Question 1

What is the CanFi Empowerment Portal?

Accepted Answer

The portal provides financial empowerment education, knowledge, and skill-based learning tools focusing on consumers who may have struggled with money, want to learn new skills or experienced financial barriers to creating wealth. This standalone portal is for educating consumers on personal financial health with learning topics on budgeting, savings, emergency funds, overdraft, and the credit system.

Question 2

What does the portal cost?

Accepted Answer

Exact pricing depends on your credit score and the complexity of your situation — we tailor recommendations to fit your needs. Book a free consultation so we can review your credit and recommend the right service and price.

Question 3

What financial literacy education is in the CanFi Portal?

Accepted Answer

There is up to 30 hours of education in a combination of videos, text, audio and quizzes. Financial empowerment education includes how the credit systems work, budgeting and savings strategies, reading credit reports, creating SMART goals and access to Equifax and TransUnion credit reporting agencies.

Question 4

What is VIP Premium Access to Equifax?

Accepted Answer

CanFi provides Equifax access codes with some of its programs. These are credit report access codes to Equifax one of the two credit reporting agencies in Canada. These codes are provided with different packages and each code has a retail value of $419. The codes provide unlimited access to their credit report, their credit score and credit watch for 1 year as part of the service.

Question 5

What is the difference between financial literacy and financial empowerment?

Accepted Answer

Financial literacy is financial education and financial empowerment is using information to make informed financial decisions.

Question 6

Who is CanFi Empowerment

Accepted Answer

CanFi is Canada’s longest‑standing and most sophisticated credit and financial empowerment organization, delivering expert financial literacy, credit rebuilding, and consumer support for more than 20 years. We combine deep industry experience, proven programs, and personalized coaching to help Canadians regain financial control and build lasting credit health. Book a free consultation to learn which of our services is right for you.

Question 7

What services are provided in the portal and how much do they cost?

Accepted Answer

Within the portal consumers may request these additional addon services in addition to the free education and VIP Premium credit codes: 1. CanFi Portal Upgrade – The CanFi portal has 30 hours of education. The combined services of financial literacy, budgeting support, credit rebuilding & unlimited support is $1499 for 1 year and $1900 for 2 years. 2. Credit Rebuilding – CanFi provides the credit reviews, credit codes, and the credit rebuilding within the same service. This provides credit rebuilding services with no education for $799 + tax. It walks consumers through a detailed credit rebuilding plan to get their credit score to 650. 3. Credit Review – CanFi provides 2 VIP Premium credit codes so the consumer can submit their credit reports into CanFi credit specialists. After reviewing the credit reports the consumer is provided a comprehensive assessment that determines the errors, and works with the consumer to have their credit reporting errors fixed. The fee for this is $299+ tax

Question 8

What information is gathered on consumers?

Accepted Answer

We only obtain basic contact information as well as consumers credit reports. This information is saved for three years then automatically purged from our system. Consumers may also request to have their information deleted from our systems once we have finished working with them.

Question 9

How does someone know if they have bad credit or not?

Accepted Answer

Although every situation may vary slightly as a general rule we use the 650 credit rule to gage credit worthiness. If a credit score is above 650 from Equifax and TransUnion a credit score is considered good to excellent. If a credit score is below 650 then a person's credit is considered poor. In Canada, all credit scores range from 300 to 900.

Question 10

After the meeting with CanFi , what do I do next?

Accepted Answer

After the meeting with CanFi we may prepare loan documents for you to sign – if you qualify – and then invite you into the aftercare portal. You should login right away and spend 30 minutes to get comfortable with the format of your education. Make sure you receive your credit access codes to access your credit reports. Reach out to members on the CanFi team to start the next chapter in your life.

Question 11

How do I access the aftercare education?

Accepted Answer

To access the CanFi education please log using your provided login details. The CanFi link is on our website, you can access the portal here . If you are not sure, please reach out to us directly.

Question 12

How do I get the Equifax code? What happens next when I receive my credit reports?

Accepted Answer

The Equifax codes will be provided to you by a member of the CanFi team. Use it to setup your account and obtain access to your credit report. Once you have copies of your credit reports please send them into your local office or CanFi to have them professionally reviewed. Our role is to identify errors, provide strategies to fix your credit reports, and provide tips to increase your score.

Question 13

Do I have to wait to pay off a Consumer Proposal to begin to rebuild credit?

Accepted Answer

No, waiting is a common mistake that many consumers make. As soon as your consumer proposal has passed you should begin credit rebuilding your credit report to get your score higher. The sooner you begin to rebuild your credit the sooner your score is above 650 and you have good credit again.

Question 14

How long will the Consumer Proposal report on my credit report after I have paid it off?

Accepted Answer

In Canada your consumer proposal will be reported on your credit report for 3 years past your last payment up to a maximum of 5 years. More important than when the consumer proposal no longer shows on your credit report is rebuilding your credit. Credit rebuilding is the only way your credit score improves over time.

Question 15

Why are some accounts still showing open even after I filed a Proposal?

Accepted Answer

It is common for your past accounts to show up on your credit reports. If you have any questions or need strategies to fix your credit report please reach out to CanFi for help. We have great strategies to help fix most credit reporting errors.

Question 16

I am renewing my mortgage later this year, should I pay off my Proposal first?

Accepted Answer

The most important consideration when banks consider mortgage renewals is the payment history. It is very important that mortgage payments are made on time. It is important to understand that if you know credit score is not lower than 650 (mainstream banking) you should NOT shop around your mortgage! Banks know when consumers shop around mortgages with other banks (they all share your information). In some cases, banks may choose not to renew a mortgage if the borrower is shopping around for a 'better deal'.

Question 17

Do you care if I finish the Financial Literacy Portal Education?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the education we provide supports your future. Our goal is to give you the education, the tools, and the support to be successful. This means you need to be going through the education and using our services to improve your financial future. If you are not sure where to start we suggest you reach out to a member of our staff to have a call with them first.

Question 18

How long do I have to do the modules?

Accepted Answer

There is no limit to finishing the portal but we strongly suggest you make the commitment to spend 1 or 2 hours a week learning the education. The more you learn the more confidence you gain in your financial situation. This also includes obtaining your premium credit codes, reviewing your credit reports, and beginning credit rebuilding.

Question 19

Is the aftercare portal mandatory?

Accepted Answer

No, but let me tell you what is going to happen. Without the education and our programs, you will not rebuild your financial situation. At some point you will need to apply for credit. Unless you have gone through our program and rebuilt your credit you will be declined. At that point you will wish you had gone through the program! It takes about 2 years to rebuild your credit and it is never too late to start.

Question 20

When do I contact you for the budget work?

Accepted Answer

The first thing you should do is review our materials on budgeting. As part of our budgeting materials, you should also try budgeting on your own for 1 or 2 months. The goal is to have you experience the positive and negative parts of budgeting. With the education and some early budgeting experience when you reach out to our staff we can help you more as part of your budgeting development. What we can do is offer tips, tweak how you approach situations, and build confidence in your budgeting work. For more support we recommend www.ezybudget.ca

Question 21

We need a new vehicle, can you get us a loan?

Accepted Answer

It depends. In order to qualify for a new vehicle loan you will need some reestablished credit. We do have partners we work with but applying for a vehicle loan will be a hard credit and they will be check many aspects of your financial profile. If you have questions, please reach out to a CanFi representative for advice to see if you may qualify. It is important to remember that anyone can get a vehicle loan the difference is how much is it going to cost you? Some loans obtained with very poor credit can cost 2 times more than the cost of the car. All that extra money you pay is robbing you of a better financial future.

Your Credit Questions, Answered