Get a free, no obligation personal loan quote with rates as low as 9.99%
Get Started You can apply with no impact to your credit score

Knowing what your credit scores are will give you valuable insight into your creditworthiness. In fact, your credit scores can play a key role in your ability to get a loan, mortgage, or credit card. It might even be a factor in your ability to secure a cell phone contract or lease an apartment.

Luckily, checking your credit scores is incredibly easy, and banks are making the process even easier with their online and mobile options.

Key Points

  • Knowing what your credit score currently is will give you an indication of where you stand when you apply for credit products.
  • You can check your credit score for free with Canada’s Big Five banks, as well as with the credit bureaus and some online third-party services.
  • Checking your credit score will have no impact on your score, as it’s considered a soft inquiry.

Which Banks Can Your Check Your Credit Scores?

Yes, you can check your credit score through your bank, usually for free and without impacting your credit score. 

PlatformCostImpact to Score
CIBCCIBC Free Credit Score Service via TransUnion Credit View (via CIBC Mobile Banking App)FreeNone
RBCTransUnion CreditView Dashboard (via RBC online banking)FreeNone
BMOTransUnion CreditView Dashboard (via BMO online banking or mobile app)FreeNone
ScotiabankTransUnion Credit Score (via Scotiabank online banking or mobile app)FreeNone
TD BankEquifax credit score (third-party app: Interac® verification service) FreeNone

Can You Check Your Credit Scores Through RBC?

RBC offers clients access to their Transunion credit score for free through the TransUnion CreditView Dashboard. You can access your credit score through this dashboard through your RBC app or online banking.

How To Check Your RBC Credit Score

  1. Log in to your online banking account.
  2. Choose “View Your Credit Score” in the My Services box on the right-hand side near the bottom.
  3. Choose “Continue” after reviewing the legal disclaimer.
  4. Choose “I Accept & Continue”.

RBC CreditView Dashboard: Extra Features

The RBC TransUnion CreditView Dashboard also comes with a Credit Score Simulator Tool which allows you to test how certain credit actions may impact your score.

Can You Check Your Credit Scores Through TD Bank?

TD does not offer users access to their credit scores through the TD app. However, while you cannot check your credit scores via the TD app, TD has partnered with a third-party service to provide their customers with access to their Equifax credit score for free. 

How To Check Your TD Credit Score

To start, you will need to download the app Interac verification service offered by Interac Corp. You’ll also need to register and authenticate yourself using your TD online banking credentials. 

Once you’re registered with Interac verification, you can check your credit score in the following steps:

  1. Open the Interac verification service app and log in to your online banking.
  2. Swipe left and select “Where Can I Use It?”.
  3. Choose “Get your updated credit score range”. 
  4. The app will connect to Equifax, where you can view your credit score range.

Can You Check Your Credit Scores With CIBC?

Thanks to its partnership with TransUnion, CIBC provides clients with free access to their credit scores. You can check your credit score using the CreditView platform, either online or via the mobile banking app.

How To Check Your CIBC Credit Score

Whether you’re checking your credit score with CreditView via mobile or online banking, follow these steps:

  1. Select “Check Credit Score” from the menu.
  2. Agree to the terms and conditions.

CIBC CreditView Dashboard: Extra Features

The CIBC CreditView platform not only allows you to check your credit score for free, but it also offers other handy tools, including the following:

  • Monthly Credit Report — Keep tabs on how your credit score is doing and how it compares to other Canadians.
  • Interactive Score Simulator — Find out how your financial decisions might affect your credit score.
  • Alerts — Get notified when something changes on your credit report to avoid identity theft or fraud.

Can You Check Your Credit Score With Scotiabank?

As a Scotiabank customer, you can check your credit score for free whenever you want with no impact on your score. Scotiabank has partnered with TransUnion to provide access to the credit bureau’s Credit Score tool.

How To Check Your Credit Score With Scotiabank

To check your TransUnion credit score as a Scotiabank client, you’ll need to log in to online or mobile banking. Once logged in, follow the prompts to take you to the TransUnion Credit Score tool.

Scotiabank Credit Score Dashboard: Extra Features

With the TransUnion Credit Score tool, you can:

  • Keep tabs on your monthly credit history
  • See your personal credit report
  • Get advice on building healthy credit 

Can You Check Your Credit Score With BMO?

BMO has also partnered with TransUnion to provide BMO customers with a free and easy way to check their credit scores through CreditView®. Users can use this tool to access their credit score and other cool perks like a ScoreSimulator. Checking your credit score with BMO’s CreditView® will have no impact on your credit. 

