There is a category of Canadian bank account that almost nobody talks about, that every one of the big banks is committed to offering, and that is capped by agreement at four dollars a month. If you are in one of five groups, the same account is free.
It is not a promotion and it does not expire. It is a public commitment overseen by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, and the current version took effect on 1 December 2025, replacing a commitment that had been in place since 2014. The new version is meaningfully better than the old one: more transactions, more groups eligible for a free account, and a clearer obligation on the banks to actually tell people it exists.
What the Commitment actually is
The Commitment on Low-Cost and No-Cost Accounts is a public commitment that signatory institutions make and that FCAC oversees. Its stated objective is to ensure Canadians have access to modern basic banking services at a nominal cost through low-cost bank accounts, and that certain groups have those same services at no cost. FCAC describes it as the minimum service level for low-cost and no-cost banking services.
Two words in there are doing a lot of work. Minimum. This is a floor, not a product recommendation. A signatory can offer better, and several do. And commitment rather than regulation: it is a public undertaking FCAC monitors compliance with, which is why the practical route to getting one is to ask for it by name rather than to cite a statute at a teller.
The Commitment is indeterminate, meaning it does not have an end date, and signatories agree to expand services as low-cost and no-cost banking needs change.
The groups who pay nothing
The $4.00 monthly fee is waived for the groups below, subject to document validation when you open the account and possibly re-validation from time to time. Signatories must offer a no-cost account to all five mandatory groups, and must also offer one to at least one of the three optional groups, chosen by each institution.
| Type | Group | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mandatory every signatory | Seniors receiving the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) | GIS receipt is the test, not age alone |
| Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) beneficiaries | The beneficiary of the plan | |
| Youth, Canadians aged 18 and under | Subject to any minimum age for retail customers | |
| Students | ||
| Newcomers to Canada, for their first year in Canada | Defined as permanent residents including those with approval-in-principle from IRCC, refugees (protected persons), and temporary residents including student, worker or temporary resident permit holders | |
| Optional each signatory picks at least one | Indigenous peoples | Evidence includes a status card, a letter from an Indigenous community organization, proof of membership in a Metis provincial or national representative organization, or proof of membership from an Inuit land claim organization |
| Canadians receiving social assistance from listed provincial or territorial programs | See the program list below | |
| Recipients of the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) | Includes Disability Tax Credit Certificate holders |
Because the second block is optional and each institution chooses, this is the one place where shopping around genuinely matters. If you receive provincial social assistance, hold the Disability Tax Credit, or are Indigenous, one signatory may waive your fee and the one next door may not. It is a fair question to ask at the counter or on the phone: which optional no-cost group does this institution cover?
The social assistance programs FCAC identified
For the social assistance route, FCAC identified these provincial and territorial programs whose recipients are eligible for a no-cost account:
| Province or territory | Program |
|---|---|
| Alberta | Alberta Supports |
| British Columbia | Income Assistance |
| Manitoba | Employment and Income Assistance |
| New Brunswick | Transitional Assistance Program |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | Income Support |
| Northwest Territories | Income Assistance Program |
| Nova Scotia | Income Assistance Program |
| Nunavut | Income Assistance Program |
| Ontario | Ontario Works |
| Prince Edward Island | Social Assistance Program |
| Quebec | Social Assistance Program |
| Saskatchewan | Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) |
| Yukon | Social Assistance Program |
FCAC also says signatories should make best efforts to broaden the list of eligible social assistance programs. So if you receive assistance from a provincial program that is not named above, it is still worth asking rather than assuming you are excluded.
What the account has to include
This is the part that changed most in the 2025 update, and it is the reason the account is now genuinely usable rather than technically available.
Transactions: a minimum of 18 a month
The Commitment requires a minimum of 12 debit transactions per month, plus a minimum of 6 additional debit transactions, for a total minimum of 18 per month. FCAC described this as up to 50 percent more debit transactions than before.
The transaction types the first 12 must be drawn from include one or more of:
- Debit card purchases
- Bill payments
- Pre-authorized debits
- Cheques drawn on the account
- Cash withdrawals
- Electronic fund transfers, for example Interac e-Transfer
- In-branch transactions
The 6 additional transactions can be more of the same types, or types not already included, which the Commitment gives as examples such as select point of sale transactions like transit, debit purchases made online, and account transfers. Signatories have to identify which types they cover, so ask.
The inclusion of Interac e-Transfer in the covered list matters more than the raw count. An account that gave you free debit purchases but charged for every e-Transfer was not a usable basic account in 2026. This closes that gap.
