Can I open a bank account with bad or no credit in Canada?

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.

Can I open a bank account with bad credit 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.

In fact, the Government of Canada has mandated that every Canadian has the right to open a bank account — including chequing and savings accounts — even if you have been in bankruptcy.

Online bank accounts for bad credit and no credit check

The following bank accounts — including some free options — allow people with bad credit to sign up and do not do hard credit checks when opening an account:

	Account	Monthly fee	Open an Account
	Simplii No Fee Chequing Account	Free	Read review
	EQ Bank Personal Account	Free	Go to site
	BMO Performance Chequing Account	$17.95	Go to site
	Scotiabank Preferred Package	$16.95	Go to site
	KOHO Essential Plan	$4	Go to site
	Coast Capital Free Chequing, Free Debit, and More Account	Free	Go to site
	RBC Signature No Limit Banking Account	$16.95	Read review

Compare chequing accounts for any credit score

8.5 Great

Read review

Simplii No Fee Chequing Account

Earn $300
Bonus Offer

$0
Monthly Account Fee

unlimited
Free Transactions

• Info
• Pros + Cons
• More Details

The Simplii No Fee Chequing Account comes with no monthly account fee, no transaction fees, no e-Transfer fees, no minimum deposit requirements and a chance to earn interest on your account balance—plus a debit card.

• Earn a welcome bonus of up to $300
• Unlimited free transactions and e-Transfers
• No monthly account fee
• Earn 0.01% interest
• No minimum deposit
• Earn a referral bonus

• Online only (no in-person service)
• Welcome bonus is only for new customers
• Not available in Quebec

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

9.4 Excellent

Go to site Read review

EQ Bank Personal Account

Earn 3.50%
Bonus Offer

$0
Monthly Account Fee

unlimited
Free Transactions

• Info
• Pros + Cons
• More Details

If you're looking to save and spend, the EQ Bank Personal Account is a powerful hybrid savings and chequing account option. Earn interest on your savings and grow your money faster.

• Unlimited monthly transactions
• Interac e-Transfers
• Earn high interest on your savings
• No fees on everyday banking
• No minimum balances.

• 100% online bank with no bank branches.

Min. Age	18
Account Fee	$0

8.7 Great

Go to site Read review

BMO Performance Chequing Account

Earn $750
Bonus Offer

$17.95
Monthly Account Fee

unlimited
Free Transactions

• Info
• Pros + Cons
• More Details

Get a $150 digital Visa card from Finder when you become a Finder Member and open a BMO Performance Chequing Account through Finder. T&Cs apply.

The BMO Performance Chequing Account comes with unlimited free transactions and Interac e-Transfers. Get up to $750 in bonuses. Earn $500 when you open a new BMO Performance Chequing Account, $150 (plus a 4.75% promo interest rate) when you open a Savings Amplifier Account and $50 when you make it a BMO Family Bundle. Plus, get a $50 Walmart Canada eGift Card. Valid until September 30, 2025.

• Unlimited monthly transactions
• Interac e-Transfers
• $40 fee rebate on the BMO Mastercard annual fee
• BMO will reverse the first accidental fee charged to this account
• Up to 20 accounts can be included in the BMO Family Bundle
• Get up to $750 in bonuses. Earn $500 when you open a new BMO Performance Chequing Account, $150 (plus a 4.75% promo interest rate) when you open a Savings Amplifier Account and $50 when you make it a BMO Family Bundle. Plus, get a $50 Walmart Canada eGift Card. Valid until September 30, 2025.

• Monthly fee of $17.95
• You won't earn any interest on the money in your account.

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

8.6 Great

Go to site Read review

Scotiabank Preferred Package

Earn $700
Bonus Offer

$16.95
Monthly Account Fee

unlimited
Free Transactions

• Info
• Pros + Cons
• More Details

The Scotiabank Preferred Package comes with $0 transactions, $0 Interac e-Transfers and a generous welcome bonus. The monthly account fee is $16.95, but this is waived with a minimum balance of $4,000+. Earn 4.95% interest for 3 months on your MomentumPLUS Savings Account.

• Generous welcome bonus
• Unlimited transactions
• $0 e-Transfers

• Monthly fee

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

9 Excellent

Go to site Read review

KOHO Essential Plan

2.5%
Interest Rate

$4
Account Fee

$0
Transaction Fee

• Info
• Pros + Cons
• More Details

The KOHO Essential Plan, a spending and savings account, has a competitive savings rate. You can also get a prepaid card and earn cashback on your purchases. Earn 2.5% interest on your balance, and 1% cash back on groceries, transportation, food, and drink purchases.

