How to Build Credit History in Canada

Building credit history in Canada is about showing lenders you can borrow and repay responsibly over time.

The good news: you can start small and build slowly.

Use KOHO Essential To Build Credit History

A big part of good credit is simply staying in control of your money so you don’t miss payments or rely on high interest debt. That’s where KOHO Essential can help support your day to day:

• It has a low monthly plan fee that can be waived when you set up direct deposit or add +$1,000.

• Use a prepaid Mastercard® for groceries, bills, subscriptions, and travel.

• Grow your savings with a 2% interest savings rate on your entire balance.

• Earn 1% cash back on groceries, eating & drinking, and transportation.

• You can subscribe to Credit Building for $10/month, it's an affordable way to build your credit history.

• Enjoy unlimited transactions and free e-transfers (never worry about fees when sending money to someone again).

1. Make Every Payment On Time

Payment history is one of the biggest factors in your credit score.

• Pay credit cards, loans, phone bills, and other credit products on or before the due date.

• Set up automatic payments where possible so you don’t forget.

• Even the minimum payment is better than missing a payment entirely.

2. Keep Your Balances Low

Using too much of your available credit at once can signal risk.

• Try to keep your credit card balances well below the limit (a common guideline is under ~30% if you can).

• If you can pay in full each month, even better.

Lower balances = less interest + a healthier-looking profile.

3. Consider Credit Building Tools

If you don’t have much credit history yet, there are tools that report positive payment behaviour can help:

• KOHO’s Credit Building is one example of a structured way to add on time payments to your record.

• Some people also use secured credit cards or small installment products to build history, as long as they’re confident they can repay on time.

4. Avoid Too Many New Applications

Every time you apply for certain types of credit, lenders may do a hard check on your report.

• A few checks are normal.

• A lot of applications in a short time can make you look credit-hungry.

Choose products carefully instead of applying for everything you see.

5. Check Your Credit Reports

You can request your credit report from Canada’s major credit bureaus (Equifax and TransUnion) to:

• Make sure your information is correct

• Spot errors or fraudulent accounts

• See how your behaviour is showing up on paper

If something’s wrong, you can dispute it and clean up your file.

6. Be Patient and Consistent

Credit history is literally history—it’s built over time.

• Keep paying on time.

• Keep balances under control.

You won’t see a massive jump overnight, but steady, boring, on time behaviour is exactly what the system rewards.