Opening a personal bank account: know your rights

From: Financial Consumer Agency of Canada

You have the right to open a personal bank account at a bank under certain conditions. To do so, you must provide them with acceptable forms of identification.

Learn more about the types of identification you need to open an account.

A bank must obtain your express consent and enter into an agreement with you before opening your account. The bank’s communication with you must be clear, simple and not misleading.

Learn more about providing express consent for financial products and services.

Your right to information when opening a personal bank account

When you open a personal bank account with a federally regulated financial institution, they must disclose certain information to you in writing. This may be in paper or electronic format (if you consent to receive information this way).

The information includes:

a copy of the account agreement before or at the time you open the account in person
a copy of the account agreement without delay if you open an account by telephone. You have the right to close the account, without charge, within 14 days of opening it by telephone
a list of all charges that apply to the account
information about the interest rate, if applicable, such as how they calculate it and the frequency of payments
information about maximum cheque hold periods
their policies for situations when the maximum cheque hold periods don’t apply
the circumstances in which they’ll send you an electronic alert

Your right to information when opening a joint bank account

Banks that are members of the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) have agreed through a public commitment to provide information to consumers opening joint bank accounts. These accounts are also known as joint deposit accounts.

Banks will make this information available in their branches and on their websites.

This applies when:

you open a new personal deposit account with another person
you convert a personal bank account under one name to an account that more than one person holds jointly

The commitment sets out the information made available to consumers. They’ll provide the information in language and present it in a manner that is clear, simple and not misleading.

Banks will also provide this commitment:

by making it available:
- at each of their branches in Canada where they offer products or services and at each of their points of service
- on each of their websites through which they offer products or services in Canada
in writing, upon request

Learn more about the commitment on joint deposit accounts (PDF).

You may be dealing with a financial institution other than a bank. Check your account agreement or ask them for information on joint bank accounts.

Learn more about joint bank accounts.

Your right to receive electronic alerts

Your bank must send you electronic alerts in 2 situations:

when the balance of your chequing or savings account falls below $100 or an amount you’ve set
when the credit available on your credit card or personal line of credit falls below $100 or an amount you’ve set

Your bank will automatically set the electronic alerts to $100. You may ask your bank to set them to a different amount.

The alerts must tell you:

that the balance of your account has fallen below the amount described above
that the credit available on your credit card or line of credit has fallen below the amount described above
what charges or penalties may apply to current or future transactions
what steps to take to avoid charges or penalties and the deadline for doing this

Your bank will send these alerts to you automatically. You don’t have to sign up, but you may opt out at any time by informing your bank in writing. This could be done by email.

The alerts don’t apply to accounts opened for business purposes.

Your bank will send the alerts via push notifications, text messages or emails. It will depend on your contact information with the bank, the preferences you’ve set-up and the systems your bank has in place.

You won’t receive the new alerts if you didn’t provide your bank with the necessary contact information. For example, you didn’t provide your mobile phone number or email address.

For more information on electronic alerts, contact your bank or visit their website.

Other financial institutions may choose to offer electronic alerts. Contact yours to find out if they offer them.

When a bank refuses to open a bank account for you

A bank may refuse to open a personal bank account for you if:

they have reasonable grounds to believe you plan to use the account for illegal or fraudulent purposes
you’ve had a history of illegal or fraudulent activity with financial service providers in the last 7 years
they have reasonable grounds to believe you knowingly made false statements in the information you gave
they have reasonable grounds to believe it’s necessary to protect their customers or employees from physical harm, harassment, or other abuse
the branch or point of service only offers accounts linked to an existing account with another financial institution and you don’t have one
you don’t allow them to take steps to verify that the identification you presented is valid

If a bank refuses to open a personal bank account for you, they must inform you in writing.

They must also disclose to you:

their procedure for dealing with complaints
the contact information for the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI)
the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s mailing address, website address and telephone number

Learn more about opening a bank account.

Learn how to file a complaint with a financial institution.

Your right to information about increases in charges or new charges

Your bank may increase or introduce a new charge. If so, they must provide information about this change in writing to you if you receive account statements. They must do so at least 30 days before it takes effect. The written information may be in paper or electronic format (if you consent to receive information this way).

They must disclose this information by:

displaying it prominently:
- at each of their branches in Canada where they offer products or services and at each of their points of service
- on each of their websites through which they offer products or services in Canada
providing or sending it in writing to you, upon request

If you don’t receive a statement of account, they must also prominently display a notice at each of their automated teller machines (ATM). They must do so at least 60 days before the change takes effect.

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