Loans Canada Review

Monday, December 2nd

2024 Canadian Business Loan Reviews

Loans Canada

• Referral platform available to businesses in most Canadian provinces and territories
• Borrow up to $500,000
• Interest rates starting at 6.99%
• Same-day approval, next-day funding available
• "A+” rated and accredited by the BBB
• In business since 2012

Founded in 2012, Loans Canada proudly stands as a pioneer in the realm of business loan comparison platforms, offering its services to entrepreneurs across most provinces and maintaining a 100% Canadian ownership. Functioning as a reliable referral provider, the platform facilitates connections between business owners and lenders through an extensive network. The primary goal is to empower business owners with the knowledge needed to make informed decisions and take command of their financial well-being.

Fantastic resource for lender research

One thing we appreciate about Loans Canada is that prospective clients can use it to get information about today's most popular lenders, even without using the service to borrow money. Right on their main Business Loans page, Loans Canada gives you the scoop on Thinking Capital (now known as Driven), SharpShooter, OnDeck, and many other lenders. You'll spot some of those reviewed separately here as well. Why not take advantage of their research and other business owners' feedback before committing to any particular lender?

Helpful info on various business loan types

We also like the way Loans Canada provides insights into various types of borrowing that businesses may need: traditional business loans, commercial mortgages, business lines of credit, equipment financing, and so on. If you know you need money but you're not quite sure what type of business loan is right for your situation, be sure to read through this section of the Loans Canada website.

Your loan depends on the selected lender

Broadly speaking, this service can connect you with lenders willing to offer up to $500,000 in funding, with interest rates starting at 6.99% APR as of the time of this review. Your loan's details will naturally depend on your business profile and the lender you ultimately select, but many clients receive same-day approval and next-day funding.

No surprises in the application

To find out what Loans Canada's lending partners can offer, you'll start by entering your desired funding amount, your business' postal code, and the date your business got started (interesting point: if your business dates back to before 1973, you won't be able to enter it on the form). You'll then be told if you qualify to continue, though the site doesn't specify what will or won't disqualify you. From there, enter your company name, gross monthly sales, gross sales from debit/credit cards, industry, and payment processor. Finally, you'll be asked for your contact information; you may want to leave the box unchecked if you'd rather not receive "news, updates and promotions... including third party promotions” (and kudos to Loans Canada for not forcing applicants to consent to that).

Just one match?

For the business profile we entered, we were matched with just one lender. It's hard to say if that's the way Loans Canada always does things (a single provider match) or if it was the best match for the details we provided. We were also told that we should prepare for a call from the lender by having the most recent copy of our credit score ready (along with a link to get the credit report if we needed it). Or, you have the option to enter that score directly if you already know it.

Lots of offers for services you may not want

On that final page, you'll probably be offered a ton of "additional services” to wade through, from fraud and identity protection to financial education programs. It felt a little spammy, to be honest, and it was frustrating to not be given any further information on our business loan: we still had to either wait for a call from the lender we were matched with, or take matters into our own hands to reach out.

"A+” from the BBB

Reputation-wise, we have no concerns about Loans Canada. Neither does the Better Business Bureau, who gives the platform a perfect "A+” rating. There just isn't a lot of feedback, beyond the reviews of individual lenders (which typically have just a couple dozen ratings) and the Google reviews mentioned on the Loans Canada site (that we couldn't track down on Google itself).

Not the best referral platform out there

While Loans Canada can be an asset in helping you evaluate lenders prior to signing up for a business loan, it's not our favorite way to get funding. The process is a little more cumbersome here than we found with rival services, and you'll get a lot of pitches to sign up for things that are only marginally related to the funding you're seeking.