Fig Financial Launches Personal Loan Service in Canada

Toronto-based lender Fig Financial says its personal loan service is now open to all Canadians.

“We are providing a true alternative to banks for every Canadian who needs better lending options. And we are doing what the banks won’t: making this experience entirely online,” Francois Cote, CEO, Fig Financial, said in a news release Tuesday (July 9). “If you need to cover unexpected bills and expenses, make home improvements, or pay off your debt faster — whether it’s 3pm or 3am — Fig is available to you.”

According to the release, Fig has helped provide upwards of Can$135 million in funding to more than 9,000 people via various partnerships. Now, the company’s service is accessible directly to consumers.

The company said its portal provides loan approvals in just 10 seconds and lets customers complete the entire application in under 10 minutes, letting users pick the amount to borrow, the time frame and a repayment schedule that works for them.

Fig Financial’s rollout comes at a moment when — as noted here Tuesday — the stage is “seemingly set for individuals and businesses to establish more digitally based relationships with their financial institutions.”

As detailed in PYMNTS Intelligence’s most recent “How the World Does Digital” report, across 60,000 consumers studied in 2023, 42% engage with online banking, while 46.8% do their banking through their phones.

Roughly two-thirds of consumers used an app on their phone for banking (mobile banking, 68.6%) or from their desktop with a browser (online banking, 66.6%) at least once per month.

“Banks are examining and re-examining their tech stacks to more fully tap into instant payments, digital account openings and embedded finance, among other initiatives,” PYMNTS wrote.

In a panel discussion here last month, Galileo Head of Product Strategy Michael Haney said composable banking is “becoming an imperative to improve the operational efficiency at these legacy banks and be more responsive to client needs and industry trends.”

This latest generation of platforms is based around MACH principles: microservices, APIs, cloud and headless.

As for some of the recent tech-driven initiatives, Bankjoy and Pinwheel teamed up in April to help financial institutions give customers a frictionless way to set up direct deposit. Via the collaboration, Bankjoy will help its bank and credit union customers integrate Pinwheel’s digital deposit switching solution.