Best banks in Canada

Fact checked by Scott Birke

Updated Mar 18, 2025

To determine the best banks in Canada, we’ve compared the big 6 banks to some smaller, online banks and credit unions to determine which financial institutions shine in the most important banking categories to Canadians.

While we adhere to strict editorial guidelines, partners on this page may provide us earnings.

Looking for the best bank in Canada? We're here to help.

We've done the research to help you find the best Canadian bank by the features most important to you. Read on to learn whether it's best to keep all of your bank accounts together with one bank, pick and choose products and services from different institutions—or some combination of both. You can also view our best credit cards Canada list for the best bank-issued cards on the market.

The 10 best banks in Canada

Best Bank Best For More info
BMO logo 💵 Best for chequing: BMO Performance Plan Apply now
💰 Best bank for saving: EQ Bank Apply now
📈 Best bank for investing: CIBC Investor's Edge Apply now
🌱 Best bank app for kids: Mydoh by RBC Read review
🏡 Best bank for mortgages: RBC Royal Bank Read review
🤝 Best bank for loans: TD Bank Read review
🚀 Best small business bank: CIBC Learn more
👩‍💻 Best online bank: Tangerine Read review
🇨🇦 Best bank for newcomers: National Bank Learn more
📚 Best bank for students: Scotiabank Learn more
  • Our methodology: How we chose the best bank in Canada list

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    In our evaluation of the best Canadian banks, we focused on several key factors: bank fees, customer service, ease of use and digital banking capabilities. This comprehensive approach ensures that we identify banks that offer the best rates, low fees and also excel in providing quality customer support along with wide range of financial products. Money.ca's ratings were not influenced by partnerships with listed banks or financial institutions. For more read our full review methodology.

Best bank in Canada for chequing: BMO

Performance Plan package
  • Promo: Earn $450*. Plus, get an extra $50* when you make it a Family Bundle2 *Terms and conditions apply.
  • Fees: $17.95 waived with $4,000 min balance*
  • Transactions per month: Unlimited*
  • Global money Transfer: No fee*
  • Standard overdraft protection: $5/month*
  • BMO ATM withdrawals: $0, Non-BMO ATM Withdrawals: 1 free per month, then $2 in Canada and $5 outside of Canada*.
Pros

Pros

  • Unlimited daily transactions

  • Great welcome bonus

  • Monthly fee waiver if you maintain the minimum balance requirement of $4,000

Cons

Cons

  • No interest earned on money in the account

  • Can be hard to maintain the minimum balance

Best bank in Canada for saving: EQ Bank

Fast facts:
  • Earn 4.00%* interest (1.25%* everyday interest + 2.75%) when you direct deposit your pay
  • No monthly fees or minimum balance
  • Free unlimited bill payments, Interac e-Transfers and more
  • Free withdrawals from any ATM in Canada and cash back with the EQ Bank Card
Pros

Pros

  • No monthly fees

  • No minimum balance requirements to earn interest or avoid fees

  • Free Interac e-Transfers® and electronic fund transfers

Cons

Cons

  • No in-person branch locations

  • Fewer products to choose from

Open a TFSA, FHSA, or RSP account at EQ Bank

A little FYI: EQ Bank

EQ Bank is the direct banking sector of Equitable Bank. But while Equitable Bank does have branch locations across Canada, EQ Bank is online only. As a subsidiary of Equitable Bank, EQ Bank is a member of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) by extension with deposits aggregately eligible for CDIC protection up to $100,000, per insured category, per depositor.‡‡

Best bank in Canada for investing: CIBC

Fast facts:
  • Explore a wide range of account types and investment options
  • Enjoy low trading fees
  • No annual fee for TFSAs or RESPs
  • Young investors can trade for free
Pros

Pros

  • Low fee stock and ETF trades

  • No account fees for TFSAs and RESPs

  • Young Investors 18 to 24 can trade stocks and ETFs online - all for free. Terms and conditions apply.

Cons

Cons

  • $100 fee for RRSP and non-registered accounts with small balances

  • No commission-free ETFs

Start investing with CIBC today

Best bank app for kids: Mydoh by RBC

Fast facts:
  • Free app
  • Acts as both a Visa and a debit card
  • Receive a digital card and physical card
Pros

Pros

  • No fee

  • Teach financial literacy and money management

  • Have visibility on and monitor children's spending

  • Assign chores and enable children to earn and save

Cons

Cons

  • Need to be on Wi-Fi to use app

  • Interface can be glitchy

Best bank for mortgages in Canada: RBC

RBC offers four different types of mortgage products, including:
  • Fixed rate mortgages
  • Variable rate mortgages
  • RBC Homeline plan
  • Cashback mortgages

Best bank in Canada for loans: TD Bank

Choose from a wide variety of loan options, such as:
  • Personal loans
  • Car loans
  • TD On-the-Spot RSP Loan
  • TD CarryForward RSP Loan
Pros

Pros

  • No monthly fees on most accounts

  • No minimum balance requirements to earn interest or avoid fees on many accounts

Cons

Cons

  • Most loans require at least good credit

Best Canadian bank for small business: CIBC

Pros

Pros

  • Good interest rates on deposit accounts

  • Discounts on account bundles for different needs and professions (e.g. starting a business, Black-owned businesses, banking for franchises, etc.)

