Bank Fees in Canada: Fees by Bank, Waivers and Notice Rules

A bank account in Canada can charge a set monthly fee that usually includes a certain number and type of transactions, extra fees for transactions over that number or a fee for every transaction, and fees for services that cost extra; FCAC lists services that can cost extra: electronic transfers, personalized cheques, overdraft protection, safety deposit boxes and money orders. The table below sets common service fees side by side by institution, and each bank’s full fee table is linked further down. What a bank must disclose about its charges, and how early it must tell you about a new or higher one, is set out below.

What fees do bank accounts charge, and what lowers them?

The table names each fee, what FCAC or the banks’ own fee documents say lowers or waives it, and where it is compared.

FCAC says a financial institution may charge a non-sufficient funds (NSF) fee when there isn't enough money in the account to cover a transaction such as a cheque or pre-authorized debit, and FCAC says overdraft protection is a financial product that may cover the transaction if your account is in overdraft. NSF fees by institution are in the table below, and how returned payments and overdrafts work is on NSF fees and overdraft protection.

FCAC's tips for saving on banking fees include: stay within the number of transactions your package includes; keep the minimum monthly balance if your package waives the monthly fee (some institutions may charge the full monthly fee if your balance drops below the minimum, even for one day, and you may also pay a fee for every transaction); use electronic and self-serve transactions, which usually cost less than in-branch ones; use your own institution's ATMs to limit extra fees at other institutions' ATMs; and keep enough money in your account to cover bill payments and cheques, to avoid NSF or overdraft protection charges.

Which account each of the institutions that signed FCAC’s commitment offers, and who gets the version with no monthly fee, is on the no-fee chequing accounts page.

Bank fees compared across institutions

Each row gives one institution’s own fees, from its fee document or fee pages, for a returned payment (NSF), a stop payment, a purchase in a foreign currency and a paper statement where the table holds them (a dash means the table shows nothing for that cell), and its first cell links that institution’s accounts and monthly fees; how NSF fees work is on NSF fees, and how to stop a cheque or pre-authorized debit is on cheques and pre-authorized debits.

A dash means this table shows nothing for that cell.

Checked against each institution's pages between October 20, 2026 and October 21, 2026.

Institutions in this table: BMO, CIBC, Desjardins, Manulife Bank, National Bank, Neo Financial, RBC, Scotiabank and TD.

Other fees are compared institution by institution on their own pages: ATM fees, e-Transfer fees, wire fees, draft fees, closing fees and overdraft protection.

Monthly fees and premium packages are compared on chequing accounts compared, with all-inclusive packages under unlimited transactions.

What must a bank tell you about its fees before it charges one?

The rules below are the Bank Act’s and its regulations’ and bind banks; FCAC’s pages describe the same duties for federally regulated institutions. Who they cover:

• The duties fall on an institution, which Part XII.2 defines as a bank or an authorized foreign bank.
• In Part XII.2 a charge includes interest and, for greater certainty, a fee.
• FCAC says these rights apply when you deal with a federally regulated financial institution like a bank or federal credit union.

A credit union or caisse that a province regulates is not an institution under these sections; what one cooperative’s own agreement says about notice is below.

What a bank must disclose, and how, under the Act, the regulations and FCAC’s pages:

• A bank must disclose to its customers and to the public a list of all charges that apply to its personal deposit accounts in Canada, with the usual amount charged for services it normally provides.
• Disclosure to customers and the public means displaying the information prominently at each branch where the bank offers products or services, at each point of service and on each of its websites through which it offers them in Canada, and giving it in writing to anyone who asks.
• Required disclosure must be clear, simple and not misleading, and in writing unless the Act provides otherwise.
• Before it enters into an agreement to open a deposit account in Canada, a bank must give the person a list of all charges that apply to the account, and for a personal deposit account the circumstances in which it will send a balance alert.
• FCAC says a federally regulated institution must disclose certain information to you in writing when you open a personal account, on paper or electronically if you agree.
• FCAC's list of what you must be given when you open a personal account includes a list of all charges that apply to the account.
• FCAC says that when you open an account at a federally regulated institution it must give you information about all charges that apply to the account, including ATM fees.
• If the agreement is made orally by telephone, the bank is treated as having disclosed in writing if it first tells you the prescribed information by voice and then gives the information in writing without delay after the agreement is made.
• For a telephone agreement on a deposit account with no fixed monthly package charge, the prescribed spoken information includes the charges for monthly statements, passbook updates, cash withdrawals, cheque withdrawals, debit purchases, pre-authorized debits, bill payments, transfers between accounts and, if cheques are offered, cheque orders.
• Information the Act requires a bank to disclose that is sent by mail is treated as disclosed on the fifth business day after the postmark date.

A bank also needs your consent before it provides a product or service, and before it charges for one:

• A bank may not provide a product or service without first getting your express consent, entering into an agreement with you and, if the service is ongoing, giving you a copy of the agreement.
• Using the product or service does not count as express consent.
• A bank may not impose a charge or penalty on a product or service unless it has your express consent, the agreement provides for the charge, and the bank discloses the charge as the Act requires.

How much notice does a bank give before a fee goes up?

