Nova Credit Expands into Canada, Partnering with Scotiabank as First Canada-Based Bank to Serve Newcomers with Global Credit Underwriting

Today Nova Credit, the world’s leading consumer-permissioned credit bureau, and Scotiabank have partnered to serve Canadian newcomers as Nova Credit becomes the first, and only, cross-border credit bureau to operate in Canada. With this news, Scotiabank will be the first Canadian-based bank to offer prospective customers the ability to share their foreign credit reports when applying for Scotiabank products, powered by Nova Credit’s Credit Passport which unlocks cross-border credit bureau data to help businesses underwrite new-to-country newcomer populations.

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.

Scotiabank is the first Canadian-based bank to implement Credit Passport, offering newcomers to Canada the ability to leverage Nova Credit’s technology, which enables credit records from supported international credit reporting agencies to be instantly translated into a Canada-equivalent credit report and score during the online credit application process.

“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 to break down barriers for them to achieve their financial goals.”

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. Credit Passport is seamlessly and securely integrated into a financial institution’s credit application process so newcomers can opt in to share their home-country credit information to be approved for products in Canada. From there, Credit Passport provides the consumer’s credit history and an equivalent score that Nova Credit’s network of lenders and partners can leverage to make more real-time application approvals to audiences that were previously excluded.