Is Fairstone Legit? Yes, It's Owned by a Federally Regulated Bank

Yes, Fairstone is legit. Its loans are made by Fairstone Financial Inc., a subsidiary of Fairstone Bank of Canada, which is a federally regulated bank and a member of CDIC. The business has been lending in Canada under one name or another since 1926, and it has more than 255 branches.

The company is real. Its rates are close to the legal maximum, though, and loan scammers use its name, so check that any offer came from Fairstone itself before you act on it.

Is Fairstone a bank?

The lender isn’t, but its owner is. Fairstone Financial Inc. is the company that signs your loan, and Fairstone’s company page (opens in a new tab) says it’s a wholly owned subsidiary of Fairstone Bank of Canada. The bank appears as a domestic bank on OSFI’s list of the institutions it regulates (opens in a new tab) and on CDIC’s member list (opens in a new tab).

Fairstone’s history goes back almost a century. Community Finance started in 1926 and, after a string of takeovers, became CitiFinancial in 2000. It was renamed Fairstone in 2017, when Citigroup sold it. Duo Bank bought Fairstone in 2021 and became Fairstone Bank in 2022.

The group has grown since. Home Trust and Home Bank, the two institutions behind Oaken Financial, joined it on January 8, 2025 (opens in a new tab), and all three stayed separate CDIC members. Fairstone Bank is now buying Laurentian Bank, with National Bank taking over Laurentian’s retail and small business clients. The final approvals came on August 31, 2026 (opens in a new tab) and the deal is expected to close on November 1, 2026.

Are Fig and easyfinancial the same company as Fairstone?

Fig is, easyfinancial isn’t. Fig’s legal page (opens in a new tab) says “Fig Financial Inc. is part of Fairstone, and is a Fairstone Bank company.” It launched in 2023 as the group’s online lender, and it isn’t offering new personal loans for now.

easyfinancial belongs to goeasy Ltd. (opens in a new tab), a separate public company in Mississauga. The two get mixed up because they lend to the same people at similar rates, and both have branches across the country. Our easyfinancial vs Fairstone comparison puts them side by side.

What does a Fairstone loan cost?

Unsecured loans run from $500 to $25,000 at 29.99% to 34.99% a year, over 6 to 60 months, according to Fairstone’s personal loans page (opens in a new tab). That top rate sits just under the legal limit. Since January 1, 2025, section 347 of the Criminal Code (opens in a new tab) makes any rate above 35% a year a criminal rate.

That limit leaves one cost out. The Criminal Code doesn’t count an “insurance charge” as interest, so optional loan insurance can push your total cost past 35% without breaking the law. Fairstone sells three kinds (disability, job loss and life), and its insurance page (opens in a new tab) says none of them is required to get the loan. Ask for the payment with and without insurance before you sign, and compare the two.

Homeowners can borrow $5,000 to $50,000 on a secured loan at a lower rate. Secured loans carry a prepayment penalty, and unsecured ones don’t. If you’re still comparing lenders, our guide to bad credit loans in Canada works out what each one costs in dollars.

What happens to your loan if Fairstone is sold or closes?

Your loan keeps its terms. A loan is a contract, and if a lender is sold or winds down, the loans go to another company and you pay that company instead, on the same terms. That’s what happened to Lendful borrowers this year. Lendful was wound up on July 1, 2026 (opens in a new tab), its loans moved to Peoples Trust, and Spring Financial kept servicing them with “all terms and conditions” unchanged.

In the Laurentian deal, Fairstone is the buyer, not the company being sold. Deposit insurance doesn’t come into a loan at all, because it protects money a bank holds for you, and a loan is money you owe. If you also hold an Oaken savings account or GIC, that money sits at Home Trust or Home Bank, and our CDIC guide explains how that coverage works.

Who regulates Fairstone?

Two layers. OSFI supervises Fairstone Bank as a federally regulated bank. The lending company holds provincial licences, and the footer of fairstone.ca lists several of them, including a Manitoba high-cost credit grantor licence (no. 85047) and mortgage licences in Ontario and Nova Scotia. Its legal page (opens in a new tab) links an Alberta high-cost credit licence too.

The Criminal Code’s 35% limit applies to every lender in Canada, whatever its licence. We found no Fairstone decision on the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s list of enforcement decisions (opens in a new tab), which goes back to 2012.

Is Best Buy financing through Fairstone?

Yes. Fairstone has been Best Buy Canada’s exclusive financing provider since 2020, and the two renewed that deal in August 2026 (opens in a new tab). There’s no plastic card. The account is digital, and you manage it through Fairstone online.

The plans need care. Outside Quebec, Best Buy’s plans are “No Pay/Same as Cash” for 3, 6, 12 or 18 months, and Fairstone’s Best Buy FAQ (opens in a new tab) says interest builds up from the first day even though no payments are due. Pay the purchase in full by the end date and all of it is waived. Leave anything unpaid and you’re charged all the interest that built up since the purchase, not just interest from that point on.

Quebec’s plans follow the same rule, except that you make minimum payments along the way. The one exception is the in-store Free Financing plan over 24 months, where no interest builds up as long as every payment is on time. Outside Quebec there’s an administration fee on each purchase, and Quebec residents pay a $35 annual fee instead. If you’d rather spread the cost another way, our buy now, pay later guide covers Affirm and the other instalment apps.

How to tell the real Fairstone from a loan scam

Fairstone is a big, well-known name, so fraudsters borrow it. The surest sign is a request for money before you get the loan. Fairstone’s fraud page (opens in a new tab) lists “requests for immediate payment before receiving your loan” as a warning sign, along with payment by gift card or wire transfer and emails from Gmail or Hotmail addresses. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (opens in a new tab) says upfront loan fees are illegal in most provinces and that you should never send money first.

If an offer reached you by text, email or social media, don’t use its link or phone number. Go to fairstone.ca yourself, or call the branch listed there, and ask whether the offer is real.

What Fairstone does well, and what to watch

Fairstone is a large, regulated lender with branches you can walk into. Its rates are published, the quote doesn’t touch your score, and its unsecured loans let you pay them off early for free. That last point matters most, because it means you can move to a cheaper loan once your credit improves.

What to watch is the price. 34.99% is very close to the most any lender can charge, and insurance can add to it. On Best Buy financing, one missed end date turns a free plan into one that charges all the interest back to the day you bought.

Building a cushion for next time

Lodavo publishes this site and makes a prize-linked savings app. We don’t lend or hold deposits, and Fairstone doesn’t pay for placement here.

A loan covers a bill that came before the money did. A small savings buffer is what covers the next bill, and that’s where Lodavo comes in. It gives you free tickets in a weekly cash draw for saving in the account you already use, so building the buffer comes with a chance to win something. If you want to know how our own app holds up to the questions on this page, read whether Lodavo is safe and legit and our security page.

Terms and conditions apply. No purchase necessary (alternate method of entry available). Skill-testing question required. Open to legal residents of Canada who are the age of majority. Odds depend on the number of eligible entries received. Full rules and odds at our contest rules.