The other required features
| Feature | What the Commitment says |
|---|---|
| Monthly fee | No more than $4.00 per month, or $0 for eligible groups |
| Minimum balance | None |
| Digital statements | Free monthly digital statements |
| Cheques | Cheque writing privileges |
| Switching accounts | No account switching fees with the same signatory |
| Basics | No extra charge for deposits, debit card, or pre-authorized payment forms |
| Statements and cheque images | No extra charge for monthly printed statements, and cheque image return or online cheque image viewing |
| Joint accounts | Allowed if the situation is warranted, for example a married or common-law couple |
| Everything else | Other services are available for a reasonable fee |
Several of those items carry a footnote in the Commitment noting they apply where the service is available to other retail customers. In practice, a fully digital institution that does not offer printed statements to anyone is not obliged to invent them for this account.
The savings account nobody mentions
One line in the Commitment is easy to skip and worth money: signatories will indicate to holders of low-cost and no-cost accounts the availability of interest-bearing savings account options at no cost, where those exist at the institution, and that they can be linked to the low-cost or no-cost chequing account. If nobody offers you that when you open the account, ask.
The fourteen institutions
FCAC listed these federally regulated financial institutions as offering accounts under the modernized Commitment as of 1 December 2025:
| Institution | Institution |
|---|---|
| Alterna Bank | Bank of China (Canada) |
| BMO | CIBC |
| Hana Bank Canada | ICICI Bank |
| Industrial Commercial Bank of China | Innovation Federal Credit Union |
| Laurentian Bank | National Bank |
| Royal Bank of Canada | Scotiabank |
| Tangerine Bank | TD Bank |
How to actually get one
Availability is the easy part now. The Commitment requires signatories to prominently display information about low-cost and no-cost accounts both in-branch and online, to list them clearly alongside other account offerings, to reference the Commitment in the account descriptions so you can recognise them, and to have trained staff who know about them. It also says information provided to consumers about these accounts must be accurate and use language that is clear, simple and not misleading.
Step 1: Use the name
Ask for "your low-cost account under the Commitment on Low-Cost and No-Cost Accounts", or if you are in an eligible group, "your no-cost account". Individual banks market these under their own product names, so the Commitment language is the reliable way to be understood. If the person you are speaking to does not know what you mean, ask for someone who does, because staff training on these accounts is part of the Commitment.
Step 2: Bring your proof if you want the fee waived
Eligibility for a no-cost account is subject to document validation presented when opening the account, and may need re-validation periodically. Bring what proves your category: a GIS statement, RDSP documentation, student enrolment, immigration documents, a Disability Tax Credit certificate, a status card or membership proof, or a social assistance statement.
Step 3: Confirm the three things that vary
Before you sign, confirm which optional no-cost group the institution covers, which debit transaction types are included in your 18, and whether a no-cost linked savings account exists. Those three answers differ between signatories and they are the difference between an account that works for you and one that technically complies.
Step 4: If they will not offer it, that is a complaint
FCAC expects signatories to meet all the requirements and monitors their compliance with the Commitment. If a signatory refuses to offer you a low-cost account, or charges more than $4.00 a month for it, raise it through the bank's complaint process first. The bank must give you a detailed written response within 56 calendar days, after which you can escalate free to the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments. We set out that whole path, with contacts, in our guide to bank complaints and OBSI.
Honest question: is this the best account for you?
Not necessarily, and it would be dishonest to pretend otherwise. The Commitment is a floor. Here is the straight comparison.
The low-cost account is the right answer if you want a real chequing account at a major bank, with cheques and branches and in-person help, and you do not want to jump through hoops. Four dollars a month is $48 a year. Compare that against the monthly fee on your current chequing account, and against whatever minimum balance you are keeping parked in order to have that fee waived. If you qualify for a no-cost account, it is $0 for the same thing, and that is very hard to beat.
It may not be the right answer if you make far more than 18 debit transactions a month, in which case you are buying overage fees, or if you never need cheques or a branch, in which case a no-fee digital account may cost you nothing and pay interest on your balance as well.
The move most people should make is to stop paying for a premium chequing account they were sold years ago and never re-examined. Whether you switch to a low-cost account, a no-cost account or a digital account matters less than noticing that whatever you are paying now sits on the same shelf as a four dollar floor you were never told about.
Two related reads: what the fees actually add up to, in our bank fee calculator, and the separate change that capped NSF fees at $10 as of March 2026, in our guide to the NSF fee cap.
