Ottawa ON
As of today, Canadians can access bank accounts costing no more than $4 per month. Fourteen federally regulated financial institutions, including Canada's 6 largest banks, have signed on to and implemented the modernized Commitment on Low-Cost and No-Cost Accounts (Commitment) announced by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) in June of this year. The previous commitment was introduced in 2014.
Financial institutions that have signed on to the Commitment must prominently display information about the availability of low-cost and no-cost accounts in-branch and online, and have trained staff about these account options.
Under the modernized Commitment, Canadians can access low-cost accounts offering up to 50% more debit transactions per month. These include widely-used transaction types such as electronic fund transfers (e.g. Interac e-Transfers®). More groups are eligible for accounts costing $0 per month, including newcomers to Canada in their first year, plus at least one of the following groups, to be selected by each signatory:
- Indigenous peoples
- Canadians receiving social assistance payments from select provincial or territorial programs
- recipients of the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) and/or their supporting family member
FCAC expects signatories to meet all the requirements and will monitor their compliance with the Commitment.
