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.
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Plain-language guides to Canadian credit
How credit scores work, what secured cards and credit builder loans do, and how to build or rebuild your credit history in Canada, without jargon or judgement.
How we write these guides. Each guide cites its sources, starting with the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, and shows when it was last updated. Guides are reviewed by a qualified professional before they’re published; until then they’re marked as drafts. They’re general information, not financial advice.
Credit scores & reports
How scores are calculated, what’s on your report and how to read it.
Credit scores & reports
Credit utilization, explained
What credit utilization is, how to calculate it, why FCAC suggests staying under 30% and practical ways to keep your balance low on a small limit.
Secured credit cards
Deposits, limits and using a secured card to build history.
Secured credit cards
How a secured credit card deposit works
What a secured card deposit is, how it sets your credit limit, when you get it back and the questions to ask any card issuer before you apply.
Credit builder loans
How instalment-based credit building works and how it compares.
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.
Starting & rebuilding
New to Canada, new to credit or starting over after a setback.
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.
Ready to put it into practice?
See how our planned products are designed around the habits these guides describe.
Have a question we haven’t covered?
Our FAQ answers common questions about our planned products, and we add new guides regularly.