Banking 101 – Building your credit score

Your credit utilization (the amount of credit you use compared to your available credit limit) has a significant effect on your credit score. High levels of debt may signal to potential lenders that you are spending more than you can afford.

In general, it’s a good idea to keep your credit card balance at no more than 35% of your credit limit. For example, if you have a credit card with a $1,000 limit, try to keep the outstanding balance below $350.

To keep your credit utilization low, you have several options:

• Apply for a credit limit increase
• Set up automatic payments to your Scotiabank credit card with AutoPay
• Set up recurring bill payments to your credit card
• Set up recurring transfers to your credit card

Scotia advisors are available in every branch to help you understand, plan, and execute the right financial plan. If you’d like to speak to a Scotia advisor about managing debt, give us a call at 1-866-698-5927.

Each lender decides which credit score range it considers a good or poor credit risk. Typically, the higher the score the better. If you’re looking to improve your credit score, TransUnion recommends the following:

• Pay your bills on time: Late payments, collections, and bankruptcies have a negative effect on your credit score.
• Keep your account balances below 35% of your available credit. For example, if you have a credit card with a $1,000 limit, try to keep the outstanding balance below $350.
• Check your credit report on a regular basis to make sure the information is accurate. If you’re registered for TransUnion Credit Services through Scotiabank, you can check your credit report by signing in to your account online or using the mobile banking app.

Visit our Digital Banking Guide to see a demo of how to check your credit score, and learn more about how to improve it on our Advice+ hub.

Each lender decides which credit score range it considers a good or poor credit risk. Typically, the higher the score the better. If you’re looking to improve your credit score, TransUnion recommends the following:

• Pay your bills on time: Late payments, collections, and bankruptcies have a negative effect on your credit score.
• Keep your account balances below 35% of your available credit. For example, if you have a credit card with a $1,000 limit, try to keep the outstanding balance below $350.
• Check your credit report on a regular basis to make sure the information is accurate. If you’re registered for TransUnion Credit Services through Scotiabank, you can check your credit report by signing in to your account online or using the mobile banking app.

Visit our Digital Banking Guide to see a demo of how to check your credit score, and learn more about how to improve it on our Advice+ hub.

TransUnion credit score checks can be described as “soft inquiries.” This means they have zero impact on your score or report. You can check your score anytime and it won't be affected.

Explore our credit scores page on Advice+ to learn more about what impacts your score.

Your credit score is a key factor in your overall financial well-being, so we offer this service at no additional cost to Scotiabank customers.

Please note: TransUnion credit score is currently only available to our personal Scotiabank customers, not our small business or commercial customers.