How To Check Your Credit Score With BMO

To check your credit score as a BMO client, take the following steps:

  1. Log into your BMO Online Banking account or BMO Mobile Banking App.
  2. Open the Bank Services icon.
  3. Choose “My Credit Score” under the general section. 
  4. Agree to the Terms and Conditions.
  5. Scroll down to the Score Simulator.

BMO CreditView Dashboard: Extra Features

With CreditView, you can: 

  • Access your credit report, which is updated once a month.
  • Find out how your financial decisions may impact your credit score with the ScoreSimulator.
  • Learn how to build a good credit history.

Does Checking Your Credit Scores With Your Bank Affect Your Credit?

Some people fear that checking their credit scores will negatively impact their credit score. But this is not true. Checking your own credit report or credit scores does not affect your credit, as it’s considered a soft inquiry. 

Soft Inquiries

When consumers check their own credit report or credit scores, this is referred to as a soft inquiry, which does not have any effect on credit scores. Other examples of a soft inquiry include when companies send promotional credit card offers or when your current creditors review your existing lending accounts. 

Hard Inquiries

While a soft inquiry does not affect your credit scores, a hard inquiry can. These occur when a lender requests a copy of your credit report after you apply for a loan product. The lender will want to review your credit history in order to determine your creditworthiness before agreeing to approve your loan application. Hard inquiries can temporarily pull your credit score down.

Why Does My Credit Score Differ With Different Banks? 

In Canada, everyone has multiple credit scores for a few reasons:

Some Lenders Don’t Report To Both Bureaus

In Canada, there are two major credit bureaus: TransUnion and Equifax. However, not every lender necessarily reports their information about borrowers to both of these entities. Some may report to one or the other, while others may not report at all. Because of this, your credit score with one credit bureau may differ slightly from your score with the other.

Different Credit Scoring Models

There are different ways to calculate credit scores. Common factors that affect credit scores include:

  • Payment history
  • Credit history
  • Debt to credit ratio
  • Credit inquiry
  • Public records 

Different credit scoring models may place a slightly different amount of weight on each factor. As such, the credit score calculator may result in a slightly different credit score. 

Variations In The Type Of Data Included

While there are basic fundamental factors that are considered when calculating a credit score, some credit score models may include other variables, such as mobile phone payment data or mortgage information, while others won’t.

Where Else Can You Check Your Credit Scores In Canada?

In addition to accessing your credit scores through your financial institution’s banking platforms, there are other ways to check your credit scores for free:

How To Check Your Credit Scores With CompareHub?

With Loans Canada’s CompareHub tool, you can find the best lender in Canada, comparison shop for the lowest rates, and get your free credit score.

How To Check Your Credit Scores With Mogo?

In addition to its personal loans, mortgages, prepaid Visa credit card, and identity fraud protection products, Mogo also offers its clients a way to view their credit scores through their partnership with Equifax. You can keep tabs on your Mogo credit score with free monthly monitoring with Mogo for 90 days. And with a Mogo Visa Platinum Prepaid Card, you can continue monitoring your score on an ongoing basis. 

How To Check Your Credit Scores With Borrowell?

As a member of Borrowell, you can access your credit score for free, plus receive personalized tips, financial tools, and personalized financial product recommendations with bank-level security.

How To Check Your Credit Scores With Credit Karma?

By signing up with Credit Karma, you’ll benefit from access to your credit scores and report for free, as well as complimentary credit monitoring and educational articles to help keep your financial health in check.

 CostCredit ScoreCredit Report 
CompareHub logoFreeYesYesVisit Site
Borrowell logoFreeYesYesVisit Site
CreditKarma logoFreeYesYes-

Why Should You Check Your Credit Scores?

There are several benefits to pulling your credit report and checking your credit scores every so often.

Get Insight Into Your Current Credit Health

If you don’t know what your credit scores are, you won’t have a clear understanding of how strong your credit profile is when you apply for loans or credit products. Your credit history is part of your financial profile. So, by reviewing your credit report, you’ll be better able to understand your current credit situation and your ability to get approved for credit products.

Know What Lenders See

When you apply for a loan, the lender will likely pull a copy of your credit report to assess your creditworthiness and determine the type of borrower you would be. 

Low credit scores might mean you’d be a high-risk borrower, in which case the lender may not be willing to approve you for a loan. But high credit scores usually mean you’ve been responsible with your loan payments, and as such, the lender may be more open to approving you for a loan. Ultimately, lenders use credit scores to make lending decisions, so it helps you to know what they’re seeing.

Just keep in mind that you have multiple credit scores, and the one that lenders and creditors check may be different from the one you will see.  

Spot Discrepancies

It’s possible for there to be errors on your credit report that may be negatively affecting your credit scores. But you won’t know if there are any mistakes if you don’t check your credit report once in a while. If you do notice any errors, be sure to have them investigated and removed right away.

