MogoMini Review 2024: Is Mogo’s $3,500 Line of Credit Worth It?
MogoMini Review Rating: 2.0/5
The flexibility of lines of credit makes them one of the best alternatives to credit cards. With a line of credit, you will only take a loan when you need it and make monthly interest payments while the borrowed amount can wait till maturity.
MogoMini is one of the most popular lines of credit in Canada you will find when using a personal line of credit.
This is despite the MogoMini line of credit having a limited maximum credit of $3,500 and a high interest of 47.42%.
So you may be wondering, what makes MogoMini special? Is it worth taking the MogoMini line of credit? What are better alternatives to the MogoMini line of credit?
All answers to your questions have been provided under this MogoMini review. Keep reading to learn about what MogoMini entails and how it compares.
What is MogoMini?
MogoMini is a personal line of credit that doesn’t require security. In other words, MogoMini is an unsecured line of credit offered by Mogo Financial, a popular free credit score service company in Canada that’s publicly traded on the TSX and NASDAQ exchanges.
As an unsecured personal line of credit, you are not expected to provide collateral to access MogoMini. Once you meet the eligibility, you can access a maximum of $3,500 personal line of credit under MogoMini.
Although unsecured lines of credit generally have higher interest compared to secured lines of credit, MogoMini’s interest of 47.42% is one of the highest out there.
To put that in an illustration, you will pay $1659.7 in interest on a $3,500 MogoMini line of credit. What the hell!
Unlike other unsecured lines of credit, MogoMini charges an e-Transfer fund fee of $19.99 per month and a non-sufficient fund fee of $50 per attempt. Even though these fees are waivable, they still exposed the costly nature of the MogoMini line of credit.
One interesting aspect of MogoMini is that it allows you to pay off your entire credit even before the 1-year maturity. That way, you will save a lot on paying Mogo’s high interest and fees.
But is that enough to go for MogoMini? Definitely no! Keep reading to learn more about the line of credit to make an informed decision.
MogoMini Key Features
MogoMini is defined by several features which we shall look at in the following passage.
1. Flexible Payments
Paying off your entire credit at once without penalty is one of the key features of MogoMini. The line of credit has a 1-year maturity and you’re required to only pay the interest per month while the principal loan waits till maturity.
By allowing you to pay the entire credit before maturity, you will not save a lot in avoiding the high interest and fees on the MogoMini line of credit.
2. Level Up Offer
Mogo’s line of credit offers access to special offers known as “Level Up Offer”. This offer is exclusively available to those that pay their monthly interest on time and clear their loan within 3 months instead of 1-year.
As noted earlier, the maximum line of credit on MogoMini is $3,500 and the interest is 47.42%. However, the Level Up Offer allows you to borrow up to $35,000 and pay a slightly lower interest of 16.9% to 46.96%.
For me, the only interesting part of this offer lies in its maximum credit limit. The interest rate is still high compared to what’s available out there.
3. MogoMini Service Bundle
To cover up for some of the drawbacks of the MogoMini line of credit, Mogo offers an optional add-on called “MogoMini Service Bundle”.
Although this bundle charges $14.99 per month, it gives you access to so many offers that will save you more than $14.99 per month.
In what form, we’re going to look at the key offerings of the MogoMini Service Bundle:
- Skip a Payment Twice a Year
Not having enough funds in your account could result in skipping a regular payment, thereby attracting the MogoMini $50 non-sufficient fund fee. This is besides the damage it will cause to your credit score.
But with the MogoMini Service Bundle, you’re allowed to miss payment up to two times in a year without an NSF fee or credit impact.
- Dishonoured Payment Fee Waived
If there is a failed attempt on deducting the regular payment from your account due to non-sufficient funds, Mogo will charge $50 per attempt.
However, the MogoMini Service Bundle waives the NSF fee if you make the default payment within five business days of the failed deduction attempt.
- Free Email Money Transfer Funding
Mogo charges $19.99 per month for funding your loan through Email Money Transfer (e-Transfer) — irrespective of whether you take out a loan within the month.
But with the MogoMini Service Bundle, you will not pay the Email Money Transfer Funding.
- Priority Funding
Requests for the MogoMini line of credit finding are usually attended to on a first-come-first-serve basis. But with the MogoMini Service Bundle, your request will be prioritized for fast funding.
If you’re in an emergency, priority funding could be the only thing you need to get some relief.
- Waiver on Re-Accessing Funds Waiting Period
If your account has a positive balance and you have cleared your previous balance, you will get a waiver on re-accessing funds waiting period when you cleared your MogoMini line of credit.
With this, you will eliminate the three-day waiting period that applies to re-accessing funds on MogoMini.
4. Test Drive
You can test drive the MogoMini line of credit for up to 100 days. This allows you to refund only the principal loan without interest and fees if you’re not satisfied with MogoMini within 100 days of approval.
It is worth noting that not many lines of credit in Canada provide a test drive opportunity.
5. Free Credit Score Services
Although this is an indirect feature, taking a MogoMini line of credit gives you free access to your Equifax credit score and report.
In addition, Mogo will protect your identity against fraudsters for up to 90 days for free. You can get unlimited identity protection when you apply and activate the Mogo no-fee prepaid Visa card.
MogoMini Pros and Cons
The above key features of MogoMini already exposed the major benefits of MogoMini. But to get a balanced perspective, let’s look at both the pros and cons of MogoMini.
Pros
- Easy access: MogoMini is easily accessible irrespective of credit scores compared to other lines of credit in Canada.
