Get a Personal Loan in Calgary

You can pretty much do whatever you want with personal loans in Calgary. When you apply for a loan, you rarely have to promise to use the money in a certain way (unlike with a mortgage, which you must put towards buying a home). Examples of what you can use your loan for include:

• Medical expenses 

• A vacation

• Home renovations

• University or tuition costs

• Unexpected expenses 

• Large purchase

Another great way to use a personal loan is to get out of other high-interest debt, like credit card debt. This is called a debt consolidation loan, and it can help you group all of your small loans or external debt into one single unified loan with a more manageable payment schedule.

To qualify for a personal loan in Calgary, you should meet the following criteria:

• Have a Canadian bank account

• Be a Canadian resident 

• Be 18 years old or older

Each lender in Calgary may have different standards for loan acceptance. Generally, you may need to have a minimum yearly income of $20,000 or greater, and you’ll also need to provide proof of your yearly income with a pay stub or a Notice of Assessment from the CRA. 

You may also be expected to have a credit score of at least 660 and a credit history of 12 months or longer. Additionally, to apply for personal loans in Calgary, potential lenders may require that you have never had a bankruptcy, consumer proposal, been in collections, or had delinquencies on your credit history.

If you have a credit score below 660, there are still personal loan options available. Sign up for Borrowell to check your score and quickly find loan options that are available to you.

Each lender has a different loan application process, but most lenders in Calgary will ask for the following personal information:

• Valid form of ID: For example, an Alberta driver’s license

• Proof of residency: For example, utility bills or a tenancy agreement

• Proof of employment and income: For example, bank deposit slips or a letter of employment

• Social Insurance Number

The loan application process doesn’t have to be an overwhelming one. For many lenders, you’ll just need to fill out an online form to get started. 

Not sure where to start? Use Borrowell to quickly compare loans, rates, and lenders that you are likely to qualify for based on your credit profile.

While it is difficult to generalize, many lenders prefer that personal loan applicants have a minimum credit score of 660 or above. There are loan options available for borrowers with scores below 660, but these loans will have higher interest rates than loans with stricter requirements.

Each lender in Calgary has different credit score requirements. Lenders use your credit score (which is a number between 300 to 900) as a measure of your creditworthiness. They will rely on your score to help determine whether or not you are a responsible borrower who can manage your loan payments.

When managed properly, a personal loan can help provide a boost to your credit score. This is something that many financial services experts emphasize. Your credit score is made up of five main factors: 

• Payment history 

• Credit utilization (how much credit you use out of what is available) 

• Credit history 

• Credit mix 

• Credit inquiries 

Your payment history and credit history combined account for 50% of your score. 

If you manage your loan responsibly and make on-time payments, you’ll be able to improve your payment and credit histories, which will in turn improve your credit score. Take note, however, that it’s crucial to ensure that your lender is reporting your loan payments to a major credit bureau so there is an official record of your loan.

You can check your credit score for free in Canada by signing up for Borrowell. Signing up for Borrowell takes less than 3, and once you've signed up, you can see which loans you qualify for based on your credit score.

There are a variety of personal loans in Calgary, such as car loans, school loans, emergency loans, and more. All of these types of loans generally fall into two categories, a secured loan or an unsecured loan. A secured loan means that you secure repayment of the loan with collateral, such as a house or a car. An unsecured loan means that you do not guarantee repayment of the loan with some form of collateral.

The big difference between secured and unsecured personal loans in Calgary is that a secured loan involves guaranteed repayment through the use of collateral. With a secured loan, you would use an asset like a home to guarantee that you will repay the loan. That means that if you default on your debt obligations, your home could be seized by the loan company. This can be a huge risk for borrowers. However, with a secured loan, you get lower interest rates than you would with an unsecured loan.

Because a borrower guarantees their loan with an asset, secured loans tend to be available in bigger amounts and feature much lower interest rates. With an unsecured loan, you don’t guarantee repayment, so you don’t have to worry about losing your home if you default. However, with an unsecured loan, you will have to pay higher interest rates throughout the entire course of your loan term.

While both a personal loan and credit card can quickly improve your cash flow, you can generally get access to a larger amount of money with a personal loan. With credit cards, the amount you can borrow is limited by your credit limit. Furthermore, credit cards can have very high interest rates and credit card issuers prefer that you pay off your balance (or most of it) each month, whereas personal loans are designed to be slowly paid back over a longer period of time.

Interest rates for personal loans vary by lender but usually range anywhere from 5% to as high as 30%.

Personal loan amounts vary by loan company but you can expect amounts to be anywhere from $1,000 to $35,000.

Many people get personal loans to consolidate debt. With a debt consolidation loan, you can group all of your small loans or external debt into one single unified loan. With this, you just have to keep track of one manageable payment schedule. Oftentimes, a personal loan will have a lower interest rate than other forms of debt (like credit cards), so using a personal loan to consolidate debt can save you money over time.