We compiled this list of the best new account offers in Canada by analyzing over 20 Canadian financial institutions and more than 45 accounts. Get ready to switch and save with these bank promotions on now—offers like cash bonuses, free stuff, gift cards, referral bonuses and bonus interest rates.
Best new bank promotions and account offers in April 2025
What is the best new bank account offer in Canada right now?
The best chequing account offers available now are:
BMO, where you can earn $700 when you sign up for the Performance Chequing Account
TD, where you can earn $600 when you sign up for the Unlimited Chequing Account
The best savings rate promotions on now in Canada are:
Scotiabank, where you can earn up to 5% interest with the MomentumPLUS Savings Account
Tangerine, which is offering 4.5% interest with its Savings Account
To determine this best list, Finder Canada analyzed 27 chequing accounts and 22 savings accounts across 22 financial institutions. We compared accounts from traditional banks, digital banks, fintechs and credit unions. We review this list on a monthly basis in order to keep on top of any changing welcome offers in the market.
We ranked accounts based on 15 data points within five major categories. Here’s how we ranked and weighted each product:
Perks: 40% (Welcome offer (cash value or ongoing and promotional interest rates), other tailored rewards)
No single bank account will be the best choice for everyone, so thoroughly compare your options before picking your new account.
Key takeaways
Switching banks to take advantage of a new account offer can earn you cash, gift or interest rate bonuses.
The requirements to receive a bank sign-up bonus can sometimes be complicated.
It’s important to read the offer details to make sure you can meet all of the offer requirements before starting the process.
How to compare bank promotions in Canada
New bank account offers and bank promotions come with attractive perks, but switching accounts may not be right for you. Here are a few things to think about:
What are the new account’s ongoing fees and features? Don’t let offers to open a new bank account distract you from an account’s ongoing fees and features. Are there fees for transactions, transfers, account maintenance or ATM usage? Is there a mobile banking app? Does the bank operate solely online, or are there branches you can visit for in-person service?
When does the new bank account offer end? Bank promotions in Canada come and go. New account offers may only last a few months. It’s good to carefully consider your options, but don’t take too long, or you might miss out on a great bonus.
Are you satisfied with your current bank? It may be worth switching banks if your current bank doesn’t offer good service or another bank offers better accounts and products for your needs.
Is it easy to open a new account? It’s usually pretty easy to open a bank account online, although some banks have branches where you can get help in person.
How to qualify for a new bank account offer
To qualify for any bank promotion, be prepared to show valid, government-issued photo ID and proof that you live in Canada. You’ll also be asked to submit your name and contact information. Be aware that bank promos aren’t available for accounts you already have.
Some specialized offers will also sometimes require you to complete specific actions, like the following:
Bundle your account with other products & services (i.e. a savings account or credit card)
Get friends or family to sign up using your referral code
Show proof of academic enrollment (for student bank account offers)
Requirements for the best new bank account offers in Canada
Some bank promotions in Canada offer a bonus just for opening an account. Other new bank offers require you to perform several actions to land a special deal—actions like setting up direct deposit or holding funds in the account for a certain amount of time.
Here’s a breakdown of the qualification requirements for the best new bank account offers listed in the tables above.
New chequing account offer requirements for each bank
Get up to $700 in cash bonuses. Earn $450 when you open a new BMO Performance Chequing Account, $200 (plus a 4.80% promo interest rate) when you open a Savings Amplifier Account and $50 when you make it a BMO Family Bundle. Valid until July 2, 2025.
New members can get $400 when they open a Coast Capital Elevate Chequing Account, and, within 60 days of opening the account, add an eligible payroll or direct deposit (at least once a month) and maintain the same payroll or direct deposit for at least 90 consecutive days. Valid until June 30, 2025.
Sign up for the Simplii No Fee Chequing Account and you'll be able to qualify for a welcome bonus of $300 when you become a new client and set up a direct deposit of at least $100 for 3 months. Offer ends April 30, 2025.
Earn up to 4.00% interest for 12 months. To receive 4.00% for 12 months after opening the EQ Bank Personal Account, you'll need to have at least $2,000/month of your pay directly deposited into a Personal Account or Joint Account. Conditions apply. Thereafter, you'll earn 1.25% on your balance.
New members can get $150 when they open and use a Coast Capital Free Chequing, Free Debit, and More Account. Add an eligible payroll or direct deposit (at least once a month) within 60 days of opening the account, and maintain the same payroll or direct deposit for 90 consecutive days or more. Valid until June 30, 2025.
