How payday loans work in Calgary
Calgary is Alberta's largest city, spread across a big footprint where getting to a storefront can take a long drive. Applying online means no trip across town and no line on your lunch break.
Every payday loan in Calgary follows Alberta's Payday Loans Regulation. You can borrow $100 to $1,500, the cost can't be more than $14 per $100, and the loan must run 42 to 62 days, repaid in instalments on each of your paydays. You also have two business days to cancel after you receive the money, with no cancellation fee.
What a payday loan costs in Calgary
| You borrow | $600 |
|---|---|
| Maximum cost ($14 per $100) | $84 |
| Total to repay | $684 |
| Paid bi-weekly over 42 days | 3 instalments of $228.00 |
| Annual percentage rate | about 122% |
Instalments land on your paydays and, by law, can't differ from each other by more than $10. If you're paid weekly, semi-monthly or monthly, your lender will set the schedule around those dates instead.
Borrowing in Calgary: what to know
Many Calgarians work in energy, finance, construction and head-office jobs with bi-weekly or semi-monthly pay. Alberta's instalment rule works in your favour here: instead of losing most of one paycheque, a Calgary payday loan is spread over at least three bi-weekly paydays.
Getting your money in Calgary
You can apply from anywhere in Calgary or nearby communities such as Airdrie, Okotoks, Cochrane and Chestermere. Once you e-sign your agreement, your lender sends the loan by Interac e-Transfer. Weekday morning applications are often funded within a few hours; evening and weekend applications usually fund the next business day.
Every lender we work with holds a licence from Service Alberta. If a website offering loans in Calgary can't show you an Alberta licence number, or asks for a fee upfront, don't apply.
Free financial help in Calgary
Money Mentors, Alberta's only non-profit credit counselling agency, has an office in Calgary and offers free appointments in person, by phone or by video.
Money Mentors also runs Alberta's Orderly Payment of Debts (OPD) program, which can consolidate unsecured debts into one monthly payment. If you have a complaint about a payday lender, contact Service Alberta's consumer protection office.