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With every year that passes, more and more Canadians look to technology to help them take control of their financial situation. And it seems that with every year that passes, there are more and more options for apps and other software.
So, how do you know which products are worth integrating into your financial planning, and which ones you should skip? In this article, we’ll be shining the spotlight on two popular Canadian fintech brands: Mogo and Borrowell.
Both brands offer similar services (including credit score monitoring and loans), but they have their differences that will each appeal to different users. Read on to see who comes out ahead in the battle of Borrowell vs Mogo 2021.
Founded in Toronto in 2014, Borrowell was the first company in Canada to offer free credit score reporting. Borrowell relies on Equifax, the largest credit bureau in Canada, to provide credit score updates on a weekly basis through its app or desktop platform. Today, the company offers services beyond bill tracking, including personal loans, AI-powered credit coaching and access to a financial marketplace that allows users to compare credit cards and other financial services across Canada.
Vancouver-based Mogo is a publicly traded company that’s been on the scene since 2003. Billing itself as a “personal finance and money management app,” Mogo offers a range of services from credit score reporting, personal loans and mortgages to Bitcoin exchange and even identity fraud protection. Mogo also offers its own prepaid Visa debit card (more on that soon).
Borrowell’s services revolve around its highly rated mobile app, which gives users quick access to their full credit report, including scores. Borrowell doesn’t only provide credit score updates but also explains what each credit score means along with suggestions for how a credit score can be improved.
Borrowell will also make recommendations based on an individual’s credit report, including credit cards, insurance policies, mortgages, personal loans, and bank accounts. You’ll find out not only about the benefits that you stand to gain from each product but also about the likelihood of you being approved for a particular product, so you don’t have to jeopardize your credit score by applying to products that you’re unlikely to get approved for.
Borrowell also offers Borrowell Boost, a feature that predicts ongoing bill payments and income and sends you alerts when a bill’s due date is looming or when your bank balance is low.
Mogo offers the following services: free credit score reporting, credit score monitoring, personal loans, MogoMortgage mortgage brokerage and MogoCrypto, which allows users to buy and sell Bitcoin. It also offers a reloadable prepaid Visa card (MogoCard), which gives users the unique option of planting a tree with every purchase that they make.
Recently, Mogo also teamed up with Moka to offer wealth management services. This allows users to round up the spare change of every purchase and invest it in a managed portfolio.
Mogo has to take the win in this round. Although both companies offer credit score reporting and loans, Mogo offers a few services that Borrowell does not offer: a prepaid Visa card, identity fraud protection and Bitcoin trading.
Signing up for Borrowell is easy and doesn’t require access to a bank account or even the input of a Social Insurance Number. The qualifying requirements for each loan, mortgage and credit card will vary depending on the specific offering, though Borrowell will give you a heads up on how likely you are to qualify.
Mogo offers a three-minute signup process as well. Once registered, users will be able to see their personalized loan recommendations. In order to apply for a Mogo loan, customers need to have had steady employment for at least the past 30 days, a verified bank account and a minimum annual net income of $13,000.
We can call it a draw in this one. Neither signup process is bound to give you a headache, and both companies allow you to sign up for their services in a matter of minutes (and without divulging particularly sensitive info such as a SIN).
Accessing Borrowell’s services is incredibly easy. Its app is highly rated and easy to navigate, allowing users to pull up their credit score in a matter of seconds. App users can also opt to receive push notifications telling them that their updated credit score is ready. This is a handy option for those who would otherwise forget to keep up to date on their score.
It’s also very easy to use Borrowell’s free AI coaching service, Molly. With this service, you find information about what’s impacting your credit score and can receive recommendations on how you can improve it. It’s also simple to navigate your recommended products and services, which are organized by category.
Mogo makes it easy to track your credit score, but the service is only free for 90 days unless you have a MogoCard, which docks a few marks for accessibility. However, the brand does make it easy to learn more about credit scores and to build up credit through its prepaid Visa. It also offers one of the most economic Bitcoin trading services in Canada.
Moreover, it provides loan options for customers whose credit situation may make it difficult to qualify at a traditional bank, although it should be noted that the interest rates for these loans are usually quite high.
Borrowell takes this round on simplicity alone. Mogo offers some great services, but it can take some digging to become acquainted with them. With Borrowell, accessing your credit report and browsing your recommended products couldn’t be easier.
Both Borrowell and Mogo are powerful tools if you know how you’d like to put them to work. If you’re having a hard time getting a loan and want to look into your options, you may find Borrowell’s marketplace limit and have better luck with Mogo. However, if you’re just looking for a straightforward way to stay aware of your credit score, Borrowell is the way to go. Different tools for different tasks!
Both Borrowell and Mogo offer accurate credit reporting services. In fact, both services pull their scores from Equifax, one of Canada’s two main credit reporting bureaus (the other main one being TransUnion). Equifax supplies what is known as the Equifax Risk Score (or ERS 2,o) and is used by many lenders and banks.
Some Canadians prefer to track both their TransUnion and Equifax credit score for increased accuracy. If that’s the case, Credit Karma is able to provide you with a copy of your TransUnion credit score.
Yes, both Borrowell and Mogo are extremely safe products, although it is recommended that customers follow all digital banking best practices (such as using a complicated password and watching for mysterious links that could be phishing).
Both Borrowell and Mogo have proven company histories in Canada and use encryption standards that would be expected of any professional bank in Canada. Both countries also have proven histories—Mogo has been around since 2003 and Borrowell since 2014.
With both Borrowell and Mogo, it is free to access your credit report. With Borrowell, this service is weekly and will remain free indefinitely, while with Mogo it will be free monthly for 90 days. However, if you maintain an active MogoCard, your credit reports will be free with Mogo as well.
Mogo also charges for Bitcoin trading services, and Borrowell charges for its premium bill tracking service known as Boost.
