If you’re reading this BDC.ca review, there’s a good chance you’re looking for a loan to start or finance your business’s growth. Fortunately, the Business Development Bank of Canada can help with that matter. However, before you engage with the financial institution, you need to know about the company.
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Last Updated: Sep 21, 2023
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Launched in 1944, the Business Development Bank of Canada is a federally-owned crown corporation. BDC focuses on small and mid-sized enterprises by offering loans to run their functions. It’s headquartered in Place Ville Marie in Montreal, Quebec, and has over 123 business centers nationwide.
Here is an in-depth BDC.ca review of the financial firm, its products and services, and how to get started. Moreover, you will also learn of three BDC alternatives to check out if the firm is not the best fit.
There exists a vast list of financial institutions you can secure your business funding from. However, you only want the best institution since that positively impacts the business.
So, what makes BDC.ca an excellent firm to ensure your business’s growth?
Since the company started operations in 1944, you can rely on its experience. Moreover, they have mastered the art of customer satisfaction and handling to know what best works for their customers.
BDC is a government-owned organization, thus the crown corporation title. Unlike other money lenders, BDC.ca business funding serves all types of businesses. This includes businesses traditional banks regard as risky to invest in.
BDC holds a B Corp certification, usually reserved for businesses that benefit society. This means that the firm meets excellent accountability and transparency standards.
Moreover, it is the first financial lending platform in the country to receive such an honour. The company received the certification in 2013 and recently recertified in May 2022 for the third time.
BDC.ca works with 95,000 clients nationwide and has committed $47.8 billion to medium and small businesses. This figure shows how trustworthy the firm is among Canadian entrepreneurs.
A crucial part of any good review, including this BDC.ca review, is a detailed pros and cons section. While the BDC stands firm in the Canadian financial lending sector, it is essential to know its pros and cons. Moreover, these facts can help you decide if the lender is an excellent fit for your financial needs or not.
So here are the pros and cons we’ve chosen to highlight in this BDC.ca review.
By doing a BDC.ca business loan review, you will find out that depending on the loan taken, you can postpone repayments for six to 36 months. You will only have to pay the loan interest during this time.
After the grace period, you can resume paying for the loan sum as agreed. Moreover, BDC loans have flexible repayment periods of up to 25 years.
Taking a BDC.ca small business funding is quick since it is an online process. Moreover, no application fees are present, making it an easy task.
The loan approval time usually depends on the health of your business. So it is essential to ensure the business operations and finances are in order.
You do not have to worry if you are unsure whether BDC.ca business funding is right for your business. This is because the financial institution works with over 500 business consultants.
The firm has no penalties for entrepreneurs who pay off their loans before the repayment period is over. Moreover, early repayments strengthen your company’s credit history and increase eligibility.
The Business Development Bank of Canada determines eligibility using your business creditworthiness. However, some businesses do not meet the credit score needed warranting the owner to offer a personal item as collateral.
Acceptable assets placed as collateral include buildings, vehicles, and valuable equipment. You risk losing the collateral if the business defaults on making the BDC loan payments.
BDC does not usually post the loan rates online for the entrepreneurs to see before taking the loans. As a business owner, you will have to make an application to see the type of terms your business funding gets.
Unlike other financial institutions, BDC does not offer business lines of credit. This makes it a wrong option if looking for this specific banking product.
While the BDC is a commercially recognized bank, it does not offer any subsidies or grants to its clients. So, if you are looking for a financial institution that offers these benefits to its clients, you must find another lender.
As a financial institution, BDC.ca functions like a traditional bank. However, its primary focus is giving business loans to small and mid-sized firms.
This section of our BDC.ca review highlights the financing option the bank offers its clients.
BDC.ca offers various types of loans to help businesses grow. The financing options include:
BDC.ca provides this loan to help entrepreneurs fund commercial real estate ventures. You can use the money to build or repair your premises, buy land, or as a boost to cash depleted in real estate investments.
This BDC.ca small business funding has a repayment period of up to 25 years. Moreover, you can get 100% financing and postpone payments for up to 36 months.
You can use this financing option to fund your business’s growth projects, preventing the use of the existing working capital. With this loan type, you can postpone the repayments by 12 months. The total repayment period is six years.
