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Nine in the Smarter Loans network, and every one of the nine considers a score under 560: six because they consider poor credit as a matter of course, three because they set no minimum score at all. That is nine of the thirteen personal lenders that serve the province on the personal loans in Alberta page, and nine of the twelve in the network that lend below 560 nationally on the bad credit loans in Canada page. Amounts run from $15 advances to $35,000 instalment loans, rates from 0% on the smallest advances up to the 35% federal cap, six of the nine pay out within 24 hours, and income minimums run from $1,000 to $2,000 a month from any regular source.
Your bank deposits. The lenders listed read three months of statements through your online banking login before they read the score: regular income arriving on a predictable day, and an account without returned payments, is what they are looking for. The label you give your income decides which lenders see the application at all, so know whether you are full-time, self-employed, on disability or on benefits and say so. Some lenders use a soft inquiry that does not affect your score and decide on the statements alone.
A rate toward the top of a lender's range, which for a poor score often means between 32% and 35%. Alberta's high-cost credit regulation treats any credit at 32% APR or more as high-cost credit, and every lender offering it in the province must hold an Alberta high-cost credit licence and give you the total cost of borrowing in dollars, the annual rate and every fee before you sign. That licence is a protection, not a warning, and it is worth asking any lender quoting above 32% for its number. On $5,000 over 36 months, the difference between 20% and 35% is roughly $1,450 in interest, which is why a loan repaid cleanly for a year and then refinanced at a rate that reflects the new score is the route out.
Reviewed by Rafael Rositsan, Co-Founder and CEO, Smarter Loans. Last reviewed 22 September 2026. Lender figures are the lenders' published terms as checked August 2026; the cost example is illustrative.
Yes. Nine lenders in the Smarter Loans network lend below 560 in Alberta, three of them with no minimum score at all, from $15 to $35,000. The decision is made on your bank deposits more than your score, and six of the nine pay out within 24 hours.
Toward the top of a lender's range, often between 32% and 35% for a poor score. Above 32% the lender must hold an Alberta high-cost credit licence and disclose the total cost of borrowing before you sign.
At least $1,000 to $2,000 a month depending on the lender, from any regular source that arrives on a fixed date. Regularity matters more than the amount.
Some lenders listed use a soft inquiry that does not affect your score and decide on your bank statements. Apply once through our application rather than to several lenders separately, because a burst of hard inquiries in one week counts against you.
Twelve clean months on a loan that reports to the bureaus, revolving balances brought down, and no new credit in the months before you refinance. A loan taken at 35% and repaid on time is refinanced at a rate that reflects the new score.
