How poor access to credit prevents newcomers from getting forward – Moneysenense

According to a TD study from 2025, 92% of the newcomers understood the importance of building credit before he arrived in Canada. Yet 82% of those who apply for a credit became immediate barriers. For many, these challenges go beyond the discomfort. They have a direct influence on immigrants’ ability to secure housing, buy a car, start a business and easily build a life in Canada.

This is not just about money. It’s about inclusion. And if Canada regards immigration as important for the future, then the removal of systemic financial barriers must be part of the national interview.

A Cultural shift and a credit-up-up call

Like many immigrants, I came to Canada financially stable. But the Canadian financial system did not recognize that.

I grew up in India and the Middle East with a simple rule: never buy what you can’t afford. Credit cards were not necessary, loans were not encouraged and financial independence meant life within your resources. That worldview was my early adult life – until I met my wife, who was born and raised in Ottawa.

I remember one of our early conversations while we were still living abroad. She was confused about why I booked fleeing by a travel agent. The answer was simple: I didn’t have a credit card. And I didn’t feel that I needed one. This was strange to her; In Canada, a credit card is a standard instrument for everything, from booking travel to construction points. For me it felt like a way to buy things that I couldn’t afford. We were not a fight and just came up with the problem from different cultural corners.

In the end I applied for a credit card and, like many people who did not grow up with the help of credit, I first abused it. It felt like free money, but that illusion quickly wore. Over time I have developed a healthy relationship with Credit: using for convenience, managing payments in a responsible manner and collecting points for purchases that I would have made. When we finally moved to Canada, it already felt that learning as if it didn’t matter anymore.

Credit history does not travel

Here is a truth that most newcomers know, but few are prepared: you don’t follow your financial history.

Although I arrived with a strong financial basis, I could not be eligible for a meaningful credit limit. My first Canadian credit card had a $ 200 limit, hardly enough for half a costco run. It wasn’t that I had a bad credit score. I didn’t have one at all. And building one completely again lasted years.

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This was not just a small inconvenience. It influenced every part of our lives.

We could not get a mortgage, not because of our income or how much we had saved for a down payment, but because of a lack of credit history. When we finally qualified, we had been in the country for years and we had done everything well: on time payments, healthy credit use, excellent scores in the 800s. But still, I did not see the same way as the system saw my wife who was born and raised here.

Even now, after more than six years in Canada, my access to credit is limited. I don’t get any offers for balance transfers, credit lines or automatic credit increases like them. Why? Because she has history for decades, and not me. The system rewards a long service life, no responsibility.

More difficult than it should be

The TD survey confirms what I have experienced. Among newcomers:

• 31% qualified only for credit limits too low to meet the basic needs
• 27% struggled to secure housing
• 24% could not save or invest for future goals
• 66% were worried about their Canadian credit history
• 79% found it difficult to start building credit

The latter stat is crucial. Building credit is not only difficult, it is systemically difficult for immigrants. And that’s the problem.

Although 92% of newcomers say that building credit is important, they are often left without the tools to do this effectively.

Yes, the financial services begins to recognize the unique needs of newcomers, but recognition is not enough. It is as if you are going to a doctor who finally understands your symptoms, but has no treatment. Empathy without action is still inactivity.

If Canada wants newcomers to succeed, we need more than empathy. We need solutions.