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.
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.
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 | |
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BMO Performance Chequing Account | $17.95 | |
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Scotiabank Preferred Package | $16.95 | |
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Exclusive
+ Get a $100 digital Visa Card when you open a Scotiabank Preferred Package online through Finder. Become a Finder Member in seconds for free to claim your reward. Offer ends November 30, 2026. T&Cs apply. | |||
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EQ Bank Personal Account | Free | |
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Coast Capital Free Chequing, Free Debit, and More Account | Free | |
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RBC Signature No Limit Banking Account | $16.95 | Go to site |
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Neo Savings Account | Free | |
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Exclusive
+ Get an $80 digital Visa card from Finder when you open a Neo Savings Account online through Finder as a first-time customer, deposit at least $50 within 30 days of opening and keep the account active until February 15, 2027. One Neo reward per member. Offer ends December 30, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET. T&Cs apply.
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KOHO Everything Plan | $22 | |
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Wealthsimple Chequing Account | Free |
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Tangerine No-Fee Daily Chequing Account | Free | |
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Simplii No Fee Chequing Account | Free | |
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.
The main reason banks run a soft 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.
Here’s the steps for how to open a bank account in Canada without credit history:
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
Some financial institutions like KOHO and EQ Bank compete with standard banks by offering prepaid cards and accounts for everyday spending. Often, these prepaid cards come with 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).
Beyond considering credit score requirements, there are several other features to consider before opening a bank account. In our Finder: Consumer Sentiment Survey March 2026, we asked Canadians which factors are most important when deciding on a new account.
It turns out that the top factors concerning banking customers are all related to banking fees, with 63.72% looking for an account with no or low monthly fees, 50.42% looking for no or low transaction fees and 44.18% looking for free e-transfers.
The top results were the same in the Finder: Consumer Sentiment Survey January 2025, although monthly fees and transactions fees received slightly more votes and free e-transfers received about 4% fewer votes.
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.
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.
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Finder | Scotiabank Preferred Package Account September $100 gift card reward.
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