Announcing The Winner of Our Financial Literacy Scholarship (Spring 2022)
We are awarding $750 to a student every semester. All you have to do is show us how financial literacy has made a difference in your life.
A good credit score has many perks and tends to set you up for a better financial future as it gives you access to a wider range of credit products at more affordable rates. This is why credit health is such an important factor in the financial lives of all Canadians. If you’ve been struggling to build better credit or aren’t sure how to start your credit improvement journey, here are four popular credit building products in Canada.
Climb’s Accelerator Plan is a financial program that helps Canadians build their credit and save money. This program is particularly dedicated to helping Canadians who have recently completed a consumer proposal or are in the midst of completing one. However, anyone who wants to build credit and save money can apply. It is a responsible way to save money, build credit and get your financial situation back on track.
Building your credit after a consumer proposal is difficult as most banks and lenders are unwilling to provide you with new credit. To help you in this endeavour, Climb’s Accelerator Plan provides clients with a short term secured savings loans so that they have a chance to build their credit history. However, unlike a traditional loan, you do not receive the cash outright, rather it is held in a federally regulated bank account (that does not accumulate interest) while you make payments. Once you’ve paid off the loan, the money is released to you. The twist is, each payment you make gets reported to the credit bureaus which helps build your credit.
The Accelerator plan is simple and can be explained in 3 steps:
If you want to build your credit so you can be approved for better credit products, the Spring Savings Loan can help you. It helps Canadians build credit so that they may get better credit product offers, lower interest rates, and a higher chance of approval for mortgages. Whether you have a thin credit file or a bad one, Spring Financial can help you establish a good credit score.
The loan you are approved for will be held in a secure trust account. In order to access the funds, you will make payments to Spring Financials, which are reported to the credit bureaus. Once you’ve paid off the “loan”, the money will be deposited into your bank account. By the end of the program, you would have built your credit score and have a decent amount of money saved. Moreover, if you complete 18 on-time payments with Spring Financial, you will be eligible for a $2,500 unsecured loan with an APR of 29.8% or less.
The Credit Builder Loan is designed to help Canadians* build their credit so that they can get approved for loans at better rates. It is a safe and easy way to ensure your credit score grows while saving money.
Like the other two credit builder products, the Credit Builder Loan involves holding your loan in secure trust. Similarly, you will make payments to Refresh Financial who will report the payment as an “installment loan” to the credit bureaus. This action will be key to building your credit score. Once the “loan” has been repaid, you will be able to use all the money saved for whatever you want.
*Not available in Saskatchewan or Quebec.
MyMarble Premium is a credit improvement tool that guides you through the process of managing your credit score efficiently with AI and Point Deduction Technology. Its software analyzes your credit report, uses your own data from your connected bank account and provides you with personalized recommendations to help you improve your bottom line.
In addition, MyMarble Premium includes Point Deduction Technology which allow you to use the points and budget simulators. These tools allow you to work towards a specific credit score, within your desired budget.
MyMarble Premium uses innovative software that analyzes your banking inform to determine how many credits score points you can gain or lose based on a particular action such as a payment on your car loan. This unique feature allows Canadians to track their credit-building progress on a point-by-point basis.
Moreover, MyMarble Premium allows you to track your progression and provides you with recommendations on how to get more points. MyMarble Premium’s Point Deduction Technology® can also help create a credit-improvement strategy based on your credit score goal. It will provide information on which debts to pay first and how you can gain more credit points. You can also simulate any action using the Points and Budget Simulators to determine how many points you can earn. If you’re looking for a product that does more than monitor your credit, MyMarble Premium is the way to go
Completing a consumer proposal the traditional way can take up to 5 years. Meaning, you won’t be able to build your credit for 5 years. Moreover, having a consumer proposal on your credit report makes it difficult to get approved for low-interest credit products. Often, you’ll be forced to choose payday loans and high-interest credit products to cover the cost of your needs, which increases your chance of falling back into debt. But, with Marble’s Fast Track consumer proposal exit loan, you can pay off your consumer proposal early and start building your credit right away.
The Marble’s Fast-Track consumer proposal exit loan works by meeting with your Licensed Insolvency Trustee (LIT) to pay off your consumer proposal debt right away, using the loan you receive from Marble. Once paid off, you will create a new affordable repayment plan with Marble to pay off your debt. However, unlike the payments you make to LIT for your consumer proposal, these payments will be reported to the credit bureaus so that you can build your credit score. The Fast-Track loan lets you start rebuilding your credit right away, instead of having to wait until you complete your proposal, which can take up to five years. Depending on your financial habits, by the time you finish paying off the Fast-Track loan, your credit score could be several hundred points higher.
MyMarble Premium | Climb | Refresh Financial | Spring Financial | Marble – Fast-Track | |
Reports payments to the credit bureaus | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Saves you money | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Charges interest | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Can track credit score increase | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Given that a credit score is an important financial tool in life, it is recommended that you put in effort into establishing a good credit score. It will provide the necessary relief you need in times of uncertainty. If you have a thin or bad credit score, either one of these credit products can help you achieve a better financial future.
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