What Credit Bureaus Do Lenders Check in Canada?

How does consumer lending in Canada work? It’s a common question. Almost everyone needs credit at some point in their life, so how do lenders go about selecting people they think will repay them?

We’ve written an extensive guide about how credit scores themselves work, but while a number is nice, one secret people don’t know is that not every lender calls every bureau. The art of getting approved may have as much to do with who is providing information on your borrowing habits as who’s actually approving you for more credit.

What are Credit Bureaus?

OK, so to kick it off: what is a credit bureau? It’s a private company that operates with exceptional trust toward the public. The reason for this is that it’s responsible for collecting, collating, maintaining, and securing information on Canadians to determine how risky or safe they might be to loan money to.

They determine this risk assessment based on a variety of factors, including your payment history, number of requests, debt servicing ratio, and total available credit. This assigns you a score based on their internal algorithm and metrics. For more information about this and how to build your credit score, follow our guide on building your credit score in Canada.

There are two bureaus active in our country: TransUnion and Equifax.

I’ll talk about Equifax first because this is the more conservative of the two. It tends to view borrowers as riskier and is a little less generous than TransUnion. It’s also the one that’s usually pulled by home lenders – so if you’re in the market for a mortgage and using a broker, expect your Equifax to be pulled first.

TransUnion, on the other hand, tends to assign people slightly higher scores, even if they’re carrying a decent amount of debt. Its metrics seem to be a bit more permissive, and over the years, it appears that this is the bureau of choice for banks to pull when making the choice to approve you for credit cards.

What Credit Bureaus do Lenders Check in Canada?

Based on Frugal Flyer’s analysis and experience as the premier Miles & Points blog in Canada, and a key observer of personal finance trends, we project the following as being the most up-to-date measurements of which lenders pull which credit bureaus as of January 2026.

Please note: it is becoming more common for many issuers to be able to pull from either bureau when applying for a new credit product. Most tend to prefer one, but sometimes they will pull both.

TransUnion Exclusive Financial Institutions

The following banks, to the best of our knowledge, exclusively pull your TransUnion credit report.

• Bridgewater Bank
• Vancity
• RBC

TransUnion Preferred Financial Institutions

The following banks, to the best of our knowledge, can pull from one bureau for the other, but heavily prioritize TransUnion for the initial pull.

• CIBC
• MBNA
• Scotiabank
• Simplii Financial
• Tangerine

Historically, CIBC and its online-only subsidiary Simplii Financial used Equifax. Now they will always initiate credit pulls via TransUnion, but may sometimes use Equifax for a follow-up.

Scotiabank and its consumer subsidiary, Tangerine, have always used TransUnion. MBNA, despite being a wholly owned unit of TD, will only use Equifax in the event of needing more information.

Equifax Exclusive Financial Institutions

The following banks, to the best of our knowledge, exclusively pull your TransUnion credit report.

• Meridian Credit Union
• TD Canada Trust

We wish to note that TD is one of the most stringent lenders in the country. A good score is not enough to be guaranteed; the bank has internal risk metrics that exclude large numbers of new applicants from eligibility.

Equifax Preferred Financial Institutions

The following banks, to the best of our knowledge, can pull from one bureau for the other, but heavily prefer Equifax for the initial pull. In the event of a pending application or other obstacle to approval, it is possible that the other bureau will be consulted to verify your identity and creditworthiness.

• American Express Canada
• BMO
• Desjardins

It should be noted that of these, Amex is the softest on pulling Equifax. In the past, it favored TransUnion, but now defaults to Equifax. Also note that Amex also has particular lending requirements that may fall outside the information contained only on your Equifax credit report.

Financial Institutions With Special Rules

The following lenders follow slightly different rules from the other, in that they could pull from either bureau, but they don’t follow patterns similar to the ones previously mentioned on the list.

• Capital One
• Laurentian Bank
• PC Financial

PC Financial always pulls both bureaus in every situation. Capital One or Laurentian may pull either, but there doesn’t appear to be a clear preference or rhyme or reason.

How to Get Your Credit Report and Credit Score For Free

While your credit score is important for getting approved, it is not the only factor lenders consider. For a comprehensive view of your financial health, you should obtain a full copy of your credit report. 

Interestingly, the free reports from the bureaus typically contain all the pertinent data regarding your trade lines and payment history, but omit the actual three-digit score itself. Fortunately, accessing this data is free if you know where to look.

Equifax allows you to access your credit report for free directly through their website by creating a username and verifying your identity. You can also access your report via their automated phone system by calling 1-800-465-7166. For those who prefer mail, you can fill out the Canadian Credit Report Request Form and attach a government-issued photo ID along with a document verifying your address, such as a utility bill. Residents of Toronto, Halifax, or Charlottetown can also visit an Equifax office in person to request their report.

TransUnion refers to their free version as a Consumer Disclosure. You can download this once a month by signing up online and verifying your identity through a few security questions. Similar to their competitor, you can also request a copy by mail by filling out a consumer request form and including your ID, or by visiting a provincial office in Ontario, Nova Scotia, or PEI.

When it comes to actually seeing the three-digit number that decides your financial fate, you usually have to rely on third-party services. For your Equifax score, Borrowell is the gold standard. The app feels a touch outdated, but it’s a great resource for knowing the more conservative bureau’s scoring.

On the TransUnion side, Credit Karma is a great option that’s easy and free to sign up for. Its app is also a bit prettier and more stable. It functions very similarly to Borrowell but pulls data from the other half of the duopoly. 

If you are curious about how these two services stack up against one another or which one might be better for your specific neuroses, we have a full breakdown in our Borrowell vs Credit Karma comparison.

There are other players in the market as well. ClearScore is another viable alternative that provides free credit score and report access, often with a slightly different interface and set of offers if you enjoy variety. We think it provides an excellent way to see your credit score at a glance.

Finally, always feel free to check the banking apps already on your phone. Many major Canadian banks now offer free credit score checks directly within their mobile dashboards, usually pulling from TransUnion. They do this mostly so they can pre-approve you for more credit cards, but you might as well take the free info while you can.

Conclusion

In uncertain economic times, knowing exactly who is checking your credit and what they are seeing is a significant advantage. Remember that while bank policies on which bureau they check can shift, these guidelines help you strategize your next application. Knowing the game is the first step to winning it because if you think you’ve tapped out your Equifax, you could go to a financial institution that checks Transunion more.

We also hope we’ve provided you with some insight into which lenders value which bureaus, and that you may want to use those who prioritize certain bureaus over others.