentage rate (APR).
- It assumes every payment is made in full and on time, with no missed, reversed or returned payments.
- It assumes no early cancellation or withdrawal and no other fees or charges.
- Each payment is rounded to the cent; totals are the sum of those rounded amounts.
- Payment dates are estimates. Final terms, costs, the APR and how funds are held will be disclosed before anyone can apply.
Why isn’t this an APR?
An annual percentage rate (APR) expresses the yearly cost of credit as a percentage, calculated in a specific way that accounts for the timing of payments. The illustration above only divides each payment between program costs and your funds; it doesn’t calculate an APR, and the cost share shouldn’t be read as an interest rate. When the product is finalized, you’ll see the APR and total cost in a disclosure statement before you can apply, as required by applicable law.
Changing your plans
If you need to stop early
Life changes. We’re designing a clear way to request early cancellation or withdrawal, with the conditions, timing and any costs disclosed before you apply.
- Funds are never shown as available before the terms allow it.
- Every request shows exactly where it stands, from the moment you ask until the money arrives.
- If you’re struggling to make payments, talk to us early. Our hardship approach will be published before launch.
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Requested
You asked. Nothing has moved yet.
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Approved
We’ve confirmed it meets the terms.
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Processing
Funds are on their way through our partners.
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Settled
Complete, with the date and amount shown.
Failed If something goes wrong at any stage, we’ll tell you what happened and what to do next. A request is never shown as complete before it actually is.
Who it’s for
A steady way to build
A Credit Builder Loan may suit you if one of these sounds familiar. Our eligibility criteria will be published before launch.
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No deposit to spare
You want to build credit without tying up a lump sum the way a secured card deposit does.
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You like a fixed plan
A set payment on a set schedule, with a clear end date, suits how you manage money.
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Building toward a goal
You’d like to end up with funds you can put toward something that matters to you.
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Starting over
You’re rebuilding after a setback and want instalment history alongside other credit.
Key facts: Evolve Capital Credit Builder Loan
Nothing below is final. We will publish every item before applications open.
- Availability
- To be confirmed Not available yet. Provinces and territories will be confirmed before launch.
- Lender and where funds are held
- To be confirmed Being finalized with legal advisers and partners.
- Payment amounts
- To be confirmed
- Payment frequency
- To be confirmed
- Term length
- To be confirmed
- Annual percentage rate (APR) and total cost
- To be confirmed Will be disclosed as required by law before you apply.
- Fees
- To be confirmed
- When you can access your funds
- To be confirmed
- Cancelling or withdrawing early
- To be confirmed
- If a payment is missed or returned
- To be confirmed
- Reporting to credit bureaus
- To be confirmed Depends on agreements with credit bureaus that are not yet in place.
Will your products improve my credit score?
We can't promise that, and no one honestly can. Your credit score depends on everything in your credit file, not just one account.
Making on-time payments on an account that's reported to the credit bureaus can help you build a positive history over time. Late or missed payments can hurt it.
How would the Credit Builder Loan work?
You'd make regular payments over a set term. Part of each payment covers the cost of the program, and the rest builds up as funds attributable to you, which you'd receive at the end of the term under the final terms.
It's designed for building a history of on-time payments while you build toward your own funds.
Do I receive money up front?
No. Unlike a traditional personal loan, you wouldn't receive the funds at the start. You build them up through your payments and receive them at the end of the term, which is the main difference from borrowing money to spend.
What will the Credit Builder Loan cost?
Costs aren't final. Our illustration shows how a share of each payment might go to program costs, but it isn't a quote, and that share isn't an interest rate or an annual percentage rate (APR).
Before you could apply, we'd show you the APR and the total cost in a disclosure statement, as required by applicable law.
Could I stop early or withdraw my funds?
We're designing a clear way to request early cancellation or withdrawal. The conditions, timing and any costs will be disclosed before you apply.
In your account, each request would show its status (requested, approved, processing, settled or failed), so you always know where it stands.
What happens if I miss a payment?
A missed or returned payment can affect your credit history if the account is reported, and it may have costs. Our policies, including support if you're going through a hard time, will be published before launch.
If you think you might miss a payment, contacting your lender early usually gives you more options.
Where would my funds be held?
This is being finalized with legal advisers and financial partners. We won't describe how funds are held or protected until those arrangements are confirmed.
Guides
Keep learning
Credit scores & reports
How credit scores work in Canada
What a Canadian credit score is, who calculates it, what the 300 to 900 range means and the everyday habits that shape it, in plain language.
Starting & rebuilding
Building credit when you're new to Canada
Your credit history usually doesn't follow you to Canada. A practical, step-by-step plan for newcomers to start and grow a Canadian credit file.
Prefer a card for everyday purchases?
A secured credit card builds history through spending you pay off each month. See how it works, or preview the application.
Important information
Draft, awaiting legal review. The Credit Builder Loan is a product in development and is not available. Its legal structure, the lender, how customer-attributable funds are held, costs, the annual percentage rate (APR), fees, and early-exit and missed-payment terms have not been finalized and will be disclosed before you can apply. The calculator on this page is an illustration based on assumptions you choose; it is not a quote, an offer or a cost-of-borrowing disclosure.