The Finder: Personal Loans Best-in-Class Awards 2024 recognizes Canada’s best personal loan brands in three categories: Traditional Lender (National), Traditional Lender (Provincial) and Alternative Lender.
We invested 464+ hours vetting lenders, collecting data and analyzing data points to find the best in Canada. See our winners and finalists below.
This category recognizes financial institutions with a wide reach across Canada. Generally, these were the first financial institutions to offer personal loans. In Canada, this list includes banks, credit unions, and, in some cases, larger financial institutions, such as life insurance companies.
Bank of Montreal (BMO) won first place for Traditional Lender (National). A Big Five bank, it offers personal loans with plenty of flexibility. Borrowers can get a secured or unsecured loan, opt for a fixed or variable interest rate, and skip up to one month’s worth of payment twice a year. BMO received a ★★★★★ Finder rating.
National Bank took second place for Traditional Lender (National). National Bank offers borrowers a choice between a fixed and variable rate, and you can use its personal loans for many short-term or long-term goals, such as home improvements, weddings and travelling. National Bank received a ★★★★★ Finder rating.
Taking third place for Traditional Lender (National) is another Big Five bank: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). CIBC personal loans have flexible loan amounts and repayment terms. Borrowers also have multiple ways to apply: fill out an application online, call CIBC or visit a branch nearby. CIBC received a ★★★★★ Finder rating.
The lenders in this category share similar qualities with the lenders in the Traditional Lender (National) category. However, instead of offering personal loans across Canada, these financial institutions focus on one province.
BC credit union Vancity won this year’s Traditional Lender (Provincial) award. It offers flexible personal loans for prime borrowers as well as no credit check loans for borrowers who need a payday loan alternative. It will also sometimes provide borrowers with promotional rates. Vancity received a ★★★★★ Finder rating.
Kindred Credit Union came in second place for Traditional Lender (Provincial). This lender offers competitive personal loan rates and lets borrowers choose between a fixed and variable rate. A Certified B Corporation, it serves the residents of Ontario. Kindred Credit Union received a ★★★★★ Finder rating.
Taking third place for Traditional Lender (Provincial) is ATB Financial. ATB offers customized personal loans to residents of Alberta. Borrowers can choose between a fixed and variable rate and use its personal loans for many purposes, such as making a major purchase, consolidating debt and financing a project. ATB received a ★★★★★ Finder rating.
This category recognizes companies that are not traditional lenders but also offer in-house financing. This can include private firms as well as publicly traded companies. While there are many different business models in the alternative lender category, the common element for these lenders is that they have access to their source of funding and, as a result, do not partner with traditional lenders or shop the market on behalf of their clients.
easyfinancial won this year’s Alternative Lender award. This lender offers fast personal loans online and in hundreds of branches across Canada. It offers both secured and unsecured personal loans to people who may not qualify for traditional financing. easyfinancial received a ★★★★★ Finder rating.
Fairstone came in second place in the Alternative Lender category. This lender of non-prime secured and unsecured personal loans has been serving Canadians for almost 100 years and has branches from coast to coast. People also have the option to apply online and get a no-obligation quote within minutes. Fairstone received a ★★★★★ Finder rating.
Taking third place in the Alternative Lender category is SkyCap Financial. This lender provides a completely online process and offers fast unsecured personal loans to people who may not qualify with a bank or credit union. It has received consistent customer feedback about its good service. SkyCap received a ★★★★★ Finder rating.
Finder experts collected over 4,600 data points for more than 110 lenders operating in Canada. The aim was to develop a robust, data-centric approach to rating and ranking personal loan providers and to develop an objective method for calculating a Finder Score for every product in the personal loans marketplace. Our Personal Loans Best-in-Class Awards, 5-star ratings and best lists are the result of this data-driven methodology.
Based on Finder expert input, the four evaluation categories used to calculate the Finder: Traditional Personal Loan Lender list were assigned the following weightings:
Based on Finder expert input, the four evaluation categories used to calculate the Finder: Best Alternative Lender list were assigned the following weightings:
Finder is a personal finance comparison site with a mission to help Canadians save, invest, spend wisely and grow their wealth. Each month, Finder provides half a million Canadians – and more than five million globally – with independent and trustworthy financial information. Our goal is to help people make better financial decisions by providing objective, comparative insight on thousands of products and services.
As a global fintech website and app, Finder provides consumers free access to smart money content. Whether it's expert insight, product or service comparisons or independent reviews, Finder helps consumers stay on top of their finances while saving time and money.
Finder is available to consumers in Canada, Australia, America and the United Kingdom. Initially launched in 2006 by three Australians – Fred Schebesta, Frank Restuccia and Jeremy Cabral – Finder's global reach now includes thousands of products and services in hundreds of financial categories and provides expert content and independent reviews to more than five million users each month.
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