Section 01What Nova Credit actually is
The mechanics, simplified:
- You start an application at a participating lender (e.g., the American Express US Newcomers application page).
- The application asks whether you have credit history outside the US. You answer yes and identify Canada.
- You authenticate to your Equifax Canada or TransUnion Canada online account through a Nova Credit module embedded in the lender's flow.
- Nova Credit retrieves your file from the Canadian bureau, translates it, generates a US-equivalent report and score, and feeds the result directly to the lender.
- The lender underwrites against the translated report alongside any other data they require (income, address, ITIN or SSN).
You do not maintain an account with Nova Credit. The translated report is generated for that single application and is not stored as your "Nova Credit file" the way a US bureau file is.
Section 02What gets translated, what does not
What is not translated:
- Your Canadian credit score itself is not the score the US lender sees. Nova Credit generates a separate US-equivalent score using its own model. The output number is anchored on the 300-to-850 US scale, not the 300-to-900 Canadian scale.
- Tradelines older than 7 years are typically dropped or aged out, in line with US FCRA retention norms.
- Soft and hard inquiries carry across in some implementations and not others; the lender's model may or may not weight them.
- Public records and collections that appear on your Canadian file generally carry through, including bankruptcies and consumer proposals where reported.
Section 03Current Credit Passport partners (verified April 2026)
| Lender | Use case | Available to Canadians |
|---|---|---|
| American Express | Personal credit cards (US Newcomers program) | Yes, since 2019 |
| HSBC | Banking and credit products in multiple countries; in the US, primarily international mortgages and select consumer products | Yes |
| SoFi | Personal loans, student-loan refinancing | Yes |
| Verizon | Mobile-phone account underwriting (no security deposit on phone plan) | Yes |
| Yardi | Rental application screening (some Yardi-managed property portfolios) | Yes |
Source 2.
What the partner list does not include, as of April 2026, are Discover, Chase (Sapphire and other consumer cards), Capital One (despite a long-rumored partnership that did not formalize), the major US auto lenders, and any traditional residential mortgage originator. A Canadian who wants a Chase Sapphire or a Wells Fargo card cannot use Credit Passport to bypass the SSN requirement.
Section 04When Credit Passport works well
The shortcut produces value in a specific intersection of conditions:
- The applicant has a Canadian credit file with at least three years of history, two or more open tradelines, and a clean (no recent delinquencies) record.
- The applicant has just obtained or already holds a US tax ID (ITIN or SSN) required by the lender. Credit Passport does not replace the tax-ID requirement.
- The target product is a credit card, a personal loan, or a rental application at a participating lender.
- The applicant is willing to authenticate to the Canadian bureau at the moment of application (real-time pull).
Section 05When Credit Passport does not work
- Traditional residential mortgages. US mortgage underwriting is anchored to FICO 2, 4, and 5 from the three US bureaus. Credit Passport generates a different score using a different model. The mortgage-pull scores Credit Passport produces are not accepted by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or any conforming lender. Foreign-national mortgage products bypass the FICO requirement entirely and underwrite on cash and asset documentation; see the foreign-national mortgage guide.
- Auto lenders. US auto financing requires an SSN at almost every meaningful lender. Credit Passport does not reach this category.
- Most US bank deposit accounts. ChexSystems screens new account applications using non-credit data; Credit Passport is not relevant.
- Thin Canadian files. A Canadian with one credit card opened 14 months ago does not have enough data for the translation to produce a useful US score. The lender is likely to decline.
Section 06CA versus US: where Credit Passport sits in the system
| Layer | Canadian side | US side |
|---|---|---|
| Source bureau | Equifax Canada or TransUnion Canada (federal CA jurisdiction; provincial consumer-reporting laws) | Nova Credit (federal US: regulated under FCRA, 15 U.S.C. § 1681) |
| Score scale | 300 to 900 | 300 to 850 (Credit Passport US-equivalent) |
| Authorization | Consumer-permissioned via the lender's flow; the consumer authenticates to the Canadian bureau | Same authorization; data routed through Nova Credit's API to the lender |
| Stored as | Your Canadian file remains at the source bureau | Credit Passport is single-use per application; not stored as a persistent US file |
| Replaces SSN? | N/A | No. ITIN or SSN still required by the lender's underwriting, even when Credit Passport supplies the credit data |
Section 07Worked example: Quebec professional applying for AmEx Gold
Sophie is a 38-year-old engineer from Montreal who closed on a Boca Raton condo in February 2026. She has an ITIN issued in March 2026 (CP565 received). Her Equifax Canada profile shows: FICO Canada 815, four open credit cards (one since 2014), one mortgage history (closed 2024), zero delinquencies. She wants an AmEx Gold for the rewards on dining and groceries during her Florida stays.
