The score in your app may not be the score a lender sees.

Canada has two credit bureaus, each with more than one way to score you. An app shows you one of those scores. A lender may be looking at another.

That the number on the screen is your credit score, the same one a lender will see.

It is a credit score. It is not the only one, and nothing on the screen tells you whether it is the one a lender will use.

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada says it directly: the credit score you see may be different from the score a lender sees, because a lender may give more weight to certain information when it calculates your score.

There are two credit bureaus in Canada, TransUnion and Equifax, and each keeps its own report on you. Equifax Canada says each bureau has multiple scoring algorithms, and that lenders typically request only one of them when making decisions. So you have two files, and more than one way to score each of them.

The video on this page says you have two credit scores. Two files is closer to what the bureaus say. The number of scores depends on how many models are used to read those files.

The two bureaus do not always hear the same things. TransUnion says lenders provide updates to at least one of the two credit bureaus in Canada, and do not necessarily report to both, so the information on your credit reports may vary. Equifax says some lenders report to only one bureau, or none at all.

They do not always hear at the same time either. TransUnion says lenders report at different times during the month, which may result in slight differences in your reports and credit scores. Equifax says the same, and adds that one score may reflect the most recent information while another may not.

And the models differ. Equifax says some scoring models may include mortgage or mobile phone payment information, while others may not.

Three things can be different between the number you watch and the number a lender uses. Any one of them is enough to move it.

None of this means either number is wrong. Equifax says that if you look at scores based on data from both bureaus, you may see different scores, and calls this completely normal.

An app cannot tell you. The lender can. Before you apply, ask which bureau it checks for the product you want. Then find out which bureau your app uses, which the provider says on its own page.

The video on this page goes further in two places, and this page does not follow it.

First, the video gives a map of which Canadian lenders pull which bureau, and credits it to a blog. None of the Canadian primary sources this page checked publishes such a map: not FCAC, not Equifax, not TransUnion. A lender’s own statement about its own applications would be a source, and the simplest way to get one is to ask.

Second, the video says TransUnion scores run about fifty points higher than Equifax scores on average, because the two weight factors differently. Neither bureau says this. Equifax says scores from the two may differ, and that this is normal. TransUnion says reporting at different times may cause slight differences. Neither says that one bureau reads higher than the other.

How do I find out which bureau my app shows

The provider says so on its own page. On 25 September 2026, Borrowell’s page said it gives you your Equifax Canada credit score and credit report, and ClearScore’s page said it gets your credit score and report directly from TransUnion. These are the providers’ statements about themselves. Check the page of the one you use, because a provider can change bureau.

Does checking my score in an app lower it

No. FCAC says checking your own credit report or score does not affect your credit score. A hard inquiry, such as a credit card application, does.

Every claim on this page was checked against these documents on 25 September 2026.

• Financial Consumer Agency of Canada: Credit report and score basics · Improving your credit score
• Equifax Canada: How are credit scores calculated? · Why do I have different credit scores?
• TransUnion Canada: What is a credit report

Watch · 14:19

Your Credit Score Is Wrong (Here’s Why Canadian Banks See Something Else). Published 2 July 2026. Loads on click. Nothing is requested from YouTube until you ask.

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