Canadian consumers may find it difficult to see the full price of everyday banking or compare providers, a federal review found, citing charges that accumulate and product structures that obscure costs.
Canada’s Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC), which conducted the assessment, said disclosures delivered at a single point may not show a customer’s charges across time. Customers also may not know what certain transactions will cost before completing them. Limited visibility into foreign-exchange costs and cross-border debit fees can further complicate comparisons.
An account that once suited a customer may become less useful as their banking needs change. Older plans can offer less value than newer alternatives, while bundled services and differences in fee design make it harder to assess options side by side, FCAC said. Charges for some services also differ significantly by provider.
Consumers may face charges when they exceed an account’s transaction allowance, and a single ATM withdrawal can trigger more than one fee. Fees on prepaid payment products can eat into available balances over time. FCAC said an overdraft option may cost less in some cases than paying both NSF and dishonoured-payment charges.
Transfer-out fees can add to the cost of moving an account. The review also identified difficulty comparing providers and seeing total costs over time as possible barriers to switching. Consumer-driven banking could make fees more visible and help customers compare options and change providers, FCAC said.
The review covered fees associated with personal deposit accounts and related services, including account maintenance, excess transactions, ATM use, NSF charges, overdraft protection, currency conversion markups, cross-border debit, transfers out and prepaid payment products. The Government of Canada requested the review in Budget 2025.
