Bank Account Promotions in Canada: How Sign-Up Offers and Referral Programs Work

Banks and other financial institutions run sign-up offers to win new clients: a cash bonus, an item in place of cash, a period with no monthly fee (in one bank’s case, for newcomers) or a bonus savings rate, each tied to opening an eligible account and meeting conditions. The offers change, and a bank’s terms let it change or withdraw an offer. This page explains how the offers work and links the institutions’ own offers and referral pages, where the current offer and its terms are set out. How referral programs work, Wealthsimple’s included, is under referral programs.

Where each bank lists its current offers

Each link goes to the institution’s own offers page, referral page or referral terms, where the current offer and the conditions that apply to it are set out.

A dash means this table shows no figure for that bank.

Links checked against each bank's site on October 20, 2026.

An offer seen on another site may have ended: FCAC says promotional offers can end after a set period or a set number of uses, and banks’ own terms let them change or withdraw an offer.

What kinds of sign-up offers do banks run?

The offers on banks’ pages take several forms:

• A cash bonus, paid into the new account once the conditions are met.
• An item, such as a device, in place of cash.
• No monthly fee on a package for a set time, in one bank’s case for newcomers.
• A bonus interest rate on a new savings account opened alongside the chequing account. Those rates are compared under promotional savings rates.
• A larger offer for adding a savings account and a credit card to the new chequing account.
• A referral bonus, paid when an existing client brings in a new one (referral programs).

Newcomer packages can carry offers of their own. Those packages are covered on newcomer bank accounts, and accounts for students on student bank accounts.

What conditions come with a sign-up bonus?

Conditions differ from one offer to the next, and these are the kinds that appear in the terms:

• New clients. Some promotions are only for new clients. Terms can define that by leaving out people who closed an account with the bank within a set period, or who received one of its earlier offers.
• An eligible account. The offer applies to the accounts or packages its terms name.
• Qualifying actions. The terms list actions to complete, such as a recurring direct deposit of pay, a pension or a government payment, a recurring pre-authorized debit or an online bill payment.
• Keeping the account open. Terms can require the account to be open and in good standing when the bonus is paid. A program’s terms may let the institution recover a bonus withdrawn inside a set period after it is paid.
• One per client. An offer can be limited to one per client.
• Payment later. Terms can set the bonus to be paid after the conditions have been met, not on the day the account opens.

The full terms on the bank’s page are the complete statement of the offer.

What does the account cost after the offer?

Some offers are tied to a chequing package with a monthly fee. One bank’s terms say the package’s monthly fee cannot have been waived or rebated before the cash is paid, other than in the cases they list, such as keeping the minimum monthly balance.

Package fees, with their waivers or rebates, are on the pages for RBC, TD, BMO, CIBC and Scotiabank. Packages from several banks are set side by side on chequing accounts compared, and accounts with no monthly fee on no-fee chequing accounts.

When a promotional offer runs for a set period, FCAC says a bank must tell you the day you stop benefiting from it, and must get your express consent to impose additional charges after that day (FCAC on promotional offers). Fee types are explained on bank fees.

How do referral programs work?

In a referral program, an existing client shares a referral link or code, and the institution pays a bonus when the person invited becomes a new client and meets the program’s conditions. Depending on the program, both people can be paid, and the reward can vary, for example with the plan the client is on. A program’s terms can set who counts as a new client, and the terms can change. The Referral program column of the offers table links each program’s page or terms where the institution has one.

Wealthsimple’s referral program. Wealthsimple's referral terms say a client can invite someone with a referral link. The person invited must be a legal resident of Canada, of the age of majority, and must not already have registered a promotion account; they must fund an account from an outside institution within the funding period the terms set, and money moved from inside Wealthsimple does not count. Both the person who refers and the person invited can receive a cash bonus, paid into their Wealthsimple chequing account after the qualifying funding is processed. The bonus must stay in the account for a hold period or it may be recovered, and Wealthsimple issues no tax slip for bonuses paid to a non-registered account.

A client finds their own referral link in the Wealthsimple app under the gift icon’s “Invite friends” tab, or on the web through the gift icon at the bottom left of the screen. The bonus goes into the client’s Wealthsimple chequing account, which a client without one has to open. Wealthsimple’s program page is its referral page, and the full conditions are in its referral terms; both are in the Wealthsimple row of the table. How the Wealthsimple Chequing account compares with other online accounts is on the online banks page.

wealthnorth.ca’s own Wealthsimple referral link: wealthsimple.com/invite/WZ0ZTA. wealthnorth.ca receives a referral bonus if someone opens an account through this link.

Taking offers at more than one bank

A bank’s new-client test, as its terms word it, can look at the accounts a person has or had with that bank, and at offers received from it before. Having several accounts at different banks is covered on holding several bank accounts. An account that is no longer open and in good standing when the bonus is due, or a bonus withdrawn too early, can mean losing the bonus. One bank’s terms also rule out combining its offer with its other account offers unless stated otherwise. Closing and moving an account are covered on switching banks and closing a bank account.

Related pages

• What you need to open one: opening a bank account.
• Packages across banks: chequing accounts compared; accounts with no monthly fee: no-fee chequing accounts.
• Each big bank’s accounts and fees: RBC, TD, BMO, CIBC and Scotiabank.
• Changing banks: switching banks.