• $4 account fee
• $0 transactions
• $0 Interac eTransfers
• Earn cashback on purchases
• Earn 2.5% interest

• KOHO is an online only digital bank
• To earn higher rates of interest and cashback, you'll need to select a higher monthly fee plan

Min. Age	18
Account Fee	$4
Transaction Fee	$0
Interac e-Transfer Fee	$0
NSF Fee	$0

7.7 Great

Go to site Read review

Coast Capital Free Chequing, Free Debit, and More Account

Get $150
Bonus Offer

$0
Monthly Account Fee

unlimited
Free Transactions

• Info
• Pros + Cons
• More Details

The Coast Capital Free Chequing, Free Debit, and More Account comes with a $0 monthly fee, no minimum balance requirement and unlimited transactions. But Interac e-Transfers cost $1.50 each.

• No monthly fee
• Unlimited free transactions
• No minimum balance required
• Deposit cheques on the app from your phone
• Withdraw money free of charge from 4,000+ ATMs across Canada.

• e-transfers cost $1.50 each

Min. Age	19
Account Fee	$0
Overdraft Fee	$5
ATM Out-of-Network Fee	$2.50
U.S. ATM Fee	$5
International ATM Fee	$5
Dormancy Fee	$1.50

7.7 Great

Read review

RBC Signature No Limit Banking Account

Get an Apple Watch
Bonus Offer

$16.95
Monthly Account Fee

unlimited
Free Transactions

• Info
• Pros + Cons
• More Details

The RBC Signature No Limit Banking Account comes with unlimited transactions and $0 Interac e-Transfers. Save 3¢/L on gas by linking your RBC debit card with your Petro-Points card. Get an Apple Watch when you open your first RBC Signature No Limit Banking Account and complete two of the qualifying criteria tasks. Apply by July 2, 2025. The monthly account fee is $16.95, but this can be waived if you meet the requirements.

• Generous welcome bonus
• Unlimited transactions
• Free overdraft protection (conditions apply)
• $0 e-Transfers
• 3 free non-RBC ATM transactions monthly (then $2 each)
• Rebated RBC credit card annual fee (conditions apply)
• Save on gas with a linked Petro-Points card

• Monthly fee
• Limits on some perks

Min. Age	N/A
Account Fee	$16.95
Overdraft Fee	$5
ATM Out-of-Network Fee	$2

Do banks do a credit check when you open an account?

Banks will typically run a soft credit check when you open an account, but only to verify your identity. Your credit score will not impact the results of a soft credit check. And unlike a hard credit check, a soft credit check will not hurt 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.

How to open a chequing account if you have bad credit

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:

• Traditional chequing accounts
• Online banks
• Prepaid cards

Traditional chequing accounts

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.

Traditional banks typically run a soft credit check when you apply to open an account. The reason these banks run a soft credit check is to simply verify your identity. It does not negatively impact your credit score.

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.

Online banks

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 have 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 another 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:

• Low fees. Without the overhead costs of traditional banks, online banks can afford to slash fees. Many digital banks offer accounts with no monthly fees and unlimited free transactions.
• Great mobile apps. Big Banks have often lagged behind digital banks when it comes to mobile app design. Apps like Neo Financial get high ratings for being easy to use, while other apps like Tangerine Mobile Banking come with convenient features like fingerprint login. Learn more in our guide to best money management and investing apps.
• Budgeting features. Many digital banking apps automatically categorize your spending, telling you where your money is going.

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.

Compare online bank accounts for bad or good credit scores

Finder Score for savings accounts

To make comparing even easier we came up with the Finder Score. Interest rates, account fees and features across 50+ savings accounts and 25+ lenders are all weighted and scaled to produce a score out of 10. The higher the score the better the account - simple.

Read the full methodology

Prepaid cards

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.

Compare prepaid cards

How much do chequing accounts cost?

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).

Banking dos and don’ts if you have bad credit

What factors are important for Canadians when opening a new bank account?

Beyond considering credit score requirements, there are several other features to consider before opening a bank account. In our Finder: Consumer Sentiment Survey January 2025, we asked Canadians which factors are most important when deciding on a new account.

It turns out that the top factors concerning banking customers were all related to banking fees, with 65.43% looking for an account with no or low monthly fees, 51.25% looking for no or low transaction fees and 40.06% looking for no-fee Interac e-transfers.

If you are also considering opening a bank account with no monthly fees, check out our guide to the best no-fee bank accounts in Canada.

Bottom line

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.

Related: Step-by-step guide to opening a bank account online in Canada

FAQs about bank accounts for bad credit and no credit

• Can I get overdraft protection if I have bad credit?

  You likely won't qualify for overdraft protection if you have bad credit, because banks typically conduct a credit check to determine you're eligibility. Instead, consider budgeting a small amount for unexpected costs, and make sure this amount stays in your account at all times.

• What information do I need to open a bank account if I have bad credit?

  The requirements for opening a bank account in Canada are the same regardless of whether you have good or bad credit. You need to provide valid ID, your contact details, your reason for opening an account and your employment status. You'll also have to provide a copy of ID or consent to a soft credit check to verify your identity.

• Can I open a joint account if I have bad credit?

  Yes, you can open a joint account even if you have bad credit. To open a joint account, you'll likely need to visit a bank branch in person, and both account holders will need to present ID.