Borrowing with imperfect credit: what is assessed
By NovaCash · Updated September 22, 2026
Understand NovaCash's bank-verification review, the bankruptcy exclusion and the budget checks that still matter when your credit is imperfect.
A difficult credit history can make borrowing feel uncertain. It helps to separate three questions: how the lender assesses an application, whether you meet its eligibility rules and whether the proposed payments fit your budget.
NovaCash's published FAQ describes assessment without a credit-bureau enquiry, using instant bank verification, or IBV. That does not make acceptance automatic. The lender still reviews the file, and bankruptcy in progress is excluded.
Understand what a credit report tells you
A credit report and a credit score are related but different. The FCAC guide to credit reports and scores explains how to access and understand them. Reviewing your own information can help you identify inaccuracies and understand what is recorded.
If you spot an error, follow the bureau's correction process. Keep the relevant statements and correspondence. Correcting inaccurate information is useful in its own right; it is not a reason to take out another loan.
How NovaCash reviews an application
The published application process sends your file to FinX and uses IBV through Flinks to read the account activity needed for assessment, with your consent. This replaces paper-document submission. See the IBV process guide for the steps involved.
A bank-verification review is still a lending review. The presence of deposits does not establish that their source qualifies, and an application can be declined. A past refusal by another lender also does not tell you what NovaCash's decision will be.
The other requirements still apply
NovaCash publishes loans of $300 to $2,000 CAD. Its criteria require age 18 or older, Canadian citizenship, at least $1,200 a month by direct deposit, employment for more than three months, no bankruptcy in progress and ability to repay.
Self-employment and income from social assistance, child tax credits, student loans and retirement savings plans are excluded. Read the complete eligibility explanation. If your income or bankruptcy status needs clarification, contact (877) 431-4134 rather than assuming how the policy applies.
Assess the payment, not just the prospect of acceptance
Before considering an offer, list your essential costs and existing debt payments against actual deposit dates. Ask whether another payment would leave enough for housing, food, transport and other necessities throughout the schedule.
Compare the amount received with total repayment. For NovaCash, include the monthly membership fees disclosed with the offer. A calculator can help with initial planning, but the site's six-month illustration excludes those fees and does not determine your contract term.
If the budget is already strained by several debts, the FCAC guide to credit counselling can help you prepare for a discussion about options before adding another obligation.
Keep credit improvement separate from this decision
Ask NovaCash whether it reports repayments to credit bureaus before treating a loan as a way to build credit. Base the borrowing decision on the expense, eligibility and affordable payments, not an assumed increase in your score.
If an offer arrives, read it fully and ask about anything unclear. If it is declined, you can ask whether information needs clarification and consider other ways to handle the expense. There is no need to infer a personal judgement from a lending decision or commit to another product simply to obtain an acceptance.