Financial health is top of mind and very important to us at Frugal Flyer. While we often talk about signing up for credit cards and using their rewards to fund our travels, we cannot overstate the importance of doing this in a financially responsible manner.
Good financial habits and understanding your credit report and score can set you up for success, even outside of maximizing miles and points. While this information may have been harder to acquire in the past, there are now services available in Canada that offer free credit scores using information from Canadian credit bureaus. One of these services is Borrowell Canada.
Let’s dive into our Borrowell Canada review and how utilizing this free service can improve your overall financial health and awareness.
What is Borrowell?
Borrowell is a Canadian financial technology (fintech) company that provides consumers with free access to their credit score and credit report. Founded in 2014, the company aims to help Canadians improve their financial health by providing personalized recommendations on how to improve their credit score, as well as offering financial products such as loans, credit cards, and mortgages.
Borrowell uses an algorithm to analyze users’ credit information and provide them with tailored advice on how to improve their credit score. The company is committed to protecting users’ personal and financial information and uses bank-level encryption to ensure that data is kept safe and secure. Borrowell pulls users’ Equifax credit score and Equifax credit report, whereas the other main alternative in Canada, Credit Karma, pulls from Transunion.
You can sign up for Borrowell Canada free of charge here.
Services Offered by Borrowell
While the main focus of Borrowell is offering Canadians an easy way to access their credit score and credit report, they do offer a whole portfolio of services:
Free Credit Score & Credit Report: Users can access their credit score and report for free through Borrowell. The free credit score and credit report update weekly, and users can check it as often as they like without any impact on their credit score.
Credit Card & Loan Recommendations: Users can access personalized financial product recommendations, including credit cards and personal loans, based on their credit profile. Borrowell compares credit cards from different issuers and provides personalized recommendations based on users’ credit scores and spending habits. If you are interested in signing up for a new credit card, check out our card browser tool and the FlyerFunds Rebate program to put more cash in your wallet.
Personalized Credit Improvement Recommendations: Borrowell’s algorithm analyzes users’ credit information and provides them with personalized recommendations on how to improve their credit score. This can include advice on paying off high-interest debt, reducing credit utilization, and building a longer credit history.
Identity Theft Protection: Borrowell offers users identity theft protection, which includes monitoring users’ credit reports for any suspicious activity and sending alerts if there are any changes.
While Borrowell offers many free services in its portfolio, you can expect to get the most value out of being able to monitor your free credit score and credit report at no cost.
Is Borrowell Free?
Yes, Borrowell is free for users to access their credit profile, including credit score and credit report. There are no hidden fees or charges for using Borrowell’s services to check credit information. Users can access their free credit score and credit report as often as they like without any impact on their credit score.
However, as mentioned above, Borrowell does offer users access to financial products such as loans, credit cards, and mortgages. If users apply for any of these products through Borrowell’s platform and are approved, Borrowell may receive a commission from the financial institution.
It’s important to note that this commission does not affect the user’s interest rate or fees in any way, and the cost of the product remains the same whether the user applies through Borrowell or directly with the financial institution.
Alternatives to Borrowell
There is one main alternative to Borrowell for Canadians looking to access their free credit score and free credit report: Credit Karma.
Credit Karma is also a free credit monitoring service that offers users access to their credit score and credit report. Like Borrowell, Credit Karma also provides personalized recommendations on how to improve users’ credit scores. ClearScore is another option that is available to Canadians who are looking for a free way to access their credit information.
The main difference between Borrowell and Credit Karma is that Borrowell pulls its data from Equifax credit bureau, whereas Credit Karma pulls their data from Transunion credit bureau.
Related: Borrowell vs Credit Karma: Which is Best?
Since they pull from different credit bureaus, it is worth it to sign up for both services so you can easily understand the whole picture of your credit profile, credit report, and credit score.
What Credit Cards Can I Be Approved for With My Credit Score?
The credit cards you may be approved for with your credit score depend on several factors, including your credit score, credit history, income, debt-to-income ratio, and other factors considered by the credit card issuer. Ultimately, it always depends and there is no sure-fire guarantee surrounding a financial institution issuing you new credit.
Learn More: Credit Scores: Everything You Need to Know
That being said, if you have a good credit score (above 700), your chance for approval for most credit cards is quite high, provided your credit profile and credit history is good. On the other hand, if your score is below 650, you may need to consider a secured credit card, which is a card that requires a security deposit in order to be approved.
Ultimately, it’s best to do your research and only apply for the cards that are the best fit for your financial situation or travel goals.
Conclusion
Being aware of and maintaining your financial health is a key aspect of good personal finance practices, and is highly recommended for better understanding your financial situation. If you are interested in starting to monitor your financial health, click here to sign up for Borrowell.
Frequently Asked Questions
Borrowell provides accurate credit score and credit report information as they obtain this information directly from Equifax, one of the major credit bureaus in Canada. Equifax is a trusted and reliable source of credit information and is used by many financial institutions and lenders in Canada.
However, it’s important to note that credit scores and credit reports are dynamic and can change over time as credit activity is reported to the credit bureaus. As such, the credit score and credit report information provided by Borrowell may not always be up-to-date or accurate in real time. Nevertheless, Borrowell updates credit scores and reports weekly, so the information provided is generally considered to be accurate and reliable.
Borrowell is an online service that provides Canadians with access to their free credit reports and free credit scores.
In order to use the service, users must first sign up here by providing some personal information, such as their name, address, and social insurance number. Once registered, Borrowell will provide users with their credit score and credit report, which is obtained directly from Equifax, one of the major credit bureaus in Canada. Borrowell updates credit scores and reports weekly, so users can monitor changes in their credit activity over time.
No, checking your credit score through Borrowell does not hurt your credit score. Borrowell uses a soft credit inquiry, which does not affect your credit score. A soft credit inquiry is a type of credit check that does not impact your credit score. It is often used by lenders or credit monitoring services to obtain an overview of your creditworthiness without affecting your credit score.
Borrowell only performs a soft credit inquiry when you sign up to check your credit score, so it does not have any negative impact on your credit score. However, if you apply for credit products through Borrowell’s platform, such as a loan or credit card, the lender may perform a hard credit inquiry, which could have a temporary impact on your credit score.
Yes, Borrowell is a safe and secure platform for Canadians to access their credit score and credit report. Borrowell uses bank-level encryption to protect users’ personal information and data. The platform is also regulated by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada and adheres to strict data privacy and security standards.
In addition, Borrowell only collects the minimum amount of personal information necessary to provide its services, and it does not sell or share users’ information with third parties without their explicit consent.
If you believe that there is an error on your Borrowell credit report, you will need to dispute it through the Equifax credit bureau. Borrowell simply pulls the report but does not have the ability to edit or change any of the data on the report.
You can learn more about the process to dispute any errors on your credit report with Equifax here.
Borrowell pulls credit information from Equifax, which is one of the two major credit bureaus in Canada. Equifax is a trusted source of credit information and is used by many lenders and financial institutions in Canada.
It’s worth noting that while Equifax and TransUnion are both major credit bureaus in Canada, the information on your credit report may vary slightly between the two bureaus. Therefore, it’s a good idea to check your credit report with both Equifax and TransUnion to ensure that all of the information is accurate and up-to-date.
Josh Bandura
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