Lending Mate Reviews, Ratings And Fees

Who are LendingMate?

LendingMate launched in Canada in 2018 aiming to solve the biggest problem customers face – credit scores miss representing creditworthy customers as unaffordable.

Since going to market, we have helped thousands of Canadians get the money they need in order to consolidate debts, pay for emergency expenses, or simply to treat themselves to a Holiday or new car.

The reason we are able to lend to so many customers, with an approval rate of 95%+, is because rather than base our decision making on Credit Scoring Algorithms we based our loans on trust. If somebody else trusts you enough to Guarantee to make payments if you do not, we will lend you the money you need.

For this reason, all of our borrowers are required to find a Guarantor, who can also complete their application entirely online.

What is a Guarantor Loan?

A Guarantor loan is where a friend or family member agrees to take responsibility for the loan if the borrower fails to make a payment (The Guarantor).

The Guarantor needs to be clearly financially stable, with a strong history of repaying back their own bills. This typically means they have a high credit score. We are more likely to accept a Guarantor who is a homeowner as this shows to us that they are financially responsible.

When they make the application, we check the Guarantors credit file to verify their identity, check their payment history and other financial information. We use a ‘Soft Search’ when completing this, so no mark is left on their credit file.

The Guarantor needs to live in Canada but can’t live in Alberta due to legal restrictions. They need to be aged between 19-75.

Why Does it Work?

Guarantor loans have been around for a while, banks used to lend like this all the time and it is similar to a cosigner loan which is still common today across Canada.

LendingMate, and our sister companies around the world have pioneered the Guarantor product into the digital age, lending to over half a million people globally. We have built a company and application process optimizing solely for this product, which means we are able to deliver a Guarantor loan extremely efficiently. Most of our customers can make their application and have their loan paid out the same day.

It works for our customers, and they continue to choose our product because they can get a loan at a fair interest rate, despite their credit score preventing them from going to a traditional lender such as a bank or credit union.

The other option for a lot of our customers is payday loans, or other high-cost predatory loans. Borrowing with a Guarantor is a real alternative to this and allows customers to borrow a more significant amount of money over a term which makes the monthly payments manageable.

Who Is It Best For?

Loans are not for everybody, some people are genuinely unaffordable, or uncreditworthy and should not be given the responsibility of paying back $10,000. Our product is designed for people who are creditworthy but are not creditworthy according to their credit file. This is what will prevent them from getting a loan at a bank or other prime lender.

We believe our product separates out the ‘real prime’, from the ‘real subprime’ because the people that know them and their situation best are the people who will be guaranteeing the loan.

If nobody wants to Guarantee them, they probably are uncreditworthy – maybe they are unreliable or do not take the responsibility of borrowing money seriously.

If somebody who knows them on a personal level is happy to Guarantee the loan, then maybe the computerized credit score has this customer scored incorrectly – this is where we step in.

Our borrowers need to be aged between 19-75, and live in either Ontario, British Columbia or Quebec.

We are unable to lend to customers if they are currently in an active Bankruptcy or Consumer Proposal.

How Does a Customer Get the Loan?

Our loan application comprises three steps, which are all completed either online/over the phone:

1. Borrowers make their application, completing all their personal information, signing their contracts, providing their banking information etc. This takes around 5 minutes. Afterwards, the customer gets a link to send to their Guarantor so that they can complete their application.
2. Guarantors make their application. Once they fill in their personal details, our website automatically checks to make sure they are suitable instantly making a decision. If they are suitable, we then ask them for their banking information in order to pay the loan into their account and if they ever need to make payments we use this account.
3. Once we have everything we need from both parties, we have a quick phone call with both the Borrower and Guarantor to make sure they both understand their responsibilities. As soon as this is complete, the loan is submitted for payout – one last check from our underwriting team and then the money is sent to the Guarantor.

If a customer has any questions throughout the process our customer service representatives are on hand to help in any way they can.

If a customer partially completes their application we have automated follow up cycles which will encourage them to continue with the journey.