Cons

Cons

  • Monthly fees on most accounts

Best for online banking in Canada: Tangerine

Tangerine offers Canadians:
  • chequing accounts
  • savings accounts
  • credit cards
  • GICs
  • mortgages
  • lines of credit (including HELOCs)
  • TFSAs and more.
Pros

Pros

  • No monthly fees on most accounts

  • No minimum balance requirements to earn interest or avoid fees on many accounts

Cons

Cons

  • Lower interest rates on deposit accounts including chequing accounts and savings accounts

  • No in-person branches (some "cafes" in select major cities in Canada)

Best bank in Canada for newcomers: National Bank

National Bank
Fast facts:
  • No fee banking for up to 3 years
  • Quick and easy international money transfers
  • Get a credit card without Canadian credit history
  • Get legal advice from an NBC lawyer at no cost for 12 months

Best bank for students: Scotiabank

Fast facts:
  • Get started with the Student Banking Advantage account
  • No monthly fee
  • Unlimited debit transactions and Interac e-transfers
  • Earn SCENE+ points to earn redeem for great rewards

Biggest banks in Canada by market cap

What are the biggest banks in Canada? Here's a list of the largest Canadian banks by market capitalization as of January 8, 2025 according to Simply Wall St:

Banking Quiz icon

Banking Quiz

Which is the oldest bank in Canada

How to choose the best bank in Canada for you

There are a lot of factors to consider when choosing the best Canadian bank for you to make sure that your bank accounts and products are compatible with your lifestyle — and won’t end up being a burden. Since transferring funds and closing out accounts can be such a headache, you want to make sure you’re making this decision carefully to avoid a messy breakup down the road.

To help make your life easier, we’ve put together a few of the top things to look for when picking a bank to separate the good from the bad.

  • Look at a bank's features and benefits

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    Features and benefits can look like a lot of different things. It can look like a great mobile app that never crashes or loyalty bonuses and relationship interest rates.

    But not all benefits hold the same weight from one person to the next. Some benefits that wouldn’t be important to you right now, like ATM rebates or waived fees for trading, would be really important to someone else.

    If you’re thinking about opening any type of financial account, make sure to look into what the bank will offer you beyond the basics like safety and security. Feel free to be hard to impress here, since banks need you, not the other way around.

  • Compare bank fees

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    Monthly fees can vary greatly from one account to the next, but it’s a good idea to try to get a feel for what kind of fees a bank might charge you before you commit to a relationship. The only thing worse than fees you know about are fees that sneak up on you, especially when it comes to banking.

    So what banking fees should you be on the lookout for? You’ve got your per-incident everyday banking fees for things like overdrafts, wire transfers, and excessive withdrawals and then you’ve also got monthly maintenance fees that you have to pay just for having an account and inconvenient penalty fees you could get charged if your balance drops below a certain threshold.

    In general, a bank or credit union either charges fees on most of its products or it doesn’t. And often when a bank has a monthly fee for an account, you can waive it if you keep enough money in there. If you’re looking to avoid fees and you don’t have a lot of cash to deposit (a requirement for most big banks to waive maintenance fees), go with an online bank.

  • Bank interest rates: Are you looking to save or borrow?

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    If your top priority is earning the most interest possible on your chequing and savings accounts, compare rates side-by-side for any and all banks you’re interested in. You’ll quickly notice a difference between online banks and traditional banks.

    This is because often, the best online banks blow traditional banks out of the water when it comes to interest earning and are also less likely to charge account fees, which can quickly cancel out any dividends you make.

    But virtual banks can come with drawbacks. For example, they tend to have fewer account types to choose from compared to larger brick-and-mortar banks and may not offer as many ATM locations for easy cash access. Keep this in mind if you’re focused on interest. It’s fairly common to see people opening separate accounts for the sake of earning interest rather than just choosing their regular bank.

  • Compare a bank's range of products

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    Even if you’re only looking for one type of bank account right now, you never know when you’re going to want to open another one. And for a lot of people, sticking with a bank you know is easier than seeking out a different institution altogether and learning how to use a new platform.

    Virtual/direct banks frequently have lower fees and better interest rates than their larger, brick-and-mortar counterparts, but they also have smaller product suites. Likewise, credit unions may have more limited selections of services, especially for things like investment accounts.