RBC
3
Get an Apple Watch when you open your first RBC Signature No Limit Banking Account. Open an account by June 2, 2025. Complete two of the following criteria by August 11, 2025 and keep the criteria in place until June 2, 2026: Direct deposit for your payroll or pension, two pre-authorized monthly payments or two bill payments to a service provider.
CIBC
3
Earn $450 when you open a CIBC Smart Account and complete these qualifying actions within 2 months:
(1) Set up recurring direct deposits of $500 or more per month from your employer, government or pension (2) Complete one of the following actions within the same calendar month: two recurring pre-authorized debits, two online bill payments of $50 or more each and five online Visa Debit purchases.
TD
6
Earn a welcome bonus worth $600 when you open the TD Unlimited Chequing Account. Offer ends May 28, 2025. Earn $450 when you open this account and complete two of following by July 29, 2025: Set up a recurring Direct Deposit, set up a recurring Pre-Authorized Debit Payment or make an Online Bill Payment.
Plus earn $150 when you open an eligible Savings Account by July 28, 2025 and either set up a Pre-authorized Transfer Service or set up Simply Save by October 24, 2025, then apply and be approved for a new eligible TD Credit Card by July 28, 2025.
Earn up to a $500 bonus. Earn $400 by completing any two of the following steps within 60 days of opening the Scotiabank Preferred Package:
(1) Set up and clear at least one eligible automated and recurring direct deposit, such as payroll or pension, which will recur monthly for a minimum of 6 consecutive months, or (2) Set up and clear a minimum of 2 separate eligible recurring pre-authorized transactions with a minimum value of at least $50 per transaction which will each recur monthly for a minimum of 6 consecutive months, or (3) Make at least 1 eligible online bill payment of at least $50 through the Scotiabank Mobile App or through Scotia OnLine.
To earn up to $100 more, you must complete Step 1. Between March 4, 2025 and April 30, 2025, and within 60 days of opening your new Package account, open a new RRSP, TFSA or FHSA.
Tangerine
2
Earn up to $250. Open a No-Fee Daily Chequing Account and switch your payroll deposits to your new Tangerine Chequing Account for 2 consecutive months to receive $250.
Check out our full guide to the best chequing account promotions in Canada
Sign up for the EQ Bank Notice Savings Account. Choose to access your withdrawal funds after 10 days for a 2.85% savings rate or 30 days for a 3.00% interest rate.
Sign up for the Scotiabank MomentumPLUS Savings Account and you may be eligible to earn three different types of interest totaling 5%. The first is a base rate of 0.55% that you'll earn on your entire balance, plus a package interest rate boost of 0.10% for Ultimate Package holders and a 0.05% rate for Preferred Package holders.
The second is a premium interest rate of 0.25%, which is earned when you choose 360-day premium period (or earn lower rates with 90, 180 and 270 periods). A longer premium period earns a higher premium period interest rate, provided you don't make any withdrawals within the selected period. Premium period interest is calculated daily and paid at the end of the applicable premium period.
The third is a welcome bonus interest rate of 4.10% for 3 months, calculated daily and paid monthly for 90 days (3 months) on your first MomentumPLUS Savings Account.
Tangerine
1
Open a Tangerine Savings Account to earn 4.50% for the first 5 months (on up to $1,000,000 in deposits) when you sign up by July 31, 2025.. Thereafter, you'll earn 0.30%.
Check out our full guide to the best savings account promotions in Canada
TD Canada Trust:Earn $600 with the TD Unlimited Chequing Account
Tangerine:Earn $250 with the Tangerine No-Fee Daily Chequing Account
CIBC:Earn $450 with the CIBC Smart Account
Bank referral bonuses and refer-a-friend promotions
Simplii refer-a-friend bonus: Get up to $1,000
For a limited time, earn $125 when your friend opens a No Fee Chequing Account or another eligible account with your unique referral link. Your friend can earn $50.
Both you and your friend will get $50 Simplii referral bonus when your friend sends money abroad with Global Money Transfer.
Refer a friend to KOHO and once your friend signs up through your KOHO referral code and makes a purchase, both of you will receive $20 cash or three months free of the Extra plan (worth $27).
Once you sign up for a new Performance Chequing Account and Savings Amplifier Account, you'll earn referral bonus of $50 when you invite a family member as part of a BMO Family Bundle and have them open their account by July 2, 2025.
