CHECKANDGO-CA-20260927Check 'n Go does not lend in Canada. The brand belongs to CNG Financial of Cincinnati, its stores and online loans are limited to U.S. states, and it holds no payday lender licence in any Canadian province. If a site offers you a "Check 'n Go loan" in Canada, it is not Check 'n Go. What Canadians can use instead is a provincially licensed payday lender, and since January 1, 2025 federal rules cap the cost of those loans at $14 per $100 borrowed, which the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) says works out to about 365% a year on a two-week loan.
That number is the reason this page exists. Before you look for any payday brand, it helps to know what a legal loan in your province may cost, how to check that the lender is licensed, and which cheaper options you may already have.
Why Canadian searches turn up Check 'n Go
Part of the confusion is geography. Search for Check 'n Go in Ontario and you will find branch listings, reviews and closure notices for "Ontario, CA", which is the city of Ontario in California, not the province. Check 'n Go lends only to U.S. residents with a U.S. checking account, so a Canadian application goes nowhere. Treat any Canadian website that borrows the Check 'n Go name, logo or colours as a warning sign rather than a shortcut.
What a payday loan may legally cost in Canada
A payday loan in the legal sense is $1,500 or less for 62 days or less. Section 347 of the Criminal Code makes it a crime to charge more than 35% APR, but section 347.1 exempts payday loans from licensed lenders in provinces that have their own approved payday law, as long as the total cost stays at or below $14 per $100. Every fee counts toward that $14, except a dishonoured-payment fee of $20 or less.
Where there is no approved provincial regime, there is no payday exemption. FCAC lists Quebec, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut as those places, so a short-term loan there cannot legally cost more than the 35% criminal rate. That is why the storefront payday chains you see in Ontario or Alberta do not offer payday loans in Quebec.
| Province or territory | Maximum cost | Loan-size limit | Cancellation window | Who licenses lenders |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Columbia | $14 per $100 | $1,500 and 50% of net pay | 2 business days | Consumer Protection BC |
| Alberta | $14 per $100 | $1,500 and 50% of net pay; loans repaid over 42 to 62 days | 2 business days | Service Alberta |
| Saskatchewan | $14 per $100 | $1,500 and 50% of net pay | End of the next business day | Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority |
| Manitoba | $14 per $100 | $1,500 and 30% of net pay | 48 hours, excluding Sundays and holidays | Consumer Protection Office |
| Ontario | $14 per $100 | $1,500 and 50% of net pay | 2 business days | Consumer Protection Ontario |
| New Brunswick | $14 per $100 | $1,500 and 30% of net pay | 48 hours, excluding Sundays and holidays | Financial and Consumer Services Commission |
| Nova Scotia | $14 per $100 | $1,500 | Next business day in store, 48 hours online | Service Nova Scotia |
| Prince Edward Island | $14 per $100 | $1,500 | 2 business days | Consumer, Corporate and Insurance Services |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $14 per $100 | $1,500 and 50% of net pay | Check with the regulator | Digital Government and Service NL |
| Quebec, Yukon, NWT, Nunavut | 35% APR criminal rate | No payday regime | Not applicable | Office de la protection du consommateur in Quebec; territorial consumer affairs offices |
Cancellation means you can hand the money back within that window without paying the fee. In Ontario, a borrower who takes three payday loans within 63 days must be offered an extended payment plan at no extra charge, and British Columbia has a similar trigger for three loans in 62 days. Provincial payday laws also ban rolling an unpaid loan into a new one for a second fee.
$14 per $100 next to what you may already have
FCAC's own comparison, last updated in October 2025, prices a $300 loan for 14 days across the usual options:
| Option for $300 over 14 days | Cost according to FCAC |
|---|---|
| Line of credit | $5.92 |
| Overdraft protection on a chequing account | $7.42 |
| Cash advance on a credit card | $7.65 |
| Payday loan at $14 per $100 | $42.00 |
The gap is more than five times, and it compounds if the loan is renewed. The catch, as FCAC's 2016 survey of 1,500 payday borrowers showed, is access: only 35% of those borrowers had a credit card, against 87% of Canadians overall, and only 12% had a line of credit, against 40% of Canadians. Fewer than half, 43%, understood that a payday loan costs more than a card cash advance. If you do have a card, an overdraft or a line of credit, use it first.
How to check a lender's licence before you apply
Well-known names in Canada include Money Mart, Cash Money, iCash and GoDay, but a familiar brand on a website proves nothing, because copycat sites use real names. The check that matters takes two minutes:
- Find the lender's licence number on its site or in its agreement; in Ontario it must appear on the first page of the contract, together with the total cost in dollars and as an annual rate.
- Search that number or the company name in your province's public registry, reached through the regulator in the table above or through FCAC's Consumer Hub, which links each province's tools.
- Make sure the licence covers your province. A lender licensed in Alberta is not licensed to lend to you in Nova Scotia.
- Walk away from anyone who asks for a fee before sending money, has no Canadian address, or quotes more than $14 per $100.
An unlicensed lender gives you none of the provincial protections: no cancellation window, no rollover ban and no licence your regulator can suspend, yet it will still try to collect. A loan that breaks the 35% criminal rate outside the payday exemption is also a crime on the lender's side, which is worth knowing if you are already caught in one and are talking to your provincial regulator or a non-profit credit counsellor.
Better first moves when money runs out before payday
FCAC's own suggestions are unglamorous and effective: ask the company you owe for more time, ask your employer for a pay advance, or cash in vacation days. Credit unions in several provinces also offer small emergency loans at rates far below payday pricing, and our guide to credit union loans in Canada explains how membership works. For a larger, planned amount, an instalment loan from a bank or licensed lender falls under the 35% APR limit, which our personal loans guide compares.
If the reason you searched for Check 'n Go was a short gap between paycheques and you already have a chequing account, look at the overdraft protection your bank offers before anything else: in FCAC's example it cost $7.42 where a payday loan cost $42.00.