What Moves Your Canadian Credit Score
Understand payment history, credit use, account age and inquiries—and why scoring models do not all weigh them the same way.
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By Financial Debt Recovery Limited Compliance & Editorial Team
There is more than one scoring model
Your credit score is a numerical summary derived from information in your credit report. Credit bureaus and lenders may use different models. No universal percentage breakdown or guaranteed point increase applies to every Canadian consumer.
Payment history
FCAC identifies payment history as the most important factor. Late or missed payments, collections and insolvency information can affect a file. Make payments on time and contact a creditor early if you need to discuss an arrangement.
How much credit you use
Balances relative to available credit matter. FCAC suggests trying to use less than 30% of available credit. Lower balances can help reduce reliance on borrowing, but a particular utilization level does not guarantee a specific score.
Account age, applications and credit mix
An established history can provide more evidence of repayment behaviour. Repeated applications may generate hard inquiries. A mix of account types can also be considered, but taking on unnecessary debt simply to diversify your file can be counterproductive.
Changes take time to appear
A payment and a credit-report update are not the same event. Reporting and bureau processing schedules vary. If an FDR entry appears inaccurate or has not reflected a resolved account, contact our team with your reference number and supporting documents.