Ward Off Identity Theft

A great way to protect yourself from identity theft is to check up on your credit report. This will give you the chance to see if any information on your credit report may be the result of fraud. If so, you should get in touch with the company associated with the account and the credit bureaus to tell them that there may be fraudulent activity occurring. 

Difference Between Credit Scores And A Credit Report 

While many people may use the words credit scores and credit reports interchangeably, they are in fact two separate elements. 

Credit Report 

Your credit report provides an overview of all your credit accounts over a certain period of time. Your credit report is created after you build some activity when you apply for your first loan or credit product. 

Lenders look at your credit report when you apply for a loan or any other credit product. They also send information about your credit and loan accounts to the credit bureaus, who then update your report accordingly.

Credit Score

A credit score is a number that is calculated using a credit scoring model based on the information contained within your credit report. Each service that provides credit scores has a different credit scoring model, which may lead to you having multiple credit scores. 

Lenders use your credit scores to determine your likelihood of paying a bill on time. Generally, the higher your credit scores, the more trustworthy and creditworthy you’ll seem.

Using your credit responsibly by paying your bills on time, and keeping your debt-to-credit ratio low are ways that can help improve your credit. 

Final Thoughts

Maintaining a strong financial profile is important, and your credit scores play a key role. Given this, it makes sense to check on your scores regularly. Luckily, there are several ways to review your credit reports and scores, whether through your bank’s online platform or through one of many free digital services.

Bank Credit Score Check FAQs

Why do I have more than one credit score?

Different lenders may not report to the same credit bureaus. Calculations may also differ, which is why you may find your credit score differs from one provider to another.

Will my credit score fall if I check it? 

No, your credit scores will not be affected if you check your own credit score. 

What is a “hard” versus a “soft” credit check?

A hard credit check occurs when a lender reviews your credit report when you apply for a loan product. This may temporarily pull down your credit score. On the other hand, a soft credit check is one in which you check your own credit, which will not have any impact on your credit scores.
Lisa Rennie avatar on Loans Canada
Lisa Rennie

Lisa has been working as a personal finance writer for more than a decade, creating unique content that helps to educate Canadian consumers in the realms of real estate, mortgages, investing and financial health. For years, she held her real estate license in Toronto, Ontario before giving it up to pursue writing within this realm and related niches. Lisa is very serious about smart money management and helping others do the same.

More From This Author

Special Offers

More From Our Experts

https://loanscanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/the-5-cs.png
The 5 C’s of Credit

By Lisa Rennie
Published on November 26, 2024

Do you know what the 5 c's of credit are? Keep reading to learn how your financial historya and habits affect all aspects of your credit health.

https://loanscanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Pay-Credit-Card-Bill-To-Increase-Credit-Score.png
When Should You Pay Your Credit Card Bill To Increase Your Credit Score?

By Sandra MacGregor

Find out how paying your credit card bills helps your credit score and how your statement date can affect the best time to pay it off.

https://loanscanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/gambling-debt.png
Can Gambling Hurt Your Credit Score?

By Lisa Rennie

Does gambling affect credit score in Canada? Learn how debt from gambling can affect your finances and credit.

https://loanscanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/how-old-do-you-have-to-be-to-get-a-credit-card-in-canada.png
How Old Do You Have To Be To Get A Credit Card In Canada?

By Jun Ho

How old do you have to be to get a credit card in Canada? Find out which credit cards you may qualify for and what the age requirements are.

https://loanscanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Tim-Hortons-Credit-Card.png
Tims® Mastercard Review 2024

By Lucas Elliott

Explore our review of the Tim Credit Card: perfect for Tims enthusiasts, offering rewarding points on everyday purchases, with no annual fee.

https://loanscanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Identity-Protect.png
Identity Protect: A Review

By Lisa Rennie

Check out Identity Protect for a comprehensive suite of features to help protect you against identity theft.

https://loanscanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/How-To-Calculate-Credit-Card-Interest.png
How To Calculate Credit Card Interest

By Sandra MacGregor

Ever wonder how much interest is being charged on your credit card? How exactly does it work and how much are you really paying?

https://loanscanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Credit-Building-programs.png
Best Programs To Help You Build Credit In Canada

By Lisa Rennie

Are you looking to improve your credit but aren't sure where to start? Loans Canada can help you find the right credit improvement service for your ne...

Recognized As One Of Canada's Top Growing Companies

Why choose Loans Canada?

Apply Once &
Get Multiple Offers
Save Time
And Money
Get Your Free
Credit Score
Free
Service
Expert Tips
And Advice
Exclusive
Offers

Build Credit For Just $10/Month

With KOHO's prepaid card you can build a better credit score for just $10/month.

Koho Prepaid Credit Card