Accessing credit can be one of the biggest challenges for immigrants starting a new life in a foreign country. While access to credit remains a significant burden for many immigrants, it does not impact non-immigrants to the same extent. Scotiabank, a leading Canadian financial institution, has just announced a new partnership to serve Canadian newcomers by partnering with Nova Credit, the world’s leading consumer-permissioned credit bureau and only cross-border credit bureau to operate in Canada. Scotiabank will be the first Canadian-based bank to offer prospective customers the ability to access their foreign credit reports when applying for Scotiabank products. By agreement, immigrant Scotiabank customers will be able to use Nova Credit’s Credit Passport® to unlock their cross-border credit bureau data to help the bank and other businesses underwrite loans to them as newcomers to Canada.

This service makes it easier for the immigrants to establish a credit history in the country, providing them with opportunities to access funds with lower lending rates, higher credit limits, and better mortgage terms. This greatly alleviates difficulties faced by immigrants in various areas, including opening bank accounts, purchasing homes, renting apartments and vehicles, applying for credit cards, buying major appliances, securing insurance, making international calls, and even enjoying vacations. By accessing overseas credit histories, a financial institution like Scotiabank can gain insights into the financial behavior of borrowers, repayment patterns, and creditworthiness even when limited documentation is available.

To put this into context, Canada is home to over eight million immigrants and will welcome nearly 1.5 million permanent residents over the next three years. More than 1 in 5 Canadian residents are foreign-born, and government figures show that more than 95% of the country’s population growth last year was due to international migration. However, historically, Canada’s new-to-country individuals have had no way to carry over their credit history, resulting in challenges with accessing financial services that often require credit checks like credit cards, auto loans, or cell phone plans – even opening up a chequing account.

“Partnering with Nova Credit creates another opportunity for Scotiabank to support our customers, remove hurdles, and clear a path for newcomers to make a smooth transition to their new life in Canada,” said Tracy Gomes, Senior Vice President, Retail Customer Value, Scotiabank. “With Nova Credit’s Credit Passport®, newcomers will be able to share their credit history with us digitally, instantly, and seamlessly, giving them access to the credit they've earned before coming to Canada and making it possible for Scotiabank break down barriers for them to achieve their financial goals.”

According to Misha Esipov, CEO of Nova Credit, “the Nova Credit’s Credit Passport® unlocks cross-border credit bureau data to help consumers overcome these challenges and enable lenders to underwrite new-to-country consumers.” According to Esipov, Nova Credit can access the credit history of immigrants from a large swath of countries worldwide, including those as diverse as Mexico, Nigeria, and the Philippines.”

Prior to this expansion, only Canadians immigrating to the U.S. could reap the benefits of Credit Passport. Now, anyone immigrating to Canada can leverage it. Previously, the Nova Credit expanded into the U.K., thereby furthering the company’s ability to serve migrant corridors around the globe and bringing greater accessibility of credit services to that country’s thriving immigrant population.

One of the few other credit agencies helping immigrants is Majority. More information about them can be found here.