FocusFinancialCorp.com Review: An Experienced Canadian Lender with No Reputation

What is Focus Financial Corporation?

Focus Financial Corp is a leading Canadian lender that has been providing online payday loans since 2008. The company is based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Using this website, you can apply for a loan from anywhere in Canada, 24/7. They claim to offer paperless loans, cheap rates and excellent customer service. The company guarantees that all customers will be extremely satisfied it their payday loans. According to the lender, every day they are helping thousands of people cope with their financial needs and emergency situations that require fast cash. They mention that their company offers a phenomenal convenience to all clients. They claim to be ambient and professional just like a traditional bank.

Types of Loans

Focus Financial Corp provides payday loans online. These are small sums that are meant to be paid off on the day you get paid. They are designed to help people cope with emergency costs that cause financial stress.

You may opt for an email money transfer – in this case, you will receive your funds in about 30 minutes. Or you can choose to receive the funds by direct deposit, which will take 2 business days.

Terms of Use

First-time customers can only be approved for a $300 loan. Existing clients with a good reputation can receive up to $1,000.  If you want to increase a credit limit with this lender, you must create a good history of repaying your loans. Typically, consumers can increase their limits by $100 or more upon repaying their payday loans two times.

Focus Financial Corp has its own eligibility criteria. To get a payday loan, you must:

1. be employed by your current employer for at least 3 months, or be receiving CPP/OAS;
2. have an open bank account showing history for the last 2 months;
3. be at least 19 years old;
4. earn at least $1200 each month;
5. have an active phone number.

Even if you do not fit these qualifications, you can still apply for a loan because in some cases, the lender can make an exception. 

They also mention that Focus Financial Corporation does not provide loans against Child Tax Credit, Ontario Disability Support Program, Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped, Persons with Disabilities, and Employment Insurance.

The company disclosed the maximum charges for a payday loan: 17% of the principal. For example, the total cost of a $300 loan for 2 weeks will be $51, which means you will have to return $351 on your payday.

The APR depends on the laws in your province. In general, annual percentage rate makes 443.21%.

You should also know that there could be various reasons for a loan denial., for example, insufficient income, providing incorrect personal information or documents, bad history with a bank, etc.

Application

With FocusFinancialCorp.com, you can fill out an application without leaving your home because it’s purely online.

When applying for a short-term loan, you will need to provide the last 2 months of your bank statement. You can either fax it to 1-877-604-6263 or email the lender (you will receive a link once you complete an online request form.) along with a void cheque. In some cases, the company may ask to show other verification documents depending on the circumstances.

So, you do not need to fax any documents, you can simply email them. But if you wish to fax documents, you can do it.

Besides, during application, you should be ready to provide your full name, address, e-mail address, social insurance number, phone number, date of birth, employer contacts, personal references, and some more.

Repayment

You will have to repay your payday loan on the day you receive your wages. They due date will be disclosed in your agreement. The borrowed funds + interest will be automatically taken from your check account. So you need to ensure you have the necessary amount on your account.

If your payment is late due to any reason, the lender will charge a fee of up to $50 depending on the province you are living in. This fee will be added to your total debt. They will also charge interest daily as long as you use the funds. If you feel that you will not be able to make a payment on time, contact the company immediately to arrange a new payment schedule. Failure to make a timely payment will also impact your credit score.

The lender has a right to collect delinquent debts using collection agencies and civil courts. In any way, Focus Financial Corp will act within the law.

1.5. Extension

You are not allowed to skip your payment until your next payday. You must repay a full amount on the due date specified in the contract. If you are not able to do so, you need to contact the lender to discuss possible options.

FocusFinancialCorp.com Bad Credit

You do need to worry if you have a bad credit history. The lender does not check your credit score before making a decision to approve you a loan. They only check your bank history and determine the maximum amount you can qualify for on that. That is why payday loans are also known as “bad credit loans”. You can be approved for a loan even if you are bankrupt. All you need to prove that you will be able to return the debt.

Technical Characteristics of the Website

Encryption

Focus Financial Corp website requires clients to fill in too many personal details, so it’s important to know whether your sensitive data are thoroughly secured. My browser indicated that this website is using a 128-bit SSL encryption technology. This is an average encryption which is able to protect users’ personal information from identity theft. A secure connection is verified by cPanel, Inc.:

The SSL certificate is functioning correctly but the site’s owner is not disclosed. It would prefer to use online lenders who use more advanced encryption technologies.

Mobile Version

FocusFinancialCorp.com is a mobile-friendly website. The mobile version seems convenient, there is no scrolling, all images and information are displayed correctly, there is no secondary or distracting information on the main page. The website has successfully passed a test from Google:

The availability of a mobile version improves the reputation of this online lender. Today, a mobile version is a real necessity because most people prefer to apply for a loan via mobile devices.

