Can I cancel a payday loan?
Yes. You can cancel by the end of the second business day at no cost and without giving a reason — and in two situations the right never expires.
Yes. Every payday loan in Ontario comes with a statutory cooling-off period, and it is one of the strongest rights the Act gives you.
The two-day window
You may cancel a payday loan up to the end of the second day after the lender has both given you your agreement in the required form and delivered your advance — and if the lender is not open for business on that second day, you have until the end of the next day they are open. You do not have to give a reason. You cannot be charged a fee, a penalty or any part of the cost of borrowing for using the right.
Return the amount you were advanced and the loan ends there. If you were advanced $500, you return $500. The $70 cost of borrowing is not payable, because the loan is cancelled rather than repaid.
The count is in days, not business days — but the deadline rolls forward if the second day is one the lender is not open. Assuming a lender open Monday to Friday:
- Agreement and money on Monday — the second day is Wednesday, and they are open, so you have until the end of Wednesday.
- Agreement and money on Friday — the second day is Sunday, and they are not open, so you have until the end of Monday.
How to cancel
Tell us. A phone call is enough, but put it in writing as well — an email to the support address on this site does the job and gives you a record with a timestamp on it. Say that you are cancelling under your cancellation right, give your name and the loan reference, and arrange to return the advance.
We will confirm the cancellation and tell you how to return the money. No pre-authorised debit should be taken after a valid cancellation, and if one is, tell us immediately.
When the right never expires
This is the part lenders tend not to advertise. In two situations the cancellation window does not close after two business days — it stays open indefinitely:
- You were never given a proper copy of the agreement. Ontario prescribes what a payday loan agreement must contain and requires you to be given a compliant copy when it is made. If that did not happen, you can still cancel.
- The money was not made accessible within one hour. On a loan agreed remotely — online or by phone — the advance has to be made accessible to you within one hour of the agreement being entered into. Miss that, and the right to cancel does not expire.
If either applies to a loan you have with any Ontario lender, you can cancel it, return the principal, and owe nothing more. If the lender disputes it, that is a matter for the Ministry — see How do I complain about a payday lender?
Cancelling is not the same as repaying early
They are two different things and the difference is money:
- Cancelling inside the window removes the cost of borrowing entirely. You return the advance and nothing else.
- Repaying early — on day nine of a fourteen-day loan, say — is allowed, with no penalty, but the $14 per $100 is a fixed cost of borrowing rather than interest that accrues day by day. Paying five days early does not reduce it.
So if you have taken a loan and realised within the first two business days that you do not need it, cancel — do not simply repay it. The difference on a $500 loan is $70.
If you are not sure yet
Cancel anyway. You can apply again later if the need turns out to be real. There is no cost to cancelling, no mark against you, and no lender may treat a cancellation as a reason to refuse you in future.