The digital alternative to a four dollar account
If you do not need cheques or a teller, a digital spending and savings account can cover the same daily job without a monthly fee schedule built around branches. KOHO is the Canadian app we use: a spending and savings account on a reloadable prepaid Mastercard, opened with identity verification. It is not a bank, it is not a chequing account, and its plans and features change, so read the current terms on its own page and compare them honestly against a $4 or $0 account before deciding. We may earn a commission if you open an account.
See how the account worksFive things to take away
- Four dollars is the ceiling, not a deal. Every Canadian is eligible for a low-cost chequing account at no more than $4.00 a month at a signatory institution.
- Five groups pay nothing. GIS seniors, RDSP beneficiaries, youth, students, and newcomers in their first year.
- A sixth group might. Each signatory must also cover at least one of Indigenous peoples, social assistance recipients, or Disability Tax Credit recipients. Which one varies, so ask.
- Eighteen debit transactions minimum, no minimum balance, and e-Transfers are among the covered transaction types.
- Ask for it by name. Signatories must display, list and staff-train on these accounts. If yours will not offer one, that is a complaint with a written 56 day deadline behind it.
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Frequently asked questions
Under the modernized Commitment on Low-Cost and No-Cost Accounts, effective 1 December 2025, all Canadians are eligible for a low-cost chequing account at a cost of no more than $4.00 per month at a signatory institution. It must include a minimum of 18 debit transactions per month, free digital monthly statements, cheque writing privileges, and no minimum balance.
Signatories must waive the monthly fee for five mandatory groups: seniors receiving the Guaranteed Income Supplement, Registered Disability Savings Plan beneficiaries, youth aged 18 and under, students, and newcomers to Canada in their first year. Each signatory must also make a no-cost account available to at least one of three optional groups: Indigenous peoples, Canadians receiving social assistance from listed provincial or territorial programs, and recipients of the Disability Tax Credit. Eligibility is subject to document validation.
FCAC listed fourteen federally regulated financial institutions: Alterna Bank, Bank of China (Canada), BMO, CIBC, Hana Bank Canada, ICICI Bank, Industrial Commercial Bank of China, Innovation Federal Credit Union, Laurentian Bank, National Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank, Tangerine Bank and TD Bank. That includes all six of Canada's largest banks.
A minimum of 12 debit transactions per month, plus a minimum of 6 additional debit transactions, for a total minimum of 18 per month. Covered transaction types include one or more of debit card purchases, bill payments, pre-authorized debits, cheques drawn on the account, cash withdrawals, electronic fund transfers such as Interac e-Transfer, and in-branch transactions. Each signatory identifies which types it covers, so confirm before you open.
No. The Commitment states there is no minimum balance. It also states there are no account switching fees with the same signatory, and no extra charge for deposits, a debit card, or pre-authorized payment forms.
No. The Commitment binds federally regulated financial institutions that have signed it. A provincially regulated credit union is supervised by its provincial regulator and is not covered. Many credit unions offer inexpensive accounts of their own, so compare on their published fee schedule rather than assuming either way.
Ask for it by name. Signatories agree to prominently display information about the availability of low-cost and no-cost accounts in-branch and online, to list these accounts clearly with other account offerings, to reference the Commitment in the account descriptions, and to train staff on them. If you belong to a no-cost group, bring documentation, because eligibility is subject to document validation when you open the account and may need to be re-validated periodically.
Not automatically, but signatories agree to tell holders of low-cost and no-cost accounts about interest-bearing savings account options at no cost, where those exist at the institution, and that they can be linked to the low-cost or no-cost chequing account. Ask about this when you open the account, because it is easy to miss.
Related guides
- How to cash a cheque without a bank account in Canada
- How long can a bank hold a cheque in Canada?
- NSF fees in Canada are capped at $10: the 2026 rules
- What your bank account actually costs you per year
- A bank refused to open your account: your rights and the complaint path
- Best bank accounts for newcomers to Canada
- No credit check banking in Canada
Disclosure: Some links on this page are referral links, and Bremo may earn a commission if you open an account, at no cost to you. This does not change what we recommend. The terms, groups, features and institution list on this page were verified on 18 July 2026 against the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada's Commitment on Low-Cost and No-Cost Accounts, effective 1 December 2025, and the FCAC news release "Canadians can now access free and low-cost bank accounts featuring more monthly transactions" dated 1 December 2025. The Commitment binds its federally regulated signatories; provincially regulated credit unions are not covered. Individual product names, transaction types included and optional group coverage vary by institution. This page is educational general information, not legal or financial advice. Confirm current terms with the institution before opening an account.