Questions, answered plainly

Not yet. Evolve Capital Credit is in a pre-launch stage. We're designing our products and working through the legal, regulatory and partner steps required before we can offer them.

Before applications open, we'll publish eligibility requirements, all costs and the provinces and territories we serve.

• Where we are today

People in Canada who are new to credit, new to the country or rebuilding after a setback, and anyone who wants a clear, structured way to build a credit history.

We think building credit should feel as considered as any premium financial service, without judgement about how you got here.

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 credit scores work in Canada

We're testing identity verification with Didit, a specialist provider. We haven't finalized agreements with a card issuer, payment network, credit bureau or payments provider.

We won't name those partners until agreements are signed and we're permitted to.

We plan to be headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The provinces and territories we'll serve at launch haven't been decided.

You provide a security deposit and your credit limit is based on it. You then use the card like any other credit card, receive a monthly statement and make payments.

Because your deposit secures the account, a secured card can be easier to qualify for than an unsecured card. If the account is closed with a balance owing, the deposit can be used to pay that balance.

• How a secured card deposit works

With secured cards in general, the deposit is returned when the account is closed in good standing or moved to an unsecured card, minus any amount you still owe.

Our own deposit-return terms, including timing, are still being finalized and will be published before launch.

It can, if the account is reported to the credit bureaus and you pay on time. On-time payments and low balances are two of the most important parts of a healthy credit history.

We'll only say our card reports to credit bureaus once those agreements are in place.

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada suggests trying to use less than 30% of your available credit. On a $500 limit, that means keeping your balance under $150.

Paying your full statement balance by the due date also helps you avoid interest on purchases.

• Credit utilization

That hasn't been decided. The card shown on this website is a concept design without a payment-network logo.

We'll show a network's name or logo only once an authorized card-issuing partner is in place.

Our eligibility and approval approach isn't final. Before applications open, we'll tell you clearly whether we check your credit, and if so what kind of check it is and how it may affect your credit file.

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.

• Try the illustration

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Our plan is to include credit monitoring at no extra cost for customers with an eligible active product. Exactly which products and account statuses qualify is still being decided.

No. According to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, checking your own credit report or score doesn't lower your credit score. Lenders' inquiries when you apply for credit are different and are recorded on your report.

• How credit scores work in Canada

We'll always show which credit bureau or data provider supplied your score, which scoring model it uses and when it was last updated. We haven't selected a provider yet.

We'll ask for your consent before accessing your credit information.

We expect to ask for information that confirms who you are, such as your legal name, date of birth, address and government-issued photo ID, plus banking details for payments. The final list depends on our identity-verification and payments partners.

We'll explain why we need each item and how we protect it.

Yes. You can already sign in with Google, and we plan to add an email-based option for people who don't use Google.

Signing in only gives you access to your account. It isn't an application, it doesn't verify your identity and it never gives us permission to check your credit.

It's a demonstration of the planned application steps using sample information. It doesn't create an application, nothing is sent to us and it has no effect on your credit.

• Preview the application

We're designing our systems to collect only what's needed and to keep sensitive information encrypted and access-controlled. Card numbers and security codes would be handled by a certified card processor, not stored in our systems.

During pre-launch we collect very little, and only with your consent. Our privacy page explains exactly what the website collects today.

• Privacy policy status