Co-borrower or joint loan?

Borrowing with someone can mean two things. In a joint loan, two people apply together for the same loan. In a loan with a co-borrower, another person, or a company, commits to the loan with you. Here’s who commits to what, what it changes for your request, and how the Money911 co-borrower service works.

What a co-borrower is

A co-borrower is a person, or a company, that takes out a loan jointly with someone else. That’s how Québec’s Office québécois de la langue française defines the term in its terminology dictionary (in French). So a co-borrower can be someone you know, or a business.

A co-borrower commits to the loan with you, which lowers the lender’s risk. At Money911, that co-borrower is us. The loan itself comes from a separate lender.

No co-borrower in your circle? Money911 commits to the loan with you. Money911 is not the lender.

What a joint loan is

A joint personal loan is a loan that two people apply for together. They’re often partners, family members or roommates sharing an expense or a project. The lender usually looks at both people’s situations. Then both sign the contract, and both commit to repaying the loan.

So a joint loan ties two budgets together. Talk it through before you sign.

Four things to settle before a joint loan

• What is the money for? Agree on how the loan will be used before you apply.
• Who pays what? Decide how the payments will be split, and from which account.
• What if one of you can’t pay? Plan for it now: the contract commits you both.
• What if your situation changes? A breakup or a move doesn’t end the loan. It still has to be repaid under the contract.

Joint loan or loan with a co-borrower?

The main difference is how you apply. For a joint loan, you find a borrowing partner among the people you know and you apply together. With the Money911 service, you apply online, and Money911 commits to the loan with you as your co-borrower.

Who does what: you, Money911 and the lender

A request with Money911 brings three parties together. Each one has a clear role.

You

• You fill in the online request and choose the amount you need.
• You complete the instant bank verification (IBV).
• You read the lender’s contract before you sign it.
• You repay the loan under the terms of the contract.

Money911, your co-borrower

• Money911 commits to the loan with you.
• We review every request for your ability to repay, using a read-only copy of your bank statement.
• We never see your username or password.
• A payment getting hard? Call us before it is due.

The lender

• A separate lender provides the loan. Money911 is not the lender.
• The lender sends you the contract. The applicable terms are set out in it.

What it changes for your request

Has your credit file closed a door before? That is what a co-borrower is for: it commits to the loan with you, which lowers the lender’s risk.

A co-borrower doesn’t replace the review of your request. Here’s what stays the same:

• The eligibility criteria apply to every request.
• Instant bank verification (IBV) is part of every request.
• Every request is reviewed for your ability to repay; a request judged too risky is refused.
• Approval is not guaranteed.
• The applicable terms are set out in the contract the lender sends.

We publish our reasons for refusal too: bank verification (IBV) not completed, a bank account that’s too recent, incomplete documents, eligibility criteria not met, a debt ratio that’s too high, a returned (NSF) payment or a stop payment, and other reasons judged appropriate. Our guide to loans with imperfect credit explains how a request is reviewed.

How the Money911 co-borrower service works

You apply online. Here are the steps, in order.

1. Check the criteria. Be 18 or older, live in Canada, have a stable job, get your pay deposited into a Canadian bank account and earn a net income of at least $1,500 a month. No consumer proposal, debt consolidation or bankruptcy in the last 30 days, and none planned in the next 6 months. Self-employed? Your request is reviewed like an employee’s.
2. Send your request. The online form is open anytime. Choose the amount you need in your request.
3. Complete the bank verification. Instant bank verification sends us a read-only copy of your statement.
4. We review your request for your ability to repay.
5. Read the lender’s contract, then sign it. No payment or advance is required at signing.
6. Get the money, one of two ways:
   • Direct deposit. Request approved and signed contract back before 11:30 a.m.: deposit the same day, between noon and midnight. After 11:30 a.m.: the next day.
   • Interac e-Transfer. Choose Interac e-Transfer in your request: once you’re approved and the contract is signed, the money lands within the hour. An extra fee applies.

Each step is explained on our page about how a request works. To learn more about the service itself, see our co-borrower services. Meet the criteria? Send your request.

Already a client? Request a renewal. You can ask for a renewal once your balance is under $150 and you have kept to your contract terms. It is never guaranteed.