Are you looking to check your credit score for free in Canada? This Mogo credit score review is for you.
Mogo was the second fintech company to offer free credit score services in Canada after Borrowell. Since then, Mogo has become popular for its free credit monitoring service along with its robust financial products, ranging from a prepaid Visa card, mortgages, personal loans, Bitcoin and other investment products.
In this Mogo credit monitoring service review, I’ll discuss how the service works, its features and benefits and the steps to check your credit score and report for free on Mogo.
Overview of Mogo Credit Score
Mogo credit score is a free service offered by Mogo and powered by Equifax’s proprietary model. When you open a Mogo account, you will automatically qualify for the Mogo free credit score that’s updated monthly.
Mogo runs a soft check when pulling your credit score on Equifax. This means that your credit score will not be impacted after each check.
You also get your Equifax credit report for free through Mogo with identity theft protection for the first 90 days. However, you will need to apply for and activate the MogoCard to continue to enjoy these free services.
The MogoCard is a prepaid Visa card with no monthly fees, APR on purchase, Interac e-Transfer fees, direct deposits fee, and POS transactions fee.
Learn more about the card in this MogoCard review or this Mogo review to learn more about all of its products.
How to Check Your Mogo Credit Score
It takes less than 3 minutes to register and get your Mogo credit score.
You need to first create a Mogo account to get your free Equifax credit score Here are the steps you need to take to create a Mogo account:
- Visit the sign-up page here
- Enter your email and password
- Accept Mogo Terms of Use and Privacy and Security Policy
- Click the “Monitor My Score” button
- Follow the prompts
Now you can start checking your Equifax credit score for free through your Mogo account or on the go with the Mogo app.
After that, Mogo will track your credit score for the first 90 days. To continue the free service, simply apply for the free MogoCard and make at least one purchase with it every 90 days.
How to Improve Your Mogo Credit Score
Knowing your credit score is one thing, improving it is a different thing entirely.
As a result, Mogo recommends the following steps on how its users can improve their Equifax credit scores.
- Maintain a good utilization ratio: A good credit ratio shows to lenders that you’re a responsible credit user. Mogo suggests your credit utilization ratio shouldn’t exceed 70%. This means if you have a $20,000 credit limit, for example, you shouldn’t use more than $14,000 of it. Most personal finance experts however recommend 30-35%.
- Avoid late payments: 35% of your credit score is based on your payment history and late payments stay on your credit report for up to 6 years. Mogo recommends that you pay payment debt as at when due to avoid a significant credit score decrease.
- Consolidate your debt: You may find it difficult to pay all your credit card debts at once due to one problem or the other. Mogo recommends that you consolidate all your credit card debts with a loan. This will make it easier to pay off all debts by making a single low-interest monthly payment.
The above recommendations are just some of the major factors that affect your credit score.
Understanding all the factors that affect how your credit score is calculated and interpreted in Canada will help you improve your score more efficiently.
Mogo Credit Score Alternatives
There are several ways to check your credit scores in Canada. In this following sections, we’ll go over how Mogo’s service compares to its alternatives.
But first, here’s a table showing an overview of the top 3 free credit score apps in Canada:
| Mogo | Borrowell | Credit Karma | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit Bureau | Equifax | Equifax | TransUnion |
| Frequency | Monthly | Weekly | Weekly |
| Credit Score Fee | Free | Free | Free |
| Learn more | Visit Mogo | Visit Borrowell | Visit Credit Karma |
Mogo Credit Score vs Borrowell Credit Score
When referring to free credit scores in Canada, Borrowell usually comes to mind given the fact that it was the first to start offering the service in the country.
Like Mogo, Borrowell also pulls your credit score from Equifax through a soft credit check. You can also access your Equifax credit report on Borrowell for free.
What sets Borrowell apart from Mogo is that it offers weekly credit scores and reports while Mogo offers monthly updates.
In addition, Borrowell also offers access to more credit-building solutions than Mogo. This includes an AI powered credit coach, credit builder loans, secured cards and many other financial products from their partners.
Borrowell
Rating 4.7/5
Free credit score and credit report
Interest-free cash advance to prevent NSF
Financial products recommendations
AI-powered credit coach
COST Free CREDIT BUREAU Equifax
Below are other attractive features of Borrowell as of the time of writing this Mogo credit score review.
