Good credit scores have many perks and tend to set you up for a better financial future as they can give 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.
Best Credit Building Services In Canada
| Reports to a credit bureau | Saves you money | Charges interest | Tracks credit score increase | |
| KOHO Credit Building Program | Yes | No | No (charges a monthly fee) | Yes |
| Spring Financial | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Refresh Financial | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| MyMarble Premium | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Marble – Fast-Track | Yes | No | Yes | No |
KOHO – Credit Building Program
KOHO’s Credit Building Program is a 6-month program to help you build your credit scores. The program cost $10 a month and is designed to help build you build a positive payment history, which can help you build your credit scores.
How Does The KOHO Credit Building Program Work?
When you subscribe to the KOHO Credit Building Program, KOHO will open a line of credit for you. The $10 you pay each month will be used as payments toward the line of credit which KOHO will report to a major credit bureau. This, in turn, will help you build a strong payment history.
In order to subscribe to this program, users will first need to open a KOHO account, which is completely free. You’ll also need to ensure there’s money in your KOHO account as it will be used to automatically withdraw your credit building program’s subscription fee. If there aren’t sufficient funds in your account, it can lead to a missed payment which can negatively affect your credit.
Main Benefits Of KOHO’s Credit Building Program
- Affordable Payments – KOHO’s Credit Building Program lasts for 6 months and costs $10 a month. That means it costs $60 to build a positive payment history with KOHO.
- Track Credit Score – When you download KOHO’s app, you’ll be able to check your credit score in-app. Each month, KOHO will update your credit score so you can keep tabs on your progress.
- Short-Term – As the program is only 6 months long, you can work to build your payment history without having to commit to a long-term loan or some other long-term credit building program. Moreover, you can choose to enroll in the program again if you wish to continue building your credit.
- Extra Perks – When you open a KOHO account to subscribe to the credit builder program, you’ll gain access to KOHO’s automated savings feature, money management tools and a financial coach (if you upgrade to KOHO premium).
Spring Financial – The Foundation Savings Loan
If you want to build your credit so you can get approved for better credit products, The Foundation by Spring is a good option to consider. The Foundation can help Canadians work toward building a credit history, which may increase their chances of accessing better credit products, lower interest rates, and a higher chance of approval for mortgages.
How Does The Foundation Savings Loan Work?
Think of The Foundation as a credit building program or a savings loan, it’s not technically a loan as you won’t receive any money upfront. Once you sign up for The Foundation, a tradeline is added to your credit report. A tradeline is basically an account on your credit report.
You’ll make 12 monthly payments to Spring Financial, who will then report the payments to the credit bureaus. This is will help build a positive credit history.
Roughly half of each of your 12 monthly payments will be saved in an account for you, and at the end of the 12 months, you will have access to $750. You can also ask to access the money in your account at any time.
MAIN BENEFITS OF THE FOUNDATION
- Helps build a positive payment history
- Access $750 at the end of 12 months
- Cancel at any time
- Recieve your Equifax credit score for free
- Guaranteed approval for the Evergreen Loan ($1,500 cash advance at 18.99%)
*Not available in Saskatchewan, Quebec, or New Brunswick.
Refresh Financial – Credit Builder Loan
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.
How Does The Refresh Financial Credit Builder Loan Work?
Refresh Financial’s Credit Builder Loan can also be thoughts of as a credit building program or a savings loan, as you won’t receive any money upfront.
With Refresh Financial’s Credit Building Loan, you’ll make bi-weekly payments which are deposited into a secured account to help build your payment history. There are four options to choose from.
- $21.37 bi-weekly for 36 months
- $21.37 bi-weekly for 36 months
- $60.97 bi-weekly for 60 months
- $121.94 bi-weekly for 60 months
Refresh Financial will report the payment as an “installment loan” to the credit bureaus. This action will be key to building a positive credit history. Once the program is complete, you can access the money saved in your secured account, minus fees and interest.
