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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Tangerine No-Fee Daily Chequing Account | Free | |
 | EQ Bank Personal Account | Free | |
 | BMO Performance Chequing Account | $17.95 | |
 | Simplii No Fee Chequing Account | Free | |
 | Scotiabank Preferred Package | $16.95 | |
 | KOHO Essential Plan | $4 | |
 | $16.95 | ||
Exclusive + Get a $150 digital Visa Card when you open a Coast Capital Elevate Chequing Account online through Finder. Become a Finder Member for free in seconds to claim your reward. Offer ends December 5, 2025. T&Cs apply. | |||
 | RBC Signature No Limit Banking Account | $16.95 | |
Tangerine No-Fee Daily Chequing Account
Earn $250
Bonus
Offer
$0
Monthly
Account Fee
unlimited
Free
Transactions
The Tangerine No-Fee Daily Chequing Account comes with a $0 monthly fee and unlimited free transactions and Interac e-Transfers. Plus, earn up to 0.1% interest on your account balance.
Monthly Account Fee
$0
Free Transactions
unlimited
Interac e-Transfer Fee
$0
In-Network ATM Fee
$0
NSF Fee
$45
Foreign Transaction Fee
2.5%
CDIC Deposit Insurance
$100,000
Bonus Offer
Earn $250
EQ Bank Personal Account
Earn 2.75%
Bonus
Offer
$0
Monthly
Account Fee
unlimited
Free
Transactions
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.
Monthly Account Fee
$0
Free Transactions
unlimited
Interac e-Transfer Fee
$0
In-Network ATM Fee
$0
NSF Fee
$0
Foreign Transaction Fee
0%
CDIC Deposit Insurance
$100,000
Bonus Offer
Earn 2.75%
Earn $500 when you open a new BMO Performance Chequing Account, make a deposit of any amount by March 2, 2026 and complete two qualifying tasks by April 30, 2026. Plus, get a Walmart Delivery Pass subscription for up to 12 months* when you open a new Savings Amplifier Account by March 2, 2026, and sign up for or update your existing Walmart Delivery Pass by April 30, 2026 by selecting Debit Mastercard as the payment option for the monthly transaction fee. Earn $150* when you deposit a total of $10,000 or more in to your Savings Amplifier Account and maintain a daily closing balance of $10,000 or more at all times for the specified period. Earn $50* when you create one goal and apply one strategy in My Financial Progress Plan by April 30, 2026. *Terms apply. Earn $500 when you open a new BMO Performance Chequing Account, make a deposit of any amount by March 2, 2026 and complete two qualifying tasks by April 30, 2026. Plus, get a Walmart Delivery Pass subscription for up to 12 months* when you open a new Savings Amplifier Account by March 2, 2026, and sign up for or update your existing Walmart Delivery Pass by April 30, 2026 by selecting Debit Mastercard as the payment option for the monthly transaction fee. Earn $150* when you deposit a total of $10,000 or more in to your Savings Amplifier Account and maintain a daily closing balance of $10,000 or more at all times for the specified period. Earn $50* when you create one goal and apply one strategy in My Financial Progress Plan by April 30, 2026. *Terms apply.
BMO Performance Chequing Account
Earn $700
Bonus
Offer
$17.95
Monthly
Account Fee
unlimited
Free
Transactions
The BMO Performance Chequing Account comes with unlimited free transactions and Interac e-Transfers. Get up to $700*.
T&Cs apply.
Finder Reward
Get a $150 digital Visa gift card from Finder. Become a Finder Member and open a BMO Performance Chequing Account through Finder.
Monthly Account Fee
$17.95
Free Transactions
unlimited
Interac e-Transfer Fee
$0
In-Network ATM Fee
$0
Foreign Transaction Fee
2.5%
CDIC Deposit Insurance
$100,000
Bonus Offer
Earn $700
Simplii No Fee Chequing Account
Earn $300
Bonus
Offer
$0
Monthly
Account Fee
unlimited
Free
Transactions
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.
Monthly Account Fee
$0
Free Transactions
unlimited
Interac e-Transfer Fee
$0
In-Network ATM Fee
$0
NSF Fee
$45
CDIC Deposit Insurance
$100,000
Bonus Offer
Earn $300
Scotiabank Preferred Package
Earn $700
Bonus
Offer
$16.95
Monthly
Account Fee
unlimited
Free
Transactions
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 4.70% interest for 3 months on your MomentumPLUS Savings Account.
Monthly Account Fee
$16.95
Free Transactions
unlimited
Interac e-Transfer Fee
$0
In-Network ATM Fee
$2
NSF Fee
$48
Foreign Transaction Fee
2.5%
CDIC Deposit Insurance
$100,000
Bonus Offer
Earn $700
KOHO Essential Plan
2%
Interest Rate
$4
Account Fee
$0
Transaction Fee
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% interest on your balance, and 1% cash back on groceries, transportation, food, and drink purchases.
Ongoing Interest Rate
2%
Promotional Interest Rate
No promotional rate available
Monthly Account Fee
$4
Minimum Balance
$0
CDIC Deposit Insurance
$100,000
Coast Capital Elevate Chequing Account
Earn up to $600
Bonus
Offer
$16.95
Monthly
Account Fee
unlimited
Free
Transactions
The Coast Capital Elevate Chequing Account account comes with unlimited free transactions, $0 Interac e-Transfers and no minimum balance requirement. New members can get up to $600 when they open and use a Coast Capital Elevate Chequing Account. Conditions apply. Offer ends January 5, 2026.
T&Cs apply.
Finder Reward
Get a $150 digital Visa gift card from Finder. Become a Finder Member and open a Coast Capital Elevate Chequing Account through Finder.
Monthly Account Fee
$16.95
Free Transactions
unlimited
Interac e-Transfer Fee
$0
In-Network ATM Fee
$0
Foreign Transaction Fee
2%
CDIC Deposit Insurance
$100,000
Bonus Offer
Earn up to $600
RBC Signature No Limit Banking Account
Get $400
Bonus
Offer
$16.95
Monthly
Account Fee
unlimited
Free
Transactions
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 $400 when you open your first RBC Signature No Limit Banking Account and complete two of the qualifying criteria tasks. Apply by January 13, 2026. The monthly account fee is $16.95, but this can be waived if you meet the requirements.
Monthly Account Fee
$16.95
Free Transactions
unlimited
Interac e-Transfer Fee
$0
In-Network ATM Fee
$0
CDIC Deposit Insurance
$100,000
Bonus Offer
Get $400
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 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.
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 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.
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.
Explore key banking statistics and figures from the Finder: Consumer Sentiment Survey January 2025.
Compare the features of 8 of the best no-fee chequing accounts in Canada, and find out how to avoid transaction fees.
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Compare chequing accounts and learn about our top picks. Compare different features and see which one is right for you.
Compare and open a bank account online in Canada in as little as 5 minutes. Learn what you need to apply and how to get started today.
Finder x Coast Capital Elevate Cheuing Account $150 Digital Visa Card Reward Promotion: What You Need to Know.
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Finder x BMO Performance Cheuing Account $150 Digital Visa Card Reward Promotion: What You Need to Know
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