Borrowell Review: Personal loans & free credit check
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The team at WealthRocket only recommends products and services that we would use ourselves and that we believe will provide value to our readers. However, we advocate for you to continue to do your own research and make educated decisions.
Borrowell
- Fees Free
- Additional Features Credit Cards, Loans, Product Recommendations for Users
- Provinces Available All but Saskatchewan, Nunavut, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories
If you live in Canada and have been curious but hesitant to check your credit score in fear that it might be too costly or affect your report, you’re in luck!
Borrowell is a free credit score service. It also provides additional services such as credit card recommendations and personal loan borrowing options.
Simultaneously, Borrowell provides credit score coaching and monitoring services geared towards helping Canadians achieve their financial goals while allowing them to check their credit score free of charge with no repercussions.
In this WealthRocket article, we’ll provide a Borrowell review that details an overview of the free credit report service and any additional features.
Borrowell Review: Overview, products, features, and more
You might already have a hunch that a credit score is a three-digit number that tells lenders where the borrower stands in terms of money and trustworthiness.
Checking this score usually costs the borrower a fee. However, newly emerging services allow Canadians to view their scores for free. Borrowell is one of those services and one of Canada’s most trusted at that.
Below, you’ll find an overview of Borrowell.
Overview of Borrowell
Borrowell uses its strengths in fintech to help people make smarter decisions and ease the credit monitoring process.
It also hopes to guide people in a journey to increase their credit scores and overall financial standing while introducing them to customer-centric financial products.
Products that Borrowell offers include:
- Free Credit Score
- Free Bill Tracking
- Credit Cards
- Personal Loan Borrowing Options
- Mortgage Lending Options
- Banking
- Insurance
Borrowell leapt onto Canada’s financial landscape in 2014 and has since become one of Canada’s largest fintech companies, with over one million users.
The financial service aptly compares a credit score to a report card, citing that the only difference is that a credit score is assessable by creditors and lenders to judge whether or not to take a risk on someone.
Unfortunately, these Borrowell services are not available in Saskatchewan, Nunavut, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. However, Borrowell plans to expand into those Canadian provinces and territories as soon as possible.
Free credit score and credit report from Borrowell
Borrowell checks your credit score for free and displays a score directly from Equifax, using the Equifax RiskScore 2.0 score model.
Upon sign-up, Borrowell asks a few simple questions and accesses your credit profile via Equifax. You can get your credit score in three minutes or less. From then on, it updates every week. Yes, it’s that simple!
Borrowell is completely free to use. There is no cost to checking your credit score. The online service makes money by offering its users various products that align with their credit score. These products include credit cards, loans, mortgages, and other financial products.
Auto, business, and personal loans from Borrowell
Borrowell introduced loan borrowing options back in 2019, with various borrowing options, including:
- Auto Loans
- Business Loans
- Personal Loans
Borrowell tailors interest rates on loans to the individual’s needs, with various options of choice.
When it comes to personal loans, Borrowell customers can use loans for debt consolidation, unexpected home repairs, or help to pay off credit cards.
You can also receive an auto loan to purchase a vehicle or a business loan to assist with launching a business.
Individuals can borrow up to $35,000* with fixed interest rates, ranging anywhere from 5.6%* to 29.9%*. Borrowers have the option of paying it back over three to five years.
*Rates current as of August 2021
Borrowell credit cards
Borrowell uses an algorithm that pairs customers with credit card offers that likely see them approved for new borrowing products.
The service also provides additional information on how to use each product to its full advantage.
Banking with Borrowell
Like it’s credit card aggregator, Borrowell offers various banking and investing options to Canadians.
Borrowell currently recommends chequing and savings accounts. However, considering that no banking products in Canada require a minimum credit score, these are only recommendations.
Still, there is an advantage considering that Borrowell provides a side-by-side comparison of these products, which include options from Wealthsimple, EQ Bank, and many more.
