How Canadian vendors check a business customer today — and where each option breaks down

Auditors in Canada have a standard, electronic bank confirmation process. Trade credit has nothing of the sort. Vendors extending Net 30 terms are left with bureau reports, faxes to a branch, consent wording pulled off a legal forms site, or enterprise credit application software sold by quote. This page sets out each option honestly, including what CreditConfirm does not do.

Confirmation.com (Thomson Reuters)

The electronic channel most major Canadian banks use to answer audit confirmations, built around the standard bank confirmation form.

Auditor-gated. A trade credit vendor cannot open an account or send a request through it, because the network is designed for licensed audit firms confirming financial statements.

Credit bureaus (Equifax Canada, TransUnion, D&B, Creditsafe)

Commercial reports built from registry filings, public records and payment history reported by other suppliers.

None of it comes from the applicant's own bank, and no customer authorization is captured. Useful context, but it does not answer whether a banking relationship exists and is in good standing today.

Fax, email and phone calls to the branch

Still the default for most Canadian trade credit teams: a credit application with a bank reference section, then chasing the branch.

No durable consent record, no way for the branch to verify who is asking, no way for you to verify who replied — and a growing number of institutions simply decline unstructured requests.

Generic authorization templates

Off-the-shelf consent and release wording bought from a legal forms site and attached to a credit application.

A document only. No delivery, no signer identity check, no expiry, no audit trail, and nothing that tells the bank the request is legitimate.

Digital credit application platforms

A growing category of software that puts a branded credit application on your website, automates trade reference requests and attaches bureau data — the closest thing to what CreditConfirm does.

Sold through a sales team: a demo request, a quote and usually an annual contract before you can send a single check. Verification data is generally US-first, so Canadian branch, transit and registry coverage is thinner, and the bank piece tends to be account-data aggregation rather than a written confirmation from the branch.

Side by side

Capability comparison only. No pricing, ratings or performance claims are made about any third-party service.

Capability	CreditConfirm	Credit app platforms	Confirmation.com	Credit bureaus	Fax & email	Generic form
Written applicant consent captured	Signed before any request is sent	Signed with the application	Client-signed confirmation form	Not applicable	Depends on the vendor's paperwork	Wording only
Verified signer identity	Emailed one-time code before signing	Varies by platform	Handled by the audit firm	Not applicable	Whoever returns the form	None
Bank can respond without creating an account	Single-purpose secure link	Often account-data aggregation instead	Bank must be on the network	Bank is not involved	But unstructured	No delivery at all
Response sender verification	Confidence level recorded per response	Varies by platform	Institution-authenticated	Not applicable	Any inbox can reply	None
Append-only audit trail	Every access, signature and download	Generally included	Within the audit workflow	Report pull history only	Scattered across inboxes	None
Open to trade credit vendors	Built for this use case	Built for this use case	Audit firms only	Subscription or per-report	Anyone, with mixed results	Anyone
Self-serve signup without a sales call	Create an account and send the same day	Demo request and quote	Firm onboarding required	Some reports can be bought online	Nothing to sign up for	Buy the template
One signed consent covers every check	Application, bank and suppliers on one authorization	Bureau pull needs no applicant consent to you	Consent handled off-platform	Application consent only	Consent chased by phone	Signed page, no workflow behind it
Canadian branch, transit and registry coverage	Canada-only by design	Typically US-first verification data	Canadian banks on the audit network	Canadian bureau files	Only what you can find yourself	Not applicable

Written applicant consent captured

CreditConfirm: Signed before any request is sent
Credit app platforms: Signed with the application
Confirmation.com: Client-signed confirmation form
Credit bureaus: Not applicable
Fax & email: Depends on the vendor's paperwork
Generic form: Wording only

Verified signer identity

CreditConfirm: Emailed one-time code before signing
Credit app platforms: Varies by platform
Confirmation.com: Handled by the audit firm
Credit bureaus: Not applicable
Fax & email: Whoever returns the form
Generic form: None

Bank can respond without creating an account

CreditConfirm: Single-purpose secure link
Credit app platforms: Often account-data aggregation instead
Confirmation.com: Bank must be on the network
Credit bureaus: Bank is not involved
Fax & email: But unstructured
Generic form: No delivery at all

Response sender verification

CreditConfirm: Confidence level recorded per response
Credit app platforms: Varies by platform
Confirmation.com: Institution-authenticated
Credit bureaus: Not applicable
Fax & email: Any inbox can reply
Generic form: None

Append-only audit trail

CreditConfirm: Every access, signature and download
Credit app platforms: Generally included
Confirmation.com: Within the audit workflow
Credit bureaus: Report pull history only
Fax & email: Scattered across inboxes
Generic form: None

Open to trade credit vendors

CreditConfirm: Built for this use case
Credit app platforms: Built for this use case
Confirmation.com: Audit firms only
Credit bureaus: Subscription or per-report
Fax & email: Anyone, with mixed results
Generic form: Anyone

Self-serve signup without a sales call

CreditConfirm: Create an account and send the same day
Credit app platforms: Demo request and quote
Confirmation.com: Firm onboarding required
Credit bureaus: Some reports can be bought online
Fax & email: Nothing to sign up for
Generic form: Buy the template

One signed consent covers every check

CreditConfirm: Application, bank and suppliers on one authorization
Credit app platforms: Bureau pull needs no applicant consent to you
Confirmation.com: Consent handled off-platform
Credit bureaus: Application consent only
Fax & email: Consent chased by phone
Generic form: Signed page, no workflow behind it

Canadian branch, transit and registry coverage

CreditConfirm: Canada-only by design
Credit app platforms: Typically US-first verification data
Confirmation.com: Canadian banks on the audit network
Credit bureaus: Canadian bureau files
Fax & email: Only what you can find yourself
Generic form: Not applicable

Modelled on an established standard

The CPA Canada and Canadian Bankers Association standard bank confirmation form is the one piece of Canadian practice that banks already recognise. Its structure — a client-signed authorization first, then a fixed list of factual items the institution confirms — shaped our confirmation item list and consent wording. We do not replicate the audit form itself; we borrow the discipline of asking only for limited factual information the bank is willing to confirm.

See the workflow

What CreditConfirm does not do

We do not provide credit scores, ratings or risk models.
We do not replace a bureau report — many teams will want both.
We are not a bank, lender or credit bureau, and we do not make credit decisions.
Each institution decides what it will confirm. Some branches answer fully, some answer partially, and some decline.
We never label a response verified unless the underlying control was completed.

See it against your own credit process

Walk through a live request with fictional data, then tell us where it would slot into your onboarding.

Book a demo How it works