- Bill tracker
- Personal loans
- Mortgages
- Unsecured credit cards
- $75 interest-free cash advance
With Borrowell, you don’t need to sign-up for any of its other services to get the free weekly credit monitoring services. Mogo, however, requires you to get the free MogoCard to get access to your credit score and credit report beyond the first 90 days.
Learn more: Borrowell Review
Mogo Credit Score vs Credit Karma Credit Score
Credit Karma Canada is another free credit monitoring service that was launched in November 2016 to give Canadians the tools they need to take charge of their money. And more choice in the credit monitoring space.
That said, Credit Karma differs considerably from Mogo and Borrowell even though it also offers free credit scores and reports.
Unlike Mogo and Borrowell, Credit Karma pulls your credit score from TransUnion. It also offers weekly credit scores and reports updates like Borrowell.
In addition, Credit Karma also offers credit-building solutions like Mogo and Borrowell. Some of these financial products and services include:
- Mortgages
- Loans
- Credit cards
- Free educational materials on credit building
Learn more:
- Borrowell vs Credit Karma Comparison
- Best Credit Monitoring Services in Canada
- Free Credit Score & Credit Report in Canada
Mogo vs Big Banks Credit Score Checks
All the big 5 banks, with the exception of TD Bank, provides free credit sore and credit check update to their clients through their internet banking portal.
This is another free alternative to Mogo and one that does not require you to sign up for a third-party service.
RBC, Scotiabank and BMO provides TransUnion credit information while CIBC is powered by Equifax.
Learn more about the free credit monitoring services from big banks in the links below:
- RBC Credit Score
- Scotiabank Credit Score
- BMO Credit Score
- CIBC Credit Score
Mogo vs Credit Bureaus
You can also get your credit score and credit reports directly from the 2 credit bureaus in Canada: Equifax and TransUnion.
These services are not free, but they offer more benefits and more advanced features than what you get with the free credit monitoring services.
For example, Equifax CompleteTM Premier costs $19.95/month but you get alerts on key changes to your credit file, daily credit score updates, $1 million in ID theft insurance and a dedicated specialist to help you recover from ID theft.
TransUnion also cost $19.95 but you can try it for a month for only $1 using this link. You also get alerts, unlimited credit score and credit report checks, personalized credit analysis to help you improve your score and more.
While the free services are perfect for most Canadians, you should consider the paid services with real time alerts if you suspect, or confirmed, you’re a victim of identity theft.
4 Major Benefits Monitoring Your Credit Score Regularly
There are many benefits of monitoring your credit score regularly in Canada. Below are the major ones among them:
- Better rates: Monitoring your credit score regularly can help you get better rates from banks, credit unions, and other lenders.
- Eliminate errors: Monitoring your credit score regularly will give you the chance to identify and correct erroneous activity on your report quickly before it’s too late.
- Reduce costs: By monitoring your credit score regularly, you can save money that otherwise would have gone towards higher interest payments.
- Stay on top of your finances: Overall, regularly monitoring your credit score is a great way to stay on top of your finances.
Some FAQs on Mogo Credit Score
Mogo uses the Equifax scoring model which ranges between 300 to 900 points.
The Mogo’s credit score is accurate and calculated using an Equifax scoring model that uses the information on your credit file. It’s possible for the scoring to differ from other credit bureaus as each credit bureau has a different scoring model.
Short answer, no! This is because Mogo runs a soft check when pulling your credit score from Equifax. A soft check doesn’t harm your credit score unlike a hard check that is done when you apply for new credit.
The Mogo Visa card doesn’t report to any credit bureau because it’s a reloadable prepaid card that uses the funds you preload to the card for your purchases.
Final Thoughts
If paying a credit bureau $20 to check your credit score made it difficult to track your credit score in the past, now you don’t have any excuse.
The Mogo credit score check presents an opportunity to stay on top of your credit score conveniently without the extra cost.
Overall, this Mogo credit score review is positive. Mogo makes it simple and easy for Canadians to stay on top of their credit score. Unlike the other free credit monitoring services though, Mogo’s service requires you to use its prepaid card to enjoy the services beyond 90 days.
Luckily, getting the MogoCard is completely free. So if you don’t mind a monthly update of your credit score and credit report, the Mogo credit score is a great option. Otherwise, consider Borrowell and Credit Karma for weekly credit updates.
Hope you found this review helpful. Leave a comment below if you have any questions about checking your credit scores and credit report in Canada.
Mogo Credit Score Review
Summary
The Mogo credit monitoring service provides free monthly update of Equifax credit score and credit report to Canadians
