Payday Loans Canada: Borrow $100 to $1,500 From a Licensed Lender

By the GetPaydayLoansCanada.ca Editorial Team · Published June 6, 2026 · Last updated October 13, 2026

A payday loan in Canada is a short-term loan of $100 to $1,500, repaid on your next payday, from a lender licensed by your province. Since January 1, 2025 it can cost no more than $14 per $100 borrowed, so a $300 loan costs $42. Nine provinces license payday lenders; Quebec and the three territories do not.

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What does a payday loan cost in Canada?

A payday loan costs at most $14 for every $100 you borrow, all fees included, in every province that licenses payday lenders. That ceiling comes from the federal Criminal Interest Rate Regulations that took effect on January 1, 2025. Before that date the provincial caps ran from $14 to $17. A lender charging more than $14 loses the legal exemption that lets payday loans exist at all.

The fee is the same dollar amount whether the loan runs 14 days or the legal maximum of 62. On a typical two-week loan, $14 per $100 works out to an APR of about 365%. That is why a payday loan fits a one-time gap before payday and not a shortfall that comes back every month. Each amount has its own worked page: the $100 payday loan, the $300 payday loan and the $500 payday loan, and our guide to payday loan costs in Canada shows how the fee compares with other credit.

What are the payday loan rules in your province?

Every province caps the price at $14 per $100, but the other protections differ: how much of your pay a loan can take, how long you have to cancel, and what happens on a second or third loan. These are the rules that apply to any lender licensed in your province, online or at a counter.

Most provinces ban rollovers outright, where a lender charges a new fee to push the due date back, and Manitoba caps what one can cost. In Ontario, the rules are set out on the province’s payday loan rights page; British Columbia publishes its own through Consumer Protection BC.

The same rules follow you into every city. A borrower in Ottawa, London or Toronto gets Ontario’s two-business-day cancellation and the 63-day extended plan. Borrowers in Calgary and Edmonton get Alberta’s instalment structure. In Coquitlam, Abbotsford and the rest of the Lower Mainland, BC’s 50% of net pay limit applies. Halifax borrowers get Nova Scotia’s 48-hour online cancellation window, and Winnipeg borrowers get Manitoba’s 30% limit.

Why is an Alberta payday loan different?

An Alberta payday loan must run at least 42 days and no more than 62, and it must be repaid in at least two instalments that fall on your paydays. Alberta is the only province that banned the two-week, one-payment payday loan, and the $14 per $100 cap covers the whole term.

Here is a $500 Alberta loan over 42 days, repaid on three bi-weekly paydays:

The same $70 buys three times the time it buys in Ontario, so the APR on a 42-day Alberta loan is about 122% instead of about 365%. Instalments may not differ from each other by more than $10, and a bounced payment can cost you at most $25. The province explains the rules on alberta.ca.

Where are payday loans not allowed in Canada?

Payday loans are not legal in Quebec, Yukon, the Northwest Territories or Nunavut, because none of the four has been designated under section 347.1 of the Criminal Code. Without that designation, any loan above the 35% criminal rate of interest is illegal, and a $14 per $100 two-week loan is far above it.

If you live in one of the four, you can still apply here for a loan priced at or under 35% APR; lenders in our network lend in every province and territory. Our guide to where payday loans are legal in Canada explains what you can borrow instead and how to spot a lender breaking the law.

How do payday loans Canada lenders approve you?

Payday loans Canada lenders approve you mainly on your income, which they confirm through a read-only look at your bank deposits. The whole process runs online in four steps:

The check runs at any hour, but a request sent on a weekend waits for the next funding window; the payday loans on weekends page sets out that timing by day.

