One application. 11 lenders from our 50+ network. Funded in 24 to 48 hours.
11 lenders in our network report to the credit bureaus. Borrow $100 to $35,000 at 9.99 to 34.99% APR, with funding as fast as 24 hours. Every lender is subject to the 35% federal rate cap. Most lenders ask for $1,500 monthly income. Rates reviewed August 2026.
Apply NowOne application routed to where you qualify.
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Every Apply button starts the same single application. Your chosen lender is prioritized first.
Show only lenders I qualify for
Four questions about you, and it filters this list instantly.
Answer the last question to see your matches.
Checked against published lender criteria. Not a credit check, and nothing here affects your credit score.
A credit building loan exists to create payment history. Some hold the funds in a secured account and release them at the end. Others are ordinary small instalment loans that report to the bureaus. Both work for the same reason: payment history is the largest single component of a Canadian credit score.
What none of them do is remove existing negative history. A credit builder adds positive data alongside it. Time and consistency do the rest.
The evidence that it works at scale
Across our platform, the below-560 share of verified applications fell from 42.0% to 37.4% year over year.
What moving up a band is worth
Credit standing prices the amount more than the rate, because the federal cap compresses the rate spread.
Verified credit band
Instalment average
Below 560
$5,282
560 to 659
$6,147
660 to 724
$8,262
Source: Smarter Loans Lending Demand Index, First Half 2026. Verified August 2026.
Moving from below 560 to the 560 to 659 band is worth roughly $6,147 against $5,282 in typical request size. Moving again to 660 to 724 is a much larger step.
What actually moves a score
In rough order of effect:
Payment history. Every payment on time, on every account. One missed payment undoes months
Utilisation. Balances against limits, on revolving accounts. Under 30% is the usual guidance. Paying a card to zero moves this immediately, faster than any loan does
Credit mix. Having both revolving and instalment credit. This is where a credit builder helps a card-only file
Age of accounts. Time. Closing an old card shortens your average history and can hurt
Inquiries. Each hard inquiry is a small temporary drag
What to check before signing
Does it report to both bureaus? Equifax and TransUnion do not share data. A loan reporting to only one builds only one file
What does it cost in total? A credit builder that costs $400 in fees and interest to build history is worth comparing against a secured credit card that costs an annual fee
Is the payment affordable for the full term? A missed payment on a credit builder is worse than never having taken it
Common questions
How long does it take to improve a credit score?
Utilisation changes can show within one reporting cycle. Payment history takes months, and meaningful movement usually takes six to twelve.
Is a credit builder better than a secured credit card?
They build different things. A secured card builds revolving history and directly affects utilisation. A credit builder adds instalment history. A file missing one benefits more from that one.
Will checking my own score hurt it?
No. Checking your own report is a soft inquiry and has no effect.
Do I need good credit to get a credit building loan?
No. That is the point of the product. 11 of 16 lenders in our network approve below 560.
