All guides

What a Canadian loan disclosure statement must show, which fees count in the APR, and how bank rules under the Bank Act differ from provincial rules for other lenders.

Since 1 January 2025 the Criminal Code caps personal loan interest at 35% APR, fees included. How the limit is measured, the payday and pawn exceptions, and how to test an offer.

What Canadian lenders check before approving a personal loan, how Equifax and TransUnion reports are used, and an illustrative debt service ratio calculation.

What Canadian lenders check before approving a personal loan, how the APR is built and capped at 35%, and which federal and provincial rules protect you in 2026.

How Quebec's Consumer Protection Act changes personal loans: 2-day and 10-day cancellation, high-cost credit above the Bank of Canada rate plus 22 points, and the 45% debt ratio.

How secured loans, unsecured instalment loans, personal lines of credit and HELOCs differ in Canada, with an illustrative cost comparison and the risks of each.

Why two Canadians get different rates for the same personal loan, from credit profile and term to lender type and the Bank of Canada rate, with illustrative cost tiers.

Step-by-step Canadian examples showing how an administration or broker fee raises the APR above the stated rate, whether it is deducted from the advance or added to the balance.

Compare Canadian personal loan offers by APR, total cost and conditions, with an illustrative $12,000 example covering fees, optional insurance, longer terms and variable rates.

An illustrative Canadian example of consolidating $20,000 of card and credit balances into one loan, showing the saving, the trap of a longer term and the alternatives.

Compare a personal line of credit with a fixed instalment loan for the same $10,000 in Canada: interest-only minimums, payoff time, rate rises and when each one makes sense.

A practical Canadian checklist for applying for a personal loan: what to prepare, which documents lenders ask for, what to check before signing and what to do after funding.

Calculate a personal loan's monthly payment, total interest and APR step by step, with an illustrative $15,000 Canadian example, term comparisons and a year-by-year schedule.

Canadian rules that let you prepay a consumer loan without penalty, how fee refunds work, and illustrative examples of the interest saved by lump sums and faster payments.

How advance-fee loan scams target Canadians with guaranteed-approval offers, why legitimate lenders do not ask for upfront payments, Ontario's loan broker rules and steps to take if you paid.

How high-cost personal loans are regulated in Canada after the 35% APR cap, the provincial high-cost credit regimes in Alberta, Manitoba, BC and Quebec, and the costs to watch.

How optional creditor insurance on Canadian personal loans works, what it costs over a loan's life, common exclusions, your right to refuse it and the questions to ask before you buy.

How payday loans are regulated in Canada since 2025: the federal $14 per $100 maximum, Ontario's rules on cancellation, loan size and repeat borrowing, the real APR and cheaper options.

The complaint path for personal loan problems in Canada: your lender's process, OBSI for banks since November 2024, the FCAC's role, and provincial offices for other lenders.

The most costly personal loan mistakes in Canada, from comparing payments instead of APR to paying upfront fees, with the federal and provincial sources to check before you borrow.

What to do in Canada when personal loan payments become unmanageable: talking to the lender, non-profit credit counselling, debt management programs and consumer proposals under the BIA.