- Flexible repayments: Paying off your entire MogoMini loan ahead of the 1-year maturity will save you a lot on interest and fees.
- Perks: The competitive offerings of the MogoMini Service Bundle have covered some of the drawbacks of the MogoMini line of credit.
- Free credit score services: This is not a direct benefit but it’s worth stating since MogoMini provides free access to Equifax credit scores and reports.
Cons
- Limited line of credit: The standard maximum credit limit on MogoMini is $3,500. This is one of the lowest limits in Canada.
- High-interest rates: The MogoMini 47.42% interest rate is extremely high compared to the interest rates of other lines of credit in Canada.
- High fees: MogoMini not only has a high e-Transfer funding fee but a high NSF fee as well.
- Limited coverage: You can’t access MogoMini if you reside in Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon or Northwest Territories.
My MogoMini Loan Review Rating
I rate MogoMini 2.0 out of 5-stars based on comparative analysis and the total rating of the following features.
MogoMini Review Rating Methodology
Overall Rating
With the above rating, I can’t recommend MogoMini to individuals looking for a low-cost personal unsecured line of credit in Canada.
Who Can Apply for MogoMini Line of Credit?
To be eligible for the MogoMini line of credit, you must meet the following requirements:
- Reside in any province/territory in Canada (except Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon or Northwest Territories)
- Attain the age of majority in your province/territory
- Have a steady income for 30 consecutive days or longer
- Your annual net income should be $13,000 or higher
- Have a valid ID and supporting documents
- Have an active email address, phone number, and bank account
Bear in mind that meeting the above eligibility doesn’t guarantee your MogoMini line of credit approval. Mogo will conduct a credit, identity, and income verification to determine your fate.
How to Apply for MogoMini Line of Credit
The application for the MogoMini line of credit is easy compared to those of other lines of credit. All you need is to:
- Create a Mogo account if you don’t have one
- Apply for pre-approval
- Get pre-approved
- Apply for the MogoMini line of credit
The entire process could take a couple of minutes depending on the pre-approval waiting period. You can contact a Mogo loan specialist online if you need any help during the application process.
What Next After Applying for MogoMini Line of Credit?
Once you’re approved for a MogoMini line of credit, you will be expected to make regular monthly payments on the loan interest and applicable fees.
You are to pay the loan principal amount after 1-year from the day of approval. But if you have the capability, you can pay off the loan even ahead of the 1-year maturity to save cost on interest and fee payments.
As noted earlier, you will be charged an NSF fee of $50 if Mogo fails to deduct your regular monthly payment due to insufficient fees. Although the fee is waived under the MogoMini Service Bundle program which cost $14.99 per month.
To avoid credit damage and penalties from Mogo, you should avoid defaulting or missing your regular payments.
If you find it challenging to meet the regular payments, call a Mogo specialist at 1-800-980-6646 to negotiate favourable repayment conditions.
Alternatives for MogoMini Line of Credit
It makes no sense to take a line of credit with up to 47.42% interest which is almost half of the loan amount. On top of that, the MogoMini has a limited credit of $3,500, high e-Transfer funding and NSF fees.
With this, I should be heartless to recommend the MogoMini line of credit to anyone despite several alternatives.
The following financial institutions in Canada offer unsecured lines of credit with less than 10% interest and a higher credit limit as of January 5, 2024:
- Steinbach Credit Union offers a minimum of $5,000 personal unsecured line of credit with a minimum of 8.20% interest. This is one of the lowest interests in Canada.
- CIBC also offers a minimum of $10,000 personal unsecured line of credit with a minimum of 7.20% interest (CIBC Prime Rate + 1).
- Affinity Credit Union has a low interest of 7.20% (Affinity Prime Rate + 2.50%) on unsecured personal lines of credit.
Note that the above interest rates are subject to change when the Bank of Canada adjusts its prime rate.
That being said, you should consider not only the interest rate, but the credit limit, fees, and payment terms when narrowing your selection on the best personal line of credit in Canada.
The Bottom Line on MogoMini Review
The common knowledge is that lines of credit are low-cost alternatives to credit cards. However, some lines of credit will cost you more than a credit card in terms of interest payments.
That being said, the Mogo line of credit leaves a lot to be desired in terms of interest rates, fees and credit limits.
Even though it’s easy to access, I don’t recommend getting into the trap of MogoMini because you have different alternatives to consider.
One sure-One sure-fire trick for avoiding such a trap is to expand your income and build an emergency fund. That way, you will have limited chances of considering high-interest loans in the future.
Here are 15 proven passive income ideas in Canada to consider today.
Need more clarification? Kindly hit me up in the comment below.
FAQs on MogoMini Loan Review
Mogo can hurt your credit score when applying for a line of credit, loan or mortgage with it. This is because a hard credit check will be involved when assessing your application. However, Mogo will not hurt your credit score if you check your credit score with it or apply for a loan pre-approval.
It’s not hard to get a Mogo loan once you get pre-approval. You can also get approved for a Mogo loan if you have a bad credit score.
If you take a Mogo loan or line of credit, Mogo will deduct the regular monthly payment automatically from your account each month. You can also pay off the Mogo line of credit at any time without penalty.
Follow the steps below to pay off your Mogo loan ahead of maturity:
-Login to your Mogo account
-Go to the Manage my active loan section
-Follow the prompts to make a request
MogoMini Review
Summary
I can’t recommend MogoMini to individuals looking for a low-cost personal unsecured line of credit in Canada.