If your supply chain operations are at stake, this loan product is what you need. Moreover, you can postpone the loan repayment by 12 months. BDC’s supply loan funding is up to $500,000 and has a repayment period of 12 months.
This BDC loan product is best if you need to improve your working capacity and production. You can use the money to purchase new machinery or boost your working capital after investing in new equipment.
The Business Development Bank of Canada offers up to 125% financing. You get to enjoy a 24-month grace period and the loan repayment period is 12 years.
This loan suits Canadian businesses with a working history exceeding 12 months. You can use the funding to boost your working capital and buy a new franchise or business assets.
You can apply for this BDC.ca funding to help you in business acquisition, succession, and buying new business assets. The loan amount you can get is usually tailored to your needs, and the repayment terms depend on your amount.
The technology financing loan product does not mean that your business has to be of a tech nature. Instead, you can use this financing to fund new software and hardware purchases, hire IT experts, and invest in digital marketing techniques.
With this loan product, you get 100% financing and a repayment term of up to four years. Moreover, you can postpone the principal loan repayments for up to six months.
With this BDC loan type, your business can expand its inventory, take new contracts, and complete customer orders. Moreover, you can pay your suppliers upfront to get goods if short of capital, enabling continued business operations. The funding option offers 90% financing and a repayment term of up to 18 months.
This BDC.ca loan package is meant for established and growing tech businesses. You can use the funds to finance onboarding new staff, roll out new products and services, and invest in new digital markets.
The Business Development Bank of Canada does not specify the amount limit you can get and the terms. So this implies that the financial institution tailors this loan package according to your needs.
This table provides a quick overview of the products highlighted in the above section of this BDC.ca review.
According to Canadastop100, the Business Development Bank of Canada emerged as one of Canada’s top 100 employers in 2022. They also won this award from 2007 to 2018, 2020, and 2021.
Other awards include:
Moreover, as mentioned above, this financial firm is the first to receive the B Corp certification. This certification proves high-quality professionalism and focuses on helping small and mid-size businesses.
The government of Canada is also the principal shareholder of the company. BDC.ca also has a strict confidentiality policy to ensure that your personal information is secure from data breaches.
A BDC.ca review wouldn’t be complete without guidance on how to use its services. Getting started with BDC is easy since it is an online process. Here is how to go about it:
For some reason, you may feel that the financial institution is not a good fit according to this BDC.ca small business loans review. In that case, having several alternatives can help you easily land the best financial partner.
So here are three BDC.ca alternatives we recommend.
The Loans Canada platform tops our BDC.ca small business loan review as an excellent alternative to BDC. It functions like BDC in that you can get urgent business loans and personal funding.
You also make an online application making it a quick way to secure finances. However, you must pay some fees, so you have to be on the lookout.
Another excellent alternative to our BDC.ca business loans review is Money Mart. It offers small business loans of up to $300,000 but with a repayment period of one year max.
The application process is quick, and you can do it online or in person to enjoy a wide range of services. However, unlike BDC, Money Mart has expensive APRs of 29.9% to 46.9%.
This is another excellent alternative to BDC.ca’s business funding. Apart from business loans, Smarter Loans has a vast list of financing options.
The firm also offers various business loans, making it easier for you to select the financing option needed. Moreover, you complete the loan application process online, guaranteeing convenience.
Finding Canada’s best business financing partner can be daunting. Moreover, with the vast number of money lenders, finding one that fits your business needs can be challenging.
So, with this BDC.ca small business loans review, you have learned what you need to know about BDC.ca and its services. Moreover, this BDC.ca review has touched on three alternatives to BDC.ca, so make the right decision.
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The BDC is a Government of Canada-owned crown corporation without any affiliation to the Bank of Canada.
Once approved for a loan, you must pay a $150 fee for loan management. Moreover, the fee is $150 if you need to amend the loan terms.
The interest rates vary with the loan you apply for since the institution has various financing options.
Unfortunately, BDC focuses on small and mid-sized businesses with a 12-month working history.
You can increase your chances of securing a loan by ensuring a healthy credit history or offering a personal asset as collateral.
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