Opening a bank account

You can open a bank account either in person, by electronic means or by telephone. The bank must be able to confirm your identity through proper identification.

Contact the bank to find out if there are other ways to open an account with them. Financial institutions that operate only online may require that you have an existing account with another financial institution before opening an account for you.

Information you must receive when you open a bank account

When you open an account at a bank, it must give you information about your account. For example, information about fees, increases in charges and new charges. This applies even if you open another account at that same bank.

When your bank must tell you about charge increases

When a bank increases a fee or introduces a new charge, it must give you written information about it.

If you were not made aware of the changes to fees or the new charges before they came into effect, you can make a complaint.

Electronic alerts from your bank

Your bank must send you an electronic alert when the balance of your chequing or savings account falls below a certain amount.

These alerts may help you manage your day-to-day finances and avoid fees.

Opening a bank account if you’re not a Canadian citizen

You may be able to open a bank account with the proper identification in Canada even if:

you’re not a Canadian citizen
you live in another country

You may need to go to the bank in person to open a bank account. Contact the financial institution for more information.

Identification you need to open a bank account

To open a bank account, the bank must be able to confirm your identity through proper identification.

There are two ways that allow you to meet the identification (ID) requirements. You must provide original ID, not photocopies.

(1) Provide two documents from a reliable source:

one document indicating your name and address
the other document indicating your name and date of birth

The two documents of identification must be from the following list:

identification issued by the Government of Canada or the government of a province
recent notices of tax assessments issued by the Government of Canada or the government of a province or municipality
recent statements of benefits from the Government of Canada or the government of a province
recent Canadian public utility bills
recent bank account or credit card statements
foreign passports

(2) Provide any document from a reliable source that indicates your name and date of birth. This way works only if your identity is also confirmed by:

a customer who is in good standing with the bank, or
someone who is of good standing in the community where you are opening the account.

What to consider before opening a bank account

Before opening a bank account, you may want to consider the following:

how you'll use the account, such as for saving or making payments
charges or fees on the account
interest you'll earn on the money in your account
if your deposits are protected by deposit insurance

Before you sign up for an account, make sure you understand all the terms and conditions of the account, including fees. Ask questions about anything that you don’t understand. Keep a copy of your account agreement for your records.

Transferring an account from one bank to another

You may decide to transfer your bank account from one financial institution to another if it offers a product that better suits your needs. It’s also a good idea to review your banking package from time to time.

Most financial institutions have processes to help you manage the transfer. This may include arranging for your old financial institution to transfer all your pre-authorized debits to your new account.

Keep your old account open during the transfer. Cut up old debit cards and cheques to prevent fraud.

Check your statements from both financial institutions until you’re sure that:

the new account is running smoothly
you’re not making the same payments twice

When a bank refuses to open an account for you

A bank doesn’t have to open a bank account for you if:

it has reasonable grounds to believe that your account will be used for illegal or fraudulent purposes
you have a history of illegal or fraudulent activity with financial service providers during the past seven years
it believes you knowingly made false statements in the information you gave
it believes you might cause physical harm to, harass or abuse other customers or its employees
you don’t have an account already and it only offers accounts that must be linked to an existing account with another bank
you don’t allow it to take steps to verify that the identification you presented is valid
in the case that the bank is a federal credit union, you don’t agree to become a member if it requests you to do so

If a bank refuses to open a bank account for you, it must notify you with a written statement.

They must also disclose to you:

their procedure for dealing with complaints
the name of the external complaints body (ECB) of which they’re a member and how to contact that ECB
the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s mailing address, website and telephone number

If a bank won’t open an account for you and you feel you have been treated unfairly, you can file a complaint.