As a welcome-to-Canada bonus for new immigrants, both you and your friend can earn a $75 CIBC referral bonus when your friend opens a CIBC Smart Account for Newcomers by June 30, 2025 and completes qualifying actions.
How do bank referral bonuses work?
Some banks in Canada offer refer-a-friend promotions to encourage their current customers to get their family and friends to sign up for a new account at the bank. That means banks will quite literally pay you (and your friend) a cash bonus when your friend opens an account.
Bank referral bonuses typically offer between $20 and $50 per referral. There are often some basic requirements involved to qualify to receive the bonus—like the friend funding their new account with a couple hundred dollars for a few months.
If you’re thinking about opening a new bank account, it’s worth checking with your family and friends to see if they have a referral program that you can opt into to earn a referral bonus when you open your new bank account.
Combining a bank referral bonus with one of the best new account account offers can be a great strategy for Canadians to maximize how much they earn with a new bank account.
Are new bank account offers worth switching for?
For the right customers, yes, new bank account promotions can be a great way to get ahead a little financially or treat yourself to something special. These special offers work best when you genuinely need a new account and aren’t simply jumping between banks to accumulate bonuses.
Account hopping” can be inconvenient, and you’ll eventually run out of bank promos to take advantage of. This is because most banks only offer new account bonuses to customers who have never held an account at that institution before.
Additionally, some new account offers require you to jump through extra hoops to secure a bonus. This could include participating in an automatic savings plan or setting up direct deposit for your income or a few bills for at least several months.
In the end, it makes sense to hunt around for a new bank account offer when the need arises to open a new account. Compare offers from multiple banks to find the most competitive deal. Also pay attention to non-promotional fees and features, so you know what to expect in the long run.
How to get a new bank account offer and bank promotion
To take advantage of bank promotions in Canada, all you have to do is open an account within the promotional time period. It’s that simple. Here’s how the process works:
Compare bank promotions. Compare rewards and bonuses for different new bank account offers. Also, look at ongoing fees, features and minimum balance requirements (if any) for any accounts you’re interested in opening.
Apply for an account. It’s easy to apply for a bank account online. Visit the bank’s website, and apply to open an account by providing your name, contact details, basic employment info, Social Insurance Number (SIN) and your reason for opening an account (i.e. spending, saving, investing).
Submit proof of ID. Upload a copy of a valid, government-issued ID such as a driver’s license, passport or Permanent Resident card. If you don’t have a photo ID, learn more about your options here.
Start using your account. Once approved, you’ll likely have immediate access to your online account and can register for online and mobile banking. You’ll receive your debit card in the mail shortly.
Get your new account benefits! After satisfying all the requirements of your new account offer, you’ll get your reward or bonus. Some bank promotions in Canada require a minimum deposit or several months of using direct deposit or bill payment features before you can receive a new account bonus.
Bank promotions in Canada from 2022 to 2024
We’ve been tracking bank promotions in Canada for years. To help give you a snapshot of how promotional savings rates have changed over time, take a look at this chart comparing promotional rates from a Big Five Bank (Scotiabank) and a digital bank (Simplii Financial) from 2022 to 2024.
Interestingly, new savings account promotional rates generally rose between 2022 and 2024, but started decreasing near the end of 2024—a trend very much in line with the Bank of Canada’s benchmark rates over that same time.
What do Canadians think of new account offers?
In our latest Finder: Consumer Sentiment Survey January 2025, we asked Canadians what they think about new account offers. It turns out that over half (55.54%) of Canadians would switch bank accounts to take advantage of an advertised promotional offer, while 25.87% said that the sign up bonus would play an important factor in their decision.
We also wanted to know how Canadians have responded to bonus offers in the past, and we found that 30.57% have switched accounts due to a bonus offer and ended up sticking with the account long term.
However, a small number of Canadians (8.39%) said they were disappointed with the offer after switching. That’s why it’s important to carefully compare promotional offers before signing up to ensure making the switch will be worth it.
Explore more promotions from popular Canadian banks
If cash bonuses are what you're looking for, you can score high rewards with BMO and Scotiabank offers.
BMO Performance Chequing Account:Get up to $700 in cash bonuses. Earn $450 when you open a new BMO Performance Chequing Account, $200 (plus a 4.80% promo interest rate) when you open a Savings Amplifier Account and $50 when you make it a BMO Family Bundle. Valid until July 2, 2025.
