Bank alternatives
Banks and credit unions are usually the cheapest credit. These guides explain how each works and when a faster option fits.
✓ Checking what you qualify for does not affect your credit score.
Short answer: Ask the bank why and what would change the answer, then decide whether to wait or use a faster route. Banks and credit unions are usually the cheapest credit, but they want history, profitability and collateral. Deposit-based funding through Merchant Fund Express can bridge the gap while a bank file is built.
Key facts
Related: Business Funding Requirements in Canada · Documents Needed for Business Funding in Canada · What Business Funding Costs in Canada, Compared · MCA Calculator Canada: Payback, Cost and Payment · Funding Readiness Score Canada: Free 30-Second Check
Each guide summarizes the institution from its public information, explains how its business lending usually works, lists the points where owners most often run into friction and suggests questions to ask your banker. Read the guide for your institution before you apply or reapply. If you have already been declined, start with the questions section: the answers decide whether to wait, try again or bridge the gap.
Every guide is dated, because products and criteria change. If something is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
If you qualify for bank or credit union credit and can wait for it, it is usually the cheaper choice. Deposit-based funding fits when the timing does not work, the business is too young for the bank's criteria or the need is short and defined. Many businesses use both at different times.
Beyond the institutions covered here, Canada has hundreds of credit unions and caisses, many with strong local lending to small businesses. If your bank has declined you, a local credit union that knows your community is often worth a conversation before considering higher-cost options.
These pages do not rate or rank banks, and they are not affiliated with any institution. They summarize public information to help owners understand where bank lending usually works well and where it does not, so that a decline or a delay leads to a clear next step rather than guesswork. Bank products, criteria and names change; each guide carries its date.
Use the bank for long-term, lower-cost needs such as equipment, property and a standing line of credit, and keep the relationship strong by keeping statements clean. Use a short-term advance for needs that pay back within months, such as inventory for a busy season or a contract that has to start now.
Tell each side about the other. Hidden financing is what damages relationships, while disclosed, well-matched financing usually does not.
Reviewed by the Merchant Fund Express team on October 12, 2026. Official pages checked as of that date.
No. These guides summarize public information.
Yes. Deposit-based funding is repaid from your existing business account.
Educational information only. It is not legal, tax or accounting advice.
Same-day decision. Applying takes a few minutes and will not affect your credit score.