    But sticking with one bank isn’t the right choice for everybody. If you don’t mind having a savings account with one bank, a credit card with a different bank, and a chequing account with another, you can mix and match to get the absolute best deal possible for each type of banking product you need. But if you prefer to keep all your financial ducks in the same pond, you might opt for a larger traditional bank within, say, the Big Five, which will offer the full spectrum of banking services.

  • Account management preferences

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    Once your account is actually set up, what will you need to do to access it? How easy is it to make bill payments, transfer funds, or get help with issues? Consider your preferences for account management.

    Start with this question: How often do you currently handle your banking needs in a branch vs. online? If you strongly prefer face-to-face interaction with a banker, switching to a branchless bank might not be worth the savings you’ll get in reduced/eliminated fees and better interest rates. On the other hand, if you can’t remember the last time you were inside a physical bank branch, you would probably benefit from looking into online banks.

    And whether you’re interested in an online bank or the biggest bank in Canada, check out the mobile apps for these institutions as this can be an instant dealbreaker. What are users saying about the app’s usability? How does it look compared to your other banking apps? These are all good questions.

  • Banking customer service

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    Another important factor to consider when choosing a bank in Canada is customer service. This means not only how easy it is to get support but also what options you have for contacting representatives. Many banking consumers are complaining about extended wait times when trying to contact their bank by phone or chat.

    According to J.D. Power's banking customer satisfaction surveys for 2019,2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, there is an erosion in customer satisfaction among all Canadian banks. The largest percentage drops belong to the older banks like RBC, Scotiabank and TD. Newer entrants into the banking market like Tangerine, Simplii, and ATB Financial indexed the highest on customer satisfaction, with almost a 100 point spread between the bottom performer (TD) and the top performer (Tangerine).

J.D. Power Canadian retail banking satisfaction study

The newest entrant into the banking market is EQ Bank. Launched in 2016, EQ Bank is making big noise in the customer satisfaction space. Customer service can make a massive difference when you trust a single bank to manage much of your wealth. As we become a more and more connected country, it's important to have great customer service that can help us navigate the complexity. For more, read our EQ Bank review.

I switched to EQ Bank from a big bank, where I've been a client since I was a child. Unlike my old "Big 5 bank," I've never been on hold for more than two minutes with EQ.

Kris Bruynson, VP Marketing, Money.ca

Summary: Best Canadian banks

The best bank understands what you’re looking for, aligns with your financial goals, and definitely doesn’t give you a stress-induced ulcer.

If you’re looking for the top bank in Canada, you’ll find our favourites right here. We hope our list helps you choose the next bank you sign up for whenever you need to bank, save, borrow, or invest.

Best bank in Canada FAQs

  • How do I determine which bank is the best fit for me?

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    Choosing the best bank depends on your personal financial needs. Consider factors such as fees, interest rates, account features, customer service, physical locations and the range of products offered. Evaluate whether you need a bank with strong online capabilities, a wide variety of account types, or special services like mortgages and loans. For more, read our best bank in Canada guide here, which highlights top banks in different categories to help you find the right match.

  • Do any banks in Canada offer high-interest savings accounts with no fees?

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    Yes, EQ Bank is one of the top choices for high-interest savings accounts with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. It offers competitive interest rates and free unlimited transactions. However, keep in mind that EQ Bank is an online-only bank, which means there are no physical branch locations.

  • What is the best bank in Canada for small businesses?

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    CIBC is recognized as one of the best banks for small business banking in Canada. It offers a comprehensive suite of business banking products, including accounts, credit cards, and investment options. It also provides support for various business needs and industry-specific requirements.

  • Can I get a mortgage in Canada if I am new to the country?

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    Yes, National Bank is known for its supportive services for newcomers. It offers mortgage options without requiring a Canadian credit history and provide no-fee banking for up to three years. This makes it easier for new residents to start their financial journey in Canada. For more, check out our best bank for newcomers guide.

  • What are the benefits of using Tangerine as an online bank?

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    Tangerine Bank stands out for its low fees and broad range of products, including chequing and savings accounts, credit cards, and more. It offers a No-Fee Daily Chequing Account with unlimited transactions and interest earnings. While it doesn’t have physical branches, Tangerine provides support through digital channels.

  • Which bank in Canada offers the best student banking options?

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    Scotiabank is a great choice for students. Its Student Banking Advantage account has no monthly fees and provides unlimited debit transactions and Interac e-Transfers. Additionally, students can earn SCENE+ points with their debit card, which can be redeemed for rewards like movie tickets and travel.

Lauren Graves is a personal finance writer and editor with over five years of experience in service journalism, educational content, and digital marketing within the personal finance sector. She has written for Forbes Advisor, Fox Business, and The Wall Street Journal's Buy Side, FinanceBuzz and Money.ca.

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