Home / Installment loans by province / Ontario
Installment loans in Ontario
Borrow $300 to $3,000 and repay it in equal amounts on your paydays, over three to four months. Applications with bad credit can still be approved.
The Loans514 team reviewed this page on November 5, 2026. We took the rules from official federal and provincial sources, listed at the bottom. All dollar amounts are examples, for illustration only.
In short
You can apply from Ontario with bad credit. Loans514 sends one application to lenders in our network, which typically lend $300 to $3,000 over 90 to 120 days at 22% to 32% APR. Like every loan in Canada, these fall under the Criminal Code's 35% annual cap, and the cap counts fees. Ontario payday loans have their own rules and can cost up to $14 per $100 for about two weeks, so a $500 payday loan means $570 due in one payment.
How applying works in Ontario
- Send one application. Use a phone or computer, anywhere in Ontario. It takes around five minutes.
- A lender gets in touch. Your application goes to lenders in our network. If one can help, it contacts you and asks you to connect your bank through Instant Banking Verification. That's a read-only view of your recent transactions, so you don't send documents.
- Read the offer. You see the rate, each fee and your total repayment before you agree to anything.
- Get paid. The lender deposits the money after you sign, often on the same day.
Loans514 doesn't lend money. Your rate, fees and payment dates are set by the lender that approves you.
Borrower protections in Ontario
Ontario has no separate licence for installment lenders. Your main protections come from federal law and from what the lender has to disclose:
- Since January 1, 2025, the Criminal Code has capped most consumer loans at a 35% annual percentage rate, fees included.
- The rate, each fee and your total repayment must appear in the lender's disclosure and contract.
- Buying loan insurance or another optional product isn't required to get a personal loan.
- Ask the lender if you can repay early, and if it charges for that.
If something goes wrong with a lender, take it up with the lender first. If that doesn't fix it, go to the regulator for that kind of lender. For lenders that aren't federally regulated, that's Consumer Protection Ontario.
Payday loans in Ontario
- A payday loan can cost no more than $14 per $100 borrowed, in total.
- You can cancel within two business days. You don't pay a penalty or need a reason.
- Rollovers are banned. A lender can't give you a second payday loan until the first is paid back.
- One loan can be no more than 50% of your net pay.
- If you take three payday loans within 63 days, the lender has to offer you an extended payment plan. You can also pay early with no penalty.
- Every payday lender needs a licence from the province.
Costs in Ontario
These are typical terms from lenders in our network. We last checked them in November 2026. Your own offer may be different.
- Amount
- $300 to $3,000
- Repaid over
- 90 to 120 days
- Annual rate (APR)
- 22% to 32%Set by the risk of your application
- Membership fees
- May applyPart of the total in your lender's offer
A $500 loan in Ontario: payday or installment
| Ontario payday loan | Installment loan, 32% APR | |
|---|---|---|
| Repayment | A single payment on your next payday | 7 payments, one every 2 weeks, over 98 days |
| Payment amount | $570.00 | About $74.98 |
| Borrowing cost | $70.00 | About $24.86 |
| Total you pay back | $570.00 | About $524.86 |
For illustration only. The payday loan is at the $14 per $100 cap. The installment loan is at 32% APR, the high end of the typical range, and leaves out any membership fees.
For lenders in Canada, the Criminal Code caps the annual percentage rate at 35%. Fees and other costs of getting the loan count toward it. The cap has applied since January 1, 2025. Try the calculator with your own amount.
Who can apply
- Age 18 or older, and a Canadian citizen
- A full-time job, or steady income from self-employment
- An online bank account that can be verified
- Not in a bankruptcy or consumer proposal
Your income and recent banking matter most to lenders, so a low score on its own won't rule you out. Apply from Toronto, Ottawa, Mississauga, Brampton, Hamilton, London, Kitchener, Windsor, Sudbury and Thunder Bay, or from anywhere else in Ontario. An application doesn't commit you to anything. You agree to a loan only when you sign a lender's contract.
Check the lender
Payday lenders in Ontario are licensed by Consumer Protection Ontario, which also takes complaints about the businesses it regulates. Its page on your payday loan rights shows how to check a licence and what to do when a lender breaks the rules.
Free debt help
Borrowing to keep up with other debts? A non-profit credit counsellor can help you make a budget, and may be able to set up lower payments with your creditors. See ways out of a loan cycle.
- Find accredited non-profit credit counsellors anywhere in Ontario through Credit Counselling Canada. You should never pay for a first meeting.
Before you borrow, look at cheaper options than a payday loan.
Sources
- Government of Ontario, Payday loan: your rights: the $14 per $100 cap, cancelling, rollovers and licences.
- Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Personal loans: optional insurance, what lenders must disclose, and provincial regulators.
- Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Payday loans: cost limits on payday loans in each province.
- Criminal Code, section 347: the 35% cap on the annual percentage rate.
- Credit Counselling Canada: a list of accredited non-profit credit counsellors.
- Typical terms in our network, as of November 2026. Payments are equal installments. Interest for each period = APR × days in the period ÷ 365.
This page is general information, not financial or legal advice. Each lender sets its own terms, and provincial rules can change. Check your contract and the sources listed here.
Ready to apply in Ontario?
Fill in one application and we send it to lenders in our network. Nothing is agreed until you sign a lender's contract.