The Act’s notice duty is for a higher charge or a new charge on a personal deposit account, and for a higher charge on certain services on other deposit accounts:

• A bank must tell the person who gets the account statement, or someone that person names, about any increase to a charge on a personal deposit account, or any new charge on one, at least 30 days before the increase or new charge takes effect.
• If an account holder does not get a statement of account, the bank must instead disclose the increase or new charge to its customers and the public for at least 60 days ending on the effective date, and for a personal deposit account must display it prominently at each ATM that shows the bank's name or identifies the machine with the bank.
• In that case the bank must also say how to get further details about the increase or new charge.
• FCAC says a bank that raises a charge or adds a new one must give you written information at least 30 days before it takes effect if you receive account statements, on paper or electronically if you agree.
• FCAC adds that the bank must display the change prominently at each branch and point of service and on each of its websites, and give or send it in writing on request.
• FCAC says that if you do not receive a statement of account, the bank must also display a notice at each of its ATMs at least 60 days before the change takes effect.
• FCAC says a financial institution can change its account service fees at any time, but a federally regulated one must tell you in advance of any increase to an existing fee or any new fee, and must give you a list of all the service charges that apply to your account.
• FCAC says you may file a complaint if your financial institution did not tell you about these fee changes.
• For deposit accounts other than personal ones, the regulations prescribe the services, including transferring funds between accounts and closing an account, whose charges a bank must list and whose increases it must give notice of; the notice duty does not apply to an increase on such a service where the bank and the person agree in writing that the bank will charge a different amount from the one it must disclose.

The Act also says what a bank must tell you when a promotional, preferential, introductory or special offer ends:

• When you accept a promotional, introductory or special offer on a product or service (other than an optional one) for personal use, the bank must tell you, among other things, the charges that will apply when the offer ends: 21 days and five days before the last day if the offer lasts more than 30 days, and five days before if it lasts 30 days or less.
• The information the bank must give includes any charges or penalties that may be imposed after the offer ends.
• An optional product or service, or one that would be optional if it cost extra, provided under a promotional, preferential, introductory or special offer (other than one based on a set number of uses) may not be charged for after the offer ends unless the bank gets your express consent within five business days before that day.
• If the offer is based on a set number of uses, the bank may not charge for the product or service after the last use without getting your express consent immediately after that last use; using it is not consent.

The next sentence is one financial cooperative’s own wording, from its account agreement. One financial cooperative's account agreement says it may change service fees, interest rates and plans, that it will send a written notice at least 30 days before a change to any part of the agreement takes effect, except for changes to interest rates and for specific situations that require it to act quickly, and that to refuse a change you must end the agreement and notify it within 30 days after the effective date.

How a complaint about a fee is taken further than the bank is on bank complaints.

Low-balance alerts and cancelling a new account

The Act’s balance alert and the regulations’ cancellation period for a new account:

• A bank must send a person an electronic alert, without delay, when the balance of their personal deposit account falls below an amount they set or, if they set none, below the prescribed amount or $100.
• The alert must say that charges or penalties may be imposed under the agreement for the latest or any later transaction, what the person can do to avoid them and the time within which to do it; a person who has opted out in writing, or who does not give the contact information needed to receive it, does not get it.
• A retail deposit account can be cancelled by telling the bank within 14 business days after it is opened; the bank must then close it without charge and refund the charges related to operating it, other than interest charges, incurred while it was open.

Closing an account later, and what each big bank’s documents say about closing one and the fees they give, are on switching banks.

Can a bank take money from your account to pay a debt you owe it?

FCAC says the right of offset is a financial institution's right to recover money you owe it, for example if you have unpaid debt on a credit card or a loan, and that financial institutions often include a right of offset clause in their account, loan or credit card agreements.

FCAC says a financial institution may use its right of offset to repay a debt you owe it, and those accounts may be with it or with one of its affiliates; it may do so without first letting you know, getting your permission, or leaving money in your account if your debt is equal to or more than the amount in the account; the balance could then be too low to cover upcoming cheques or pre-authorized debits, and if a payment does not go through your financial institution may charge an NSF fee, fees that can add up quickly and increase your debt; and a right of offset may also apply to your joint accounts, so if someone you share a joint account with owes money the financial institution can withdraw funds from it, even if you are not responsible for the debt; how an NSF fee works is on NSF fees.

FCAC gives this as an example of a right of offset clause: "We may debit any other account you have with us with the amount of any payment you’re required to make to us and credit the amount to the outstanding debt under this agreement"; it says financial institutions use different wording in their agreements and suggests checking your agreement for a clause with similar language. A problem with how a bank used its right of offset can be raised through bank complaints.

Each bank’s full fee table

The fees each of these banks lists for its accounts are on its accounts page:

• RBC
• TD
• BMO
• CIBC
• Scotiabank
• Manulife Bank

Online banks and fintech accounts are compared on online banks.

Related pages

• ATM fees
• Overdraft protection
• NSF fees and returned payments
• Chequing accounts explained
• Chequing accounts compared
• No-fee chequing accounts
• Switching banks
• Ways to move money
• Unclaimed bank balances
• Bank complaints
• Credit card fees and each card’s fee compared
• The banking section