MAIN BENEFITS OF THE REFRESH FINANCIAL CREDIT BUILDER LOAN
- Helps build a positive payment history
- Access to savings once the program is completed
- Cancel at any time
- No credit history required
*Not available in Saskatchewan, Quebec, or New Brunswick.
Marble – MyMarble Premium
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 allows you to use the points and budget simulators. These tools allow you to work toward a specific credit score, within your desired budget.
How Does MyMarble Premium Work?
MyMarble Premium uses innovative software that analyzes your banking information 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. MyMarble Premium has two price points:
- $152.95 ($25.49 monthly) for 6 months
- $269.91 ($22.49 monthly) for 12 months
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
MAIN BENEFITS OF MYMARBLE PREMIUM
- Create an action plan to improve credit
- Recieve your credit score and credit score history
- Point Deduction Technology®
- Budget simulator
- Beginner to master recommendations
Marble – Fast-Track Consumer Proposal Exit Loan
Completing a consumer proposal the traditional way can take up to 5 years. This means 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.
How Does The Fast-Track Loan Work?
Marble’s Fast-Track consumer proposal exit loan works by paying 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.
Main Benefits Of Marble’s Fast-Track Loan
- May off your consumer proposal faster
- Start building better credit sooner
- Fast-Track loan payments are reported to the credit bureaus
Alternative Ways To Improve Your Credit
In addition to these credit building services mentioned above, you can also build your credit through the following:
Secured Credit Card
A secured credit card is a great way to build your credit as it’s specially designed for those with poor or no credit. All payments are reported to the credit bureau(s) and approval is almost guaranteed. Your secured card can not only help you build a positive payment history, but it can also impact your debt-to-credit ratio which is another common factor that’s used in the calculation of your credit scores.
Have Your Rent Payments Reported To The Credit Bureaus
While most rent payments aren’t reported to the credit bureaus, you can have them reported to Equifax through the Landlord Credit Bureau (LCB). However, both you and your landlord must become subscribe to the service. This will help you build a healthy payment history, so long as you make your rent payments on time.
Get Your Cellphone Payments Reported To The Credit Bureaus
Your cell phone bills can also help you build your credit, however, you’ll need to get a post-paid plan with a service provider that reports payments to the credit bureaus.
| Cell Phone Provider | Do They Report To The Credit Bureaus? |
| Bell Canada | Bell may or may not report your payments to the credit bureaus. |
| Rogers | Yes, Rogers reports all your payments to Equifax and TransUnion each billing cycle |
| Fido | Yes, Fido reports all your payments to Equifax and TransUnion on a monthly basis |
| Koodo | Yes, Kodoo reports all your payments to Equifax and TransUnion |
| Telus | Yes, Telus reports your payments to Equifax and TransUnion periodically |
Lower Your Debt-To-Credit Ratio
Your debt-to-credit ratio is a common factor used in the calculation of a credit score and usually accounts for around 30% of your credit. High debt-to-credit ratios can have a negative effect on your credit scores, so keeping your ratio low is recommended (30% or below).
Check For Errors In Your Credit Report
Errors in your credit report can negatively affect your credit scores. As such, regularly checking your credit report for errors and rectifying them can help improve your credit. Moreover, checking your credit can help you better understand your credit health and what you can do to improve it. For example, if you notice that your credit utilization is high, then you can work to reduce it. Similarly, if you notice that you’ve missed a few payments recently, you can work on getting them up-to-date.
HOW TO GET YOUR CREDIT REPORT?
| Cost | Credit Score | Credit Report | ||
 | Free | Yes | Yes | Visit Site |
 | Free | Yes | No | Visit Site |
 | Free | Yes | Yes | Visit Site |
 | Free | Yes | Yes | - |
Credit Building Services FAQs
What’s the fastest way to build my credit?
Can I hire someone to repair my credit?
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Bottom Line
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.