| Step | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 2026: Visit americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/features-benefits/us-newcomers | Lands on the Newcomers application page |
| 2 | Selects Canada as her country of credit history | Credit Passport flow opens |
| 3 | Authenticates to her Equifax Canada online account through the embedded Nova Credit module | Real-time data pull |
| 4 | Provides ITIN, US mailing address (the Boca Raton condo), Canadian and US contact info, income | Application submitted |
| 5 | Underwriting decision: approved for AmEx Gold with USD 8,000 limit | First US tradeline live |
| 6 | First statement closes 30 days later, AmEx reports the account to all three US bureaus | US credit file opens with a meaningful tradeline |
Section 08Common mistakes Canadians make
- Assuming Credit Passport gets you out of the ITIN requirement. It does not. The lender still asks for ITIN or SSN to comply with US identity-verification rules under federal banking regulations and the Customer Identification Program. Credit Passport substitutes for the credit-history requirement, not the tax-ID requirement.
- Using a stale Canadian bureau login. If your Canadian Equifax or TransUnion online account has been dormant and your credentials have expired, the Credit Passport flow stalls. Refresh access in advance.
- Closing all your Canadian cards before applying. Some Canadians close Canadian cards once they have moved to Florida, then try Credit Passport later. Closed cards eventually drop out of the active file. Keep at least two long-history Canadian tradelines open if you plan to use Credit Passport in the next 24 months.
- Expecting Credit Passport to help on the second card. Most lenders that participate use Credit Passport on the first application only. Once you have any US tradeline reporting, the lender typically pulls the US bureau directly on the next application.
- Mistaking the Credit Passport score for a FICO score. The number Nova Credit generates is a US-equivalent score, not a FICO score. Mortgage lenders, auto lenders, and many other downstream uses will not recognize it.
Section 09Actionable checklist
- Verify your Canadian Equifax or TransUnion online account works. Log in. Confirm your file is current.
- Confirm you hold an ITIN (or SSN) before starting any Credit Passport application.
- Identify the Credit Passport partner that fits your need: American Express for cards, SoFi for personal loans, Verizon for phone plans, Yardi for some rentals, HSBC for select international banking.
- Apply directly through the partner's standard application flow. Credit Passport is invoked inside the lender's flow, not separately.
- At the Credit Passport step, authenticate to your Canadian bureau using current credentials.
- Provide the lender with your US mailing address (Florida property address is fine), your ITIN, and your income.
- Once approved, set up automatic full-balance payment from your US bank account, just as you would for any other US card.
- Keep your Canadian tradelines open for at least 24 months while building your US file in parallel.
- After 12 months of reporting on your US AmEx and one secured card, treat the file as a domestic US file and apply for additional US products without going back through Credit Passport.
Section 10FAQ
Is there a fee to use Credit Passport?
No. The product is funded by the US lenders that integrate it. The Canadian consumer pays nothing.
Does using Credit Passport hurt my Canadian credit?
The pull from your Canadian bureau is a soft inquiry under Canadian rules. It does not affect your Canadian score. The US lender will run a hard inquiry on your nascent US file as part of the application, just as they would for any US applicant.
What if I have credit history in more than one country (Canada plus the UK, for example)?
Credit Passport handles multi-country histories at some lenders. American Express, in particular, supports translation from Canada, Australia, India, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and a growing list of countries. Per a February 2025 American Express announcement, the program continues to expand.
Can I see my Credit Passport report myself?
Nova Credit operates a consumer-facing portal for the equivalent product. Coverage and consumer-portal availability change; check novacredit.com directly. The single-use nature of the lender-flow Credit Passport means there is no persistent "your Nova Credit report" the way there is a persistent Equifax Canada file.
How does Credit Passport interact with FATCA or CRA reporting on my Canadian accounts?
It does not. Credit Passport pulls credit-bureau data only. It is not a tax-information transfer and is unrelated to FATCA (US side) or CRA's T1135 (Canada side).
Can my spouse use Credit Passport on my Canadian file?
No. Credit Passport requires the consumer to authenticate to their own Canadian bureau account. A spouse with their own Canadian credit file can use their own Credit Passport flow on a separate application.
What if Nova Credit changes its partner list?
Partner lists evolve. As of this guide's review date, the partners listed above are confirmed by Nova Credit and the partner companies. Verify the current list at novacredit.com/credit-passport before counting on a specific lender.
Section 11What is not covered in this guide
- The full mechanics of underwriting the AmEx Gold or Platinum cards, which depend on income verification beyond Credit Passport.
- The mechanics of building a domestic US FICO file in parallel. See "Building US credit from zero" in chapter 01.
- The mechanics of applying for a US bank deposit account, which is governed by ChexSystems and the Customer Identification Program rather than by credit-bureau data.
- Foreign-national mortgages, where Credit Passport does not apply. See the foreign-national mortgage guide.
Section 12Logical next step
A Canadian who lands an AmEx through Credit Passport on day 30 has one tradeline. The next step is to add a second tradeline (a US-issued secured card) so that the file has two reporting accounts when the FICO score becomes useful at month 12.