Scotiabank Preferred Package
- Earn up to a $600 bonus
- Unlimited transactions & free Interac e-Transfers
- First year fee waived (up to $150) on select credit cards
Canadian banks usually perform a credit check to verify your identity when opening an account. But there’s no minimum credit score, so you can open a bank account even with bad or no credit.
Yes, regardless of whether you have bad credit, no credit history or a good credit score, you can still open a bank account in Canada. Banks in Canada do not require hard credit checks in order to open a bank account.
That said, banks will typically run a soft credit check when you open an account in order to verify your identity. Unlike a hard credit check, this will not impact your credit score.
After you’ve opened an account, some banks will run a hard credit check to see if you qualify for overdraft protection, reduce the holding period on your deposits and other reasons for which a risk assessment may be required. If you don’t consent to this, you probably won’t get overdraft protection. Explore new bank account offers and promotions.
The following free bank accounts allow people with bad credit to sign up and do not do hard credit checks when opening an account:
Best for | Account | Open an Account | |
---|---|---|---|
Best overall free chequing account | Simplii No Fee Chequing Account | Go to site | |
Best free bank account with interest | EQ Bank Personal Account | Go to site | |
Best account with banking bundling bonuses | BMO Performance Chequing Account | Go to site | |
Best bank account for gas savings (via Petro-Points) | RBC Signature No Limit Banking Account | Go to site | |
Best free chequing account for students | Scotiabank Student Banking Advantage Plan | Go to site | |
Best free chequing account from a credit union | Coast Capital Free Chequing, Free Debit, and More Account | Go to site |
The main reason banks run a credit check when opening an account is to verify your identity, not check your credit score. But your credit score and debt history will be checked if you want to add overdraft protection to your account.
Whether you have good or bad credit, here are your chequing account options in Canada:
If you’re more into old school banking and prefer to manage your funds in-person at a branch or via desktop app, a chequing account offered by a major, established bank might be what you need.
Banks offer basic and upgraded (or premium) chequing accounts. Basic accounts come with the lowest monthly fees and usually include little else than a debit card and a few free transactions a month as well as with access to online and mobile banking.
Designed for active spenders, premium chequing accounts typically include unlimited free transactions and extra perks like free cheques, waived monthly fees on additional accounts, free withdrawals from out-of-network ATMs and discounted safety deposit boxes. But all these benefits come with a higher monthly fee.
Min. Age | 18 |
---|---|
Min. Age Teen Account | 12 |
Account Fee | $0 |
Overdraft Fee | $4.97 |
ATM Out-of-Network Fee | $1.50 |
U.S. ATM Fee | $3 |
International ATM Fee | $3 |
Min. Age | 18 |
---|---|
Account Fee | $0 |
Min. Age | 18 |
---|---|
Min. Age Teen Account | 13 |
Account Fee | $17.95 |
Youth Account Fee | $0 |
# of Accounts Included | 20 |
Overdraft Fee | $5 |
ATM Out-of-Network Fee | $2 |
U.S. ATM Fee | $5 |
International ATM Fee | $5 |
Min. Age | N/A |
---|---|
Account Fee | $16.95 |
ATM Out-of-Network Fee | $2 |
Min. Age | 16 |
---|---|
Account Fee | $16.95 |
Overdraft Fee | $5 |
ATM Out-of-Network Fee | $2 |
U.S. ATM Fee | $3 |
International ATM Fee | $5 |
Min. Age | 19 |
---|---|
Account Fee | $0 |
Overdraft Fee | $5 |
ATM Out-of-Network Fee | $10 |
U.S. ATM Fee | $2.50 |
International ATM Fee | $5 |
Dormancy Fee | $1.50 |
Digital banks with well-designed apps and low fees are becoming more common in Canada. A notable perk of online banks is that they tend to offer free accounts whether or not you bad credit or no credit history at all.
EQ Bank and Neo Financial are popular options, and both are federally regulated just like the Big Banks. Backed by CIBC, Simplii Financial is a great option if you need to send international money transfers, as it comes with $0 transfer fees.
The benefits of opening an account with a digital bank include:
You can’t go to a branch for in-person service. But many online banks partner with major banks for some tasks, like depositing cash via ATM. Scotiabank, which owns Tangerine, lets Tangerine customers use Scotiabank ATMs at no extra cost. Similarly, CIBC owns Simplii Financial, so Simplii customers can use CIBC ATMs for free.
Some financial institutions like KOHO and Mydoh compete with digital banks, but aren’t technically banks. These companies offer prepaid cards and accounts for everyday spending. Often, you can get rewards like cashback on your purchases. You can’t go to a branch for in person service, but you can manage your funds via mobile app.
Digital bank accounts and prepaid cards often come with no monthly fees. Chequing accounts offered by major banks usually come with monthly fees ranging from around $4 to $30, but this may be waivable if you keep minimum monthly balance or if you qualify for a discount (often available for seniors, students and newcomers to Canada).
Almost 3 out of 4 Canadians (73%) spend more than they save each month, according to survey data from the Finder: Consumer Sentiment Survey Q2 2023.
Additionally, Canadians are increasingly turning to online institutions for their banking needs. The same survey showed that 7.18% of respondents planned on opening a digital bank account between April and June 2023—up from 3.59% of respondents who planned to open a digital bank account between January and March 2023.
In Canada, there’s no credit score requirement for opening a bank account, so you can open a bank account with bad credit or no credit history. But most banks conduct a soft credit check to verify your identity when opening an account, so it’s difficult to avoid a credit check altogether.
Your chequing account options are the same whether you have bad or good credit. Traditional banks offer basic and premium chequing accounts, while digital banks and prepaid cards usually offer low fees and easy-to-use apps.
Finder scores, in blue, are based on our expert analysis. We assess multiple key categories broken down into over 30 different data points across both chequing and savings accounts.
To find out more, read our full savings account methodology and full chequing account methodology.
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