How the Headache of Not Being Able to Access Credit Inspired Us to Start Credisys

My eldest daughter and I started Credisys because of my own personal experiences as a new immigrant to Canada. As I settled in as an international student, I was struck by the lack of financial options available to improve my family's livelihood — particularly through credit.

The Canadian financial system has not quite figured out how to serve recent immigrants. You open a savings and chequing account and get a debit card. Because you don't have a formal Canadian credit history, you can't access a credit card — which by itself hugely limits the financial services available to you.

The Walls You Hit Without Canadian Credit

Not having a Canadian credit history also significantly limits your access to rental accommodation. Property managers and landlords almost always ask for Canadian credit history and credit scores before renting to you.

As an international student, I could not borrow formally because I lacked a Canadian credit history. I could not safely save my money — bank accounts had high minimum balance requirements, too many hidden fees, and penalties. I could not pay bills or send money to family without losing additional money in high transaction fees. I could not get insurance to manage financial shocks like medical emergencies.

And I could not even rent a decent apartment. Despite having the means to pay, most landlords required a Canadian credit history — unless you could find a Canadian guarantor with good credit.

Whether you came as an international student, a refugee, or on a provincial nominee program, it is difficult to access proper rental accommodation without a Canadian credit history.

The Opportunity We Saw

My own experiences — and those of tens of thousands of international students, professionals on work visas, and underserved Canadians — presented a clear opportunity. It is the magnitude of this problem, and the authenticity of our experience, that drove my daughter and me to start Credisys.

When we arrive as newcomers, we almost always live in apartments where we diligently pay rent every month. Rental payments are the largest household expense per month. Reporting those payments to credit bureaus so they count in credit algorithms is a brilliant idea with significant impact.

Capturing rental payment data and reporting it to credit bureaus is the solution Credisys created — to help international students and professionals on work visas build a Canadian credit history, boost their credit scores, and access the financial services they deserve.

Who We Serve

This isn't only about newcomers. It also helps Canadians who have been here all their lives but — through one circumstance or another — are underserved, underbanked, or unbanked.

Credisys is a mission-driven technology company. It believes in using technology for good — and will pursue any financial technology that helps achieve its mission: accelerating financial inclusion for underserved populations in Canada.

Rethinking the Basics

Our potential customers cannot borrow formally because they have no credit history. They cannot safely save because bank accounts have high minimum balance requirements and hidden fees. They cannot pay bills or send money without losing money in transaction fees. They don't have insurance for financial shocks. And they cannot easily apply for rented accommodation.

Understanding these customers made Credisys radically rethink the basics of how people use, protect, and grow their money. We had to design new ways of meeting the needs of this unique customer — not adapt old systems that were never built for them.

The Credit Score Problem

Lenders use FICO scores to determine whether someone will be approved for a loan and what terms apply. In Canada, two main companies provide credit histories and scores: Equifax and TransUnion.

In theory, payment history and current debt utilization account for almost 65% of a FICO score. But in practice, the credit scoring system tends to unfairly penalise individuals who operate outside of the formal financial system — people who pay their bills, pay their rent, and live their financial lives responsibly, but remain invisible to the bureaus.

We built Credisys to change that.

Credisys aims to be the leading financial technology platform that leverages data solutions to close the wealth gap — and to prove that financial systems should work for everyone, anywhere and everywhere.