Scotiabank Preferred Package: Earn up to $500 with a Scotiabank Preferred package and a registered account. Valid until April 30, 2025. Plus, earn up to 4.95% interest for 3 months on your MomentumPLUS Savings Account.
If you're looking for high-interest rewards, some of the best bank offers right now come from Scotiabank and Tangerine.
Scotiabank MomentumPLUS Savings Account: Earn a savings rate of up to 5% for 3 months when you open a Scotiabank MomentumPLUS Savings Account and a Scotiabank Ultimate Chequing Account.
Tangerine Savings Account:Earn 4.50% interest for 5 months (on the first $1,000,000 in deposits) when you sign up by July 31, 2025.
As of April 2025, BMO, Scotiabank, Simplii Financial, TD, Tangerine and CIBC are all offering cash bonuses for opening a new account—many are worth up to hundreds of dollars. Check out our list of the best new bank promotions with cash rewards to learn more.
Here are some of the best chequing account bank promotions in Canada as of April 2025:
BMO Performance Chequing Account:Get up to $700 in cash bonuses. Earn $450 when you open a new BMO Performance Chequing Account, $200 (plus a 4.80% promo interest rate) when you open a Savings Amplifier Account and $50 when you make it a BMO Family Bundle. Valid until July 2, 2025.
Scotiabank Preferred Package: Earn up to $500 with a Scotiabank Preferred package and a registered account. Valid until April 30, 2025. Plus, earn up to 4.95% interest for 3 months on your MomentumPLUS Savings Account.
TD Unlimited Chequing Account: Earn a welcome bonus worth $600. Terms and conditions apply. Offer ends May 28, 2025.
Here are some of the best savings account promotions as of April 2025:
Tangerine Savings Account:Earn 4.50% interest for 5 months (on the first $1,000,000 in deposits) when you sign up by July 31, 2025.
Scotiabank MomentumPLUS Savings Account: Earn a savings rate of up to 5% for 3 months when you open a Scotiabank MomentumPLUS Savings Account and a Scotiabank Ultimate Chequing Account.
BMO Performance Chequing Account:Get up to $700 in cash bonuses. Earn $450 when you open a new BMO Performance Chequing Account, $200 (plus a 4.80% promo interest rate) when you open a Savings Amplifier Account and $50 when you make it a BMO Family Bundle. Valid until July 2, 2025. Students pay no monthly fees while in school and for one year after graduating.
TD Student Chequing Account: Earn up to $495 in value when you open a new TD Student Chequing Account. Valid until April 30, 2025.
RBC Advantage Banking for Students: Get $100 when you open an account and complete one of three steps. Valid until July 2, 2025.
Some Canadian banks offer bonuses when you refer a friend or family member. As of the time of writing, CIBC offers a $50 bonus if you refer a friend who's new to Canada. CIBC also pays a $100 bonus for referring a foreign student to its International Student GIC program.If you refer a close friend or family member to open an eligible BMO chequing account, you could get a $50 digital gift card. Check with your bank for details on eligibility and how to receive your bonus.Simplii Financial offers a very competitive referral bonus of $125 for referring a friend who signs up for a Simplii account, credit card or line of credit, while your friend will earn a $50 bonus.Terms and conditions apply for all these bonuses, so check with your bank to find out exactly how its referral program works.
New bank account offers are usually available to customers who already have an account with the financial institution or already opened a specific bank account. If you are an existing customer, you might still qualify for a new bank account offer for an account you haven't already opened, but check with your bank to find out for sure.
To qualify for a new chequing account offer, you simply need to have photo ID, a Canadian address and be a new customer to the bank. That means that existing customers can't switch accounts within their bank to snag a promotional deal. Instead, you can only sign up for a new bank account offer if you're not already holding an account with that bank.
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To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Chelsey Hurst as part of our fact-checking process.
Stacie Hurst is an editor at Finder, specializing in loans, banking, investing and money transfers. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Writing, and she has completed FP Canada Institute's Financial Management Course. Before working in the publishing industry, Stacie completed one year of law school in the United States. When not working, she can usually be found watching K-dramas or playing games with her friends and family. See full bio
Emma Balmforth is a producer at Finder. She is passionate about helping people make financial decisions that will benefit them now and in the future. She has written for a variety of publications including World Nomads, Trek Effect and Uncharted. Emma has a degree in Business and Psychology from the University of Waterloo. She enjoys backpacking, reading and taking long hikes and road trips with her adventurous dog. See full bio
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