Antivirus

Unfortunately, this website is not screened for viruses and other vulnerabilities, which means you can infect your PC with unplesant and even dangerous malware. It’s important to feel 100% secure when applying for a loan, so you’d better choose websites that have antivirus programs installed.

Convenience of Use

FocusFinancialCorp.com seems a convenient website. The application process can be completed online and there is no need to leave your home (unless you need to fax any documents).

If you a first-time borrower, you need to click on the “New Customers” button and enter in general personal information.

Before filling out a request form, you will also be required to choose the province you are living in:

After that, you will need to choose your income type: employment, CPP, or Private Disability Insurance:

Finally, you will have to fill in the empty fields in the application: personal information, income amount, bank account information, and so on:

If you are an existing customer, you need to simply log into your personal account, click on the “Make a New Application” button, and all the necessary information will already be filled in the application form. You will only need to update any fields that have changed and submit your application form. So it’s easy to apply for a second and all further loans with this lender!

Your loan will be approved / declined in about 30 minutes during Focus Financial Corp regular business hours. If approved, you will receive the money within 30 minutes (if you opt for e-mail transfer).

In general, the website is very informative: I found all the necessary details each borrower needs to know: rates and fees, requirements, repayment terms, and so on.

You can also get a $20 referral bonus if you refer your friend to use the services of this company. You can invite as many friends and relatives as you wish. Each person can be referred only once.

In general, the site is convenient to use but you should only be ready to spend extra time on registration.

Is FocusFinancialCorp.com Legit?

Scam Adviser gave Focus Financial Corp a high trust rating – 91% out of100%, which means this website is safe to use:

The background of the website is impressive – the lender has been acting for over 11 years and enjoys popularity. The website is located in Canada. However, ScamAdviser was not able to determine the website’s owner country: it could be the USA or Canada. This was the only reason why the company did not receive the highest trust-rating.

FocusFinancialCorp.com Reviews

On-site Reviews

Online payday loan lenders often have a bad reputation because such loans are usually come with very high APR and are often issued to borrowers with bad credit. So I wanted to read reviews from previous customers who used the services of this lender. Unfortunately, there are no Focus Financial Corp reviews on the native website of this company. The site does not a testimonial page.

So I was not able to check the reputation of this lending company based on on-site comments and decided to look for any reviews on independent third-party websites.

Reviews on Third-Party Websites

Since this company has been providing payday loans for over 1 years, I expected to find a huge number of Focus Financial Corp reviews on the net. However, I was able to find one single customer feedback which proved to be a fresh complaint (posted in June 2018). Anastasia L. reported that the company’s manager was “unprofessional and apathetic” and declined her loan application even though she had a good job and provided all the required documents. She recommended to find another lender who would treat customers “with more respect and understanding”.

That’s a pity that Anastasia had an unpleasant experience with this lender, however, this complaint does not testify that this company is working illegally. It only gives evidence that your loan application can be declined even if you fit the requirements.

Customer Support

Contact Information

Focus Financial Corp contact information is fully disclosed: their head office is located in Vancouver, British Columbia. You can easily check up the addresses of all other locations in the section “Cities”.

They also specified their regular business hours: Monday to Thursday: 10 am – 6 pm, Fridays: 9 am – 7 pm, Saturdays: 11 am – 5 pm (PST). The only thing I was not able to find on the website is the lender’s email. I think they should have one.

FocusFinancialCorp.com Locations

The lender has a large availability all across Canada. They provide payday loans in the following provinces of this country, including Alberta, British Columbia, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Ontario, P.E.I, Yukon. The whole list of locations can be found on the website.

It’s not a problem if you work in a different province or territory than you live. If you live in a province where payday loans are available, you can be approved for a loan with Focus Financial Corporation.

Getting a Consultation

You can contact the lender at any time during working hours by phone 1-877-605-6262, fax 1-877-605-6263. There is no way to reach the customer support team by email or live chat.

I wanted to find out whether this lender has an email address for contacting the company’s representative, so I tried to call them using the specified phone number. Regretfully, I had a trouble with reaching the lender – nobody answered my call. I conclude that it’s not that easy to get an answer to your question and would recommend the site’owner to add a live chat for quick messages.

Conclusion

The advantage of Focus Financial Corp is that this company provides fast cash to customers with bad credit. Besides, we like the application process – it is simple and short. The site is well-arranged and clearly specifies all rates and terms of loans – there is not a single detail left unclear to us. The rate for installment loans is acceptable, but not the lowest possible option on the net. I also appreciate that this lender is direct and has an encrypted application page. Scam Adviser is also satisfied with the activities of this service and there are no reviews which would undermine the credibility of this company. Flexible repayment schedule can also seem attractive to some customers. In general, this is a legal service which could help you in a difficult situation, but it specializes on installment loans only, so if you are interested in other loan types, you will have to search for other lenders.