Best bank in Canada, 2026

Our picks

We built these picks from four public records: J.D. Power's 2025 customer satisfaction scores, the 2025 complaint table from the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI), penalty decisions by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) and the fee pages banks published on Oct. 6, 2026. No bank leads on all four. None of these records can tell you how your local branch treats people or what mortgage rate you'll be offered.

1. Highest satisfaction, no monthly fee

   Tangerine

   Tangerine scored 683 out of 1,000 in J.D. Power's 2025 retail banking study, the top score of the 10 banks it covered, and ranked first among midsize banks for the 14th year in a row.¹ Its chequing account has no monthly fee and no minimum balance.² OBSI opened 75 cases against Tangerine in 2025, and FCAC has published no penalty against it since 2023.^3,4 Scotiabank owns Tangerine, but Tangerine is a CDIC member in its own right, so deposits there are insured separately from deposits at Scotiabank.^2,5

   683J.D. Power 2025 score, highest of 10 banks
2. Top-rated Big Five bank, personal and business

   RBC Royal Bank

   RBC ranked first among the Big Five for a second year, with 611 points, and first in J.D. Power's 2025 small business study, with 663.^1,6 Its other records are weaker. OBSI opened 1,172 cases against RBC in 2025, more than any other bank.³ In April 2026 RBC paid a $4.25 million FCAC penalty after credit card statements on 227,947 accounts showed wrong amounts; it refunded about $22.4 million.⁷ Its Day to Day Banking account costs $4 a month for 12 debits plus unlimited e-Transfers.⁸

   611Top Big Five score; 663 for small business
3. Highest-scoring of the Big Six

   National Bank of Canada

   J.D. Power ranks National Bank with the midsize banks, where it scored 643, higher than any Big Five bank.¹ OBSI opened 66 cases against it in 2025, the fewest of the six largest banks.³ Its last FCAC penalty was $600,000, paid in April 2023 over personal loan fees that didn't match customers' documents.⁴ The Minimalist account costs $3.95 a month for 18 digital transactions.⁹

   643J.D. Power 2025, ranked with midsize banks
4. Credit union with full deposit protection

   Vancity

   B.C.'s credit union deposit insurer, CUDIC, guarantees 100% of eligible deposits at the province's credit unions, so there is no $100,000 cap to plan around.^10,11 OBSI opened 8 cases against Vancity in 2025; 2 ended in the member's favour.³ The Essential account costs $9.75 a month, or nothing with a $1,500 minimum balance, and Access chequing is free for people with disabilities.^12,11 Vancity is not in J.D. Power's study.

   100%of eligible deposits guaranteed by CUDIC
5. Most deposit insurance on a no-fee account

   Wealthsimple Chequing

   Wealthsimple is not a bank. It places chequing balances in trust with several Schedule 1 banks that are CDIC members, and says this extends CDIC coverage to up to $1,000,000 across your chequing accounts. Its Save accounts get $100,000.¹³ The chequing account has no monthly fee.¹⁴ Wealthsimple is not in J.D. Power's banking study and is not in OBSI's 2025 banking table, so it has no comparable complaint record.³

   $1MCDIC coverage across chequing, per Wealthsimple

The best banks in Canada, compared

The table puts the records side by side. J.D. Power's scores come from 14,399 customers surveyed in two waves in 2025, on a 1,000-point scale.¹ OBSI's numbers are cases it opened in 2025 for customers who had not settled a complaint with their bank.^3,15 The penalties are the ones FCAC published on its decisions page from 2023 to June 2026.⁴

J.D. Power ranks Big Five and midsize banks separately; the label under each score says which.¹ The resolved share is our calculation: cases OBSI counted as resolved to the customer's satisfaction, divided by cases it closed. That count includes settlements before an investigation, compensation, non-monetary fixes such as a corrected credit record, and goodwill payments.³ Simplii is a CIBC trade name, so its records sit under CIBC.¹⁶ Vancity's figures come from OBSI's credit union table, which counts outcomes in the member's favour.³ Penalty sources: FCAC decisions page.⁴

J.D. Power 2025 satisfaction scores

Points out of 1,000; the axis stops at 700. J.D. Power ranks Big Five and midsize banks separately. Source: J.D. Power 2025 Canada Retail Banking Satisfaction Study.

• Tangerinemidsize683
• Midsize averagesegment649
• Simplii Financialmidsize644
• National Bankmidsize643
• Desjardinsmidsize640
• ATB Financialmidsize639
• RBCBig Five611
• CIBCBig Five607
• BMOBig Five606
• Big Five averagesegment604
• TDBig Five599
• ScotiabankBig Five595

0200400600

Every midsize bank in the study scored above every Big Five bank. The Big Five average fell 7 points to 604, while the midsize average rose 5 points to 649.¹ Inside the Big Five the spread is small: 16 points separate RBC at the top from Scotiabank at the bottom. J.D. Power says its rankings rest on the scores and are not necessarily statistically significant.¹ It plans to publish 2026 results on Oct. 15, 2026, and we will update this page when it does.¹⁷

Complaints and penalties: what the records show

Since Nov. 1, 2024, every federally regulated bank has had to belong to OBSI. Before that, banks could choose between two complaint bodies, and six used the ADR Chambers Banking Ombuds Office (ADRBO) instead: RBC, TD, Scotiabank, National Bank, Tangerine and Digital Commerce Bank.¹⁵ OBSI says its 2025 report is the first in over 17 years to give consolidated complaint data for the whole banking sector.¹⁸

OBSI opened 5,438 banking cases in 2025, up 113% from 2024. Fraud was the biggest issue, with 1,815 cases, a third of the total. Credit cards drew the most cases of any product (1,576), followed by e-Transfers (898). Average compensation in banking cases was $3,659, and an investigation took 43 days on average.³

Read the bank-by-bank counts with care. OBSI says a higher number of cases "may not be a negative indication" and can simply mean a bank tells its customers about the ombudsman.³ The report gives no customer counts, so bigger banks will tend to have more cases. The resolved share gets around the size problem, but it can't separate a bank that was wrong more often from one that settles more readily. TD's 19% was the lowest of the Big Five.

FCAC can fine a bank up to $10 million per violation. Regulated firms had paid $26.8 million in penalties for breaking consumer rules since 2022, FCAC told a Senate committee in February 2026.²² These are the penalties against banks on our list since 2023:⁴

• RBC, $4.25 million, paid April 17, 2026. When a credit card was replaced after fraud, some credits did not move to the new account, so statements were wrong and some customers paid extra charges. FCAC counted 227,947 accounts