Credit Bureau Reporting And Your Fig Loan

At Fig, we are committed to transparency and want you to be clear about all things credit reporting when it comes to your Fig loan. 

What is a credit bureau?

Credit bureaus are non-governmental agencies who store and provide your financial information to lenders and other creditors, either at your request or at the lender's request (with your approval, usually when you are seeking credit). This information is used, but not exclusively, to help determine your creditworthiness when applying for credit.

Which credit bureaus does Fig report to?

There are two main consumer credit bureaus in Canada that borrowers should be aware of: TransUnion and Equifax. As of May 1st, Fig reports to TransUnion and will begin reporting to Equifax in the near future.

All of your payment history will be retroactively reported, and continue to be reported on a monthly basis.

What information is reported to credit bureaus?

• Credit Accounts: This may include information about credit cards, loans (such as mortgages, auto loans, personal loans), lines of credit, and other types of credit accounts. Details may include the type of account, account balance, credit limit or loan amount, payment history, and account status (open, closed, or in collections).

• Payment History: Credit bureaus track your payment history for each credit account, including whether payments are made on time, late, or missed altogether. Payments that are 30 or more days past due can negatively impact your credit score.

• Credit Inquiries: Whenever you apply for new credit, such as a personal loan, the lender typically pulls your credit report to assess your creditworthiness. Both hard and soft inquiries are recorded on your credit report and may remain there for a certain period. A hard credit inquiry can affect your credit score.

• Public Records: This includes information from public records, such as bankruptcies, consumer proposals, judgments, and liens. These records can have a significant negative impact on your credit score.

• Credit Utilization: Credit bureaus also consider your credit utilization ratio, which is the amount of credit you're using compared to your total available credit. High credit utilization can negatively affect your credit score.

• Credit Account Age: The length of time you've had credit accounts open also influences your credit score. Generally, a longer credit history is viewed more positively by lenders

How does Credit Bureau reporting impact me and my loan with Fig?

Making payments on time can help build a positive credit history. Each on-time payment demonstrates responsible financial behaviour to credit bureaus, which will improve your credit score over time.

Missing payments can negatively impact your credit score and credit history. Payments that are 30 or more days past due are reported to credit bureaus and can remain on your report for several years.

Note: If you have missed a payment, please review our help centre article: What happens if I miss a payment?

How do deferrals impact my credit report?

Life happens, we know this! If you believe ahead of time you may not be able to make your payment as scheduled, you may be eligible to defer your upcoming payment. Deferrals do not negatively impact your credit report and will not cause your score to change.

Note: If you think you may not be able to make your payment, please review our help centre article: How To Defer Your Next Payment

My report says I missed a payment, but I'm in Good Standing

If you believe that a payment has been incorrectly reported to your credit bureau, please contact us and we would be happy to investigate further for you.

If you have any other questions related to your credit report, how Fig reports your information or either of the credit bureaus, please contact us.

Unfamiliar with Fig or suspect a reporting error on your credit file?

If you come across anything in your credit report that you don’t recognize or isn’t accurate, we recommend contacting TransUnion & Equifax promptly to report them.

Please visit the Government of Canada website by clicking here to learn more about credit report and score basics.

We do our best to provide useful information. However, we cannot guarantee that the information on credit reporting (other than as it relates to Fig’s reporting to credit bureaus) is complete, accurate, up-to-date or otherwise reliable for any particular purpose. This FAQ document is provided to you as information only and not as advice tailored to your reality.