1. Apply in about five minutes. Tell us your province, the amount you need from $100 to $1,500, and your pay schedule.
2. Get matched with a licensed lender. We send your request to a lender licensed in your province.
3. Verify income with IBV. The lender sends a secure IBV bank verification link. It takes about 60 seconds, reads your deposits only, and does not affect your credit score.
4. Read the cost, sign and get funded. The agreement shows the fee in dollars, the due date and your cancellation right. Funds usually arrive by Interac e-Transfer, often within hours during business windows.

Prefer a specific route? See e-transfer payday loans for how the funds arrive, or bad credit payday loans if your score is the worry.

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Who qualifies for a payday loan?

You qualify for most payday loans in Canada if you are of age, have steady employment income and have a Canadian bank account that receives your pay. Lenders look at:

• Age of majority: 18 or 19, depending on your province.
• Employment income: full-time or part-time pay, deposited regularly. A steady paycheque matters more than a perfect credit score.
• A Canadian bank account: the one your pay goes into, so IBV can confirm it.
• Contact details: a phone number, an email address and a home address.

In British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario and Saskatchewan, the loan cannot be more than half your net pay; in Manitoba and New Brunswick it is 30%. On $1,200 of take-home pay per cheque, that means $600 at most in Ontario and $360 at most in Manitoba.

Do payday loans affect your credit score?

Usually not when you repay on time. Most payday lenders do not report loans to Equifax or TransUnion, so a loan repaid on the due date never appears on your credit file. That cuts both ways: a repaid payday loan does not lower a good score, and it does not build a thin one either.

A default is different. An unpaid balance is usually sold to a collection agency, and collection agencies do report. The account is coded R9, the lowest rating on the Canadian scale, and it stays on the file for up to six years from the date of last activity. The damage comes from the repeat cycle and the default, not from a single loan repaid on payday. If a loan is already past due, the next section and our guide to getting out of payday loan debt cover the way back.

What happens if you cannot repay on payday?

If a payday loan payment bounces, the lender can charge one capped default fee and your bank can charge its own NSF fee, and most provinces ban rolling the loan over for a new fee. The default fee is capped at $25 in Alberta and $20 in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

• Call the lender before the due date. Ask for a payment arrangement before the debit bounces.
• Know your extended plan. On a third loan within 63 days in Ontario, or 62 days in British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador, the lender must let you repay in instalments.
• Do not borrow again to repay. If one loan is paying off the last, read our guide to getting out of payday loan debt.

How do you pick a lender when the price is capped?

Because every licensed lender charges at most $14 per $100, you pick a payday lender on its licence, its disclosure and how it treats you if something goes wrong, not on price. Check four things:

• The licence: the lender must be licensed in your province. Ask for the licence number and check it with the regulator in the table above.
• The written cost: the agreement must show the fee in dollars and the APR before you sign.
• The cancellation right: the agreement must tell you how long you have to cancel for free.
• No upfront payment: a real lender never asks for money, a gift card or an e-Transfer before you are funded. That is a scam.

What should you check before taking a payday loan?

Check whether a cheaper option covers the same gap before you take a payday loan, because each of these costs less than $14 per $100:

• A pay advance from your employer, often free.
• A small loan from your credit union, usually priced well under the 35% APR limit.
• Your bank overdraft, if you can clear it within weeks.
• A payment arrangement with the company you owe, such as a utility or landlord.

If none of these works and the gap is real and one-time, a licensed payday loan at the capped price, repaid on schedule, is the next step. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada publishes the same checklist. More guides are in our payday loan guides.

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About Our Editorial Team

Get Payday Loans Canada is a loan matching service, not a lender or broker, and does not make credit decisions or fund loans. Payday loans are short-term, high-cost credit regulated by the provinces that license them. The maximum cost of borrowing is $14 per $100 borrowed; example: a $300 payday loan for 14 days costs $42, an annual percentage rate of about 365%. Payday loans are not available in Quebec, Yukon, the Northwest Territories or Nunavut. Borrow only what you can repay on your next payday, and check lower-cost options such as an employer pay advance or a credit union loan first. Approval depends on the lender’s criteria.