Credit Score/ Report in Canada

[Veronik 19]

Hello everyone,

I have a quick question, and kind of feel silly asking it.

I was wondering if someone knew this information, can`t seem to find a straight answer online. Does your credit score in the US 'work' in Canada, and vice versa? I`m trying to figure out if my US credit score has any value here in Canada. I`m used to US credit card giving you your credit score directly on their app, and I`m a little lost as to how it works here in Canada. 

Sorry if this seems obvious to most, I`m still trying to adapt back to living home. I`m looking into car & house loans, and kind of hit a brick wall with this.

Any input would be appreciated!

[bad4tatt 168]

23 minutes ago, Veronik said:

Hello everyone,

I have a quick question, and kind of feel silly asking it.

I was wondering if someone knew this information, can`t seem to find a straight answer online. Does your credit score in the US 'work' in Canada, and vice versa? I`m trying to figure out if my US credit score has any value here in Canada. I`m used to US credit card giving you your credit score directly on their app, and I`m a little lost as to how it works here in Canada. 

Sorry if this seems obvious to most, I`m still trying to adapt back to living home. I`m looking into car & house loans, and kind of hit a brick wall with this.

Any input would be appreciated!

Short answer, NO!

 

In the US you credit history is attached to your SSN and in Canada to your SIN. Those are not interchangeable.  I have a Great score in Canada and cannot use it here in the US. I have a good score in the US and cannot use it in Canada.

[Veronik 19]

Ok, that’s what I was afraid of 😩

Does anyone know of a free way to get your score in Canada? Is the paper form to mail to TransUnion and Equifax really the only way?

 

[NikLR 13,227]

10 hours ago, Veronik said:

Ok, that’s what I was afraid of 😩

Does anyone know of a free way to get your score in Canada? Is the paper form to mail to TransUnion and Equifax really the only way?

 

Pretty much.

 

However if you use RBC and open and US and Canadian bank account with them, they will use your SIN and Canadian score to open the card.  Then you supply them with your SSN and I believe a W9 so you can start building credit in the USA.  Keep in mind you would have to already have a job in the USA to get any sort of good % or credit limit.  But at least this way you're not having to start from scratch with a secured card.

 

Your spouse, if they have decent credit, can also add you onto their credit card or co-sign loans for you, which helps build your credit.

 

I've noticed in the USA, people have like 3-5 credit cards.  Lord only knows why!  I have one.  I haven't had issues being approved for loans, except the time they got my birthday wrong.  LOL

[Veronik 19]

13 minutes ago, NikLR said:

Pretty much.

 

However if you use RBC and open and US and Canadian bank account with them, they will use your SIN and Canadian score to open the card.  Then you supply them with your SSN and I believe a W9 so you can start building credit in the USA.  Keep in mind you would have to already have a job in the USA to get any sort of good % or credit limit.  But at least this way you're not having to start from scratch with a secured card.

 

Your spouse, if they have decent credit, can also add you onto their credit card or co-sign loans for you, which helps build your credit.

 

I've noticed in the USA, people have like 3-5 credit cards.  Lord only knows why!  I have one.  I haven't had issues being approved for loans, except the time they got my birthday wrong.  LOL

Thank you! I actually moved back to Canada. So my issue is that the years I spent building my credit in the US now seem to mean nothing, lol! Oh well! 🤷‍♀️

[NikLR 13,227]

14 minutes ago, Veronik said:

Thank you! I actually moved back to Canada. So my issue is that the years I spent building my credit in the US now seem to mean nothing, lol! Oh well! 🤷‍♀️

Oh right I remember... sorry.  I'm not sure if RBC would do the same in reverse!

[acidrain 325]

When we first moved to the US we were told to use Credit Karma. If I remember correctly the service was free and you can download your credit score. I printed it out and showed it to everyone who needed it and for the most part everyone was satisfied with that. There is Credit Karma in the US and Credit Karma in Canada (two different websites). When my spouse had to rent an apartment they preferred to have some sort of history than none at all.

 

We had to get creative in how to use our good credit rating in the US. Some companies honor it, others don't. For instance we got a car insurance quote and we nearly fell out of our chair when they could not access our driving history. GEICO on the other hand recognizes Canadian drivers licenses and the quote was almost half the price of the other quote. Shop around and ask if any companies can draw from the American credit bureau. For instance TD Bank, Royal Bank and HSBC have a pretty significant presence in the US. You can always go to those banks and see if they can help access your credit history. We have TD Bank and have Cross Border Banking. It's way easier moving money across the line especially if you have anything going direct deposit.

 

You can try companies that have cross border presence and see if they can help you. We had to shop around for quite a while for a mortgage broker who could help us. If you have a will there probably is a way but it's a lot of work. Don't give up.

Edited April 4, 2018 by acidrain

[Lemonslice 4,835]

If you have/had a US American Express account, you can also use their Global Transfer service.

[Veronik 19]

On 4/3/2018 at 10:23 PM, acidrain said:

When we first moved to the US we were told to use Credit Karma. If I remember correctly the service was free and you can download your credit score. I printed it out and showed it to everyone who needed it and for the most part everyone was satisfied with that. There is Credit Karma in the US and Credit Karma in Canada (two different websites). When my spouse had to rent an apartment they preferred to have some sort of history than none at all.

 

We had to get creative in how to use our good credit rating in the US. Some companies honor it, others don't. For instance we got a car insurance quote and we nearly fell out of our chair when they could not access our driving history. GEICO on the other hand recognizes Canadian drivers licenses and the quote was almost half the price of the other quote. Shop around and ask if any companies can draw from the American credit bureau. For instance TD Bank, Royal Bank and HSBC have a pretty significant presence in the US. You can always go to those banks and see if they can help access your credit history. We have TD Bank and have Cross Border Banking. It's way easier moving money across the line especially if you have anything going direct deposit.

 

You can try companies that have cross border presence and see if they can help you. We had to shop around for quite a while for a mortgage broker who could help us. If you have a will there probably is a way but it's a lot of work. Don't give up.

Thanks for sharing! I’ll see if there’s a TD Bank close by! 👍

[zilchfox 296]

Sometimes, but almost always no. Some banks or companies will honor US credit scores for approvals, however it’ll have no effect on your Canadian credit score.