Insurance with Borrowell
Borrowell aggregates options for home, auto, tenant, and life insurance that allows Canadians shopping for life insurance policies to compare insurance options available to them.
Like banking products offered by Borrowell, insurance products do not require a good credit score. You can shop for insurance with Borrowell, though rates will vary depending on the screening process with the insurance provider of your choice.
Additional features of Borrowell
Borrowell also offers a service known as Molly, an AI-powered credit coach that sends insights on your credit score and tips on how to improve it.
Another service offered by Borrowell is Boost, which sends reminders of oncoming bill payments.
This feature helps those who forget bills to pay them on time and thus protects their credit score.
The difference between Molly and Boost is that Boost runs on a monthly subscription fee of $4.99* (plus tax) a month.
There is a 30-day free trial, which can let you see if you can benefit from a service that will send alerts when your account balance is low or when bills are due.
*Rates current as of August 2021
Borrowell referral program
Borrowell’s referral program is certainly an enticing one. For every successful referral, Borrowell customers can receive a $5 gift card for either Starbucks or Amazon, earned once each referral has signed up.
Accuracy of Borrowell
Wondering how the Borrowell free credit score is different from Equifax’s paid service? While both services are practically the same, they do, however, use two different scoring models, even though they are both Equifax scores.
Both Equifax and Borrowell’s credit reports show factors such as all open accounts, any mortgages, and payment history.
Insights on your credit score, whether your file has any public records, collections, or bankruptcy, will be visible on your file.
The only place where these reports differ is when it comes to inquiries. Equifax will show you hard and soft credit inquiries, whereas Borrowell will only show soft inquiries.
How to apply for a Borrowell loan
Applying for a loan with Borrowell is almost as simple as checking your credit score.
Customers searching for personal, auto, or business loans from Borrowell must first sign up for an account, which have to answer simple questions which include name, address, and other personal details.
Borrowell will then list various third-party lenders, allowing customers to choose a rate which suits their needs.
Note that it is up to the customer to understand the loan type, ammon annual percentage rate (APR) and term before approval.
Applying for a loan which the user does not qualify for may impact the user’s credit score.
Borrowell loan eligibility
Are you eligible for a Borrowell loan? In order to borrow, you must meet the folllowing criteria:
- Good credit score (660+)
- Minimum of $20,000 income
- Credit History of 12 months or more
- At least 2 paystubs for income verification
- Good credit history (no bankrupcy, consumer propposal, collections, or delinquency)
Pros & cons of Borrowell
As far as free credit score checking services go, Borrowell offers the perfect service for people who want to know what their credit score is, without paying the fees.
Here are some of Borrwell’s pros and cons.
Pros
Free credit score reports
Intuitive and user friendly
Great for paying off credit cards
Cons
Loans offered are only in two year to five year terms
Bi-Weekly payback option not available
Insufficient fund penalties range between $25 to $54
Our final thoughts
Borrowell is an excellent credit score option. When it comes to competitors like Credit Karma, Borrowell is virtually the same option. However, it is a wholly Canadian-owned company and certainly has that advantage.
Borrowell also offers a variety of additional saving, spending, and borrowing tools, primarily its personal loan options. If you want to find the best products for your financial situation, Borrowell is a safe bet.
Frequently Asked Questions
Borrowell updates credit scores weekly, making your activity and progress easy to track.
Monitoring your financial reports will keep you up to date on your financial goals while making it easy to note any irregular activity, such as errors, fraud, and identity theft.
Yes! There is no reason to feel uneasy about linking your banking information to Borrowell. The service’s main promise is that checking credit scores in Canada will always be safe, secure, and free.
Borrowell does not sell your data and uses 256-bit encryption to make your personal information just as secure as a traditional bank.
In short, yes. Borrowell uses the Equifax RiskScore 2.0 score model, which could be different from the model used by your bank.
It’s not uncommon for different credit bureaus to use different models. Scores may fluctuate daily. Be wary when comparing scores from different lenders, most lenders use the Beacon® 9.0 model.
