Credit Education

Your credit report

Your credit report is a summary of your credit history.

Your credit report is created when you borrow money or apply for credit for the first time. Lenders send information about your accounts to credit bureaus, also known as credit reporting agencies.

Your credit score

Your credit score is a three-digit number that comes from the information in your credit report. It shows how well you manage credit and how risky it would be for a lender to lend you money.

Your credit score is calculated using a formula based on your credit report.

Note that you:

• get points if you use your credit responsibly
• lose points if you have trouble managing your credit

Your credit score will change over time as your credit report is updated.

How a credit score is calculated

It’s impossible to know exactly how much your credit score will change based on the actions you take. Credit bureaus and lenders don’t share the actual formulas they use to calculate credit scores.

Factors that may affect your credit score include:

• how long you’ve had credit
• how long each credit has been in your report
• if you carry a balance on your credit cards
• if you regularly miss payments
• the amount of your outstanding debts
• being close to, at or above your credit limit
• the number of recent credit applications
• the type of credit you’re using
• if your debts have been sent to a collection agency
• any record of insolvency or bankruptcy 

Who creates your credit report and credit score

There are two main credit bureaus in Canada:

• Equifax
• TransUnion

These are private companies that collect, store and share information about how you use credit.

Equifax and TransUnion only collect information from creditors about your financial experiences in Canada.

Who can see and use your credit report

Credit bureaus follow rules that define who can see your credit report and how they can use it.

Those allowed to see your credit report include:

• banks, credit unions and other financial institutions
• credit card companies
• car financing companies
• retailers
• mobile phone companies
• insurance companies
• governments
• employers
• landlords

What’s included in your credit report

Your credit report contains personal, financial and credit history information. In general, it takes 30 to 90 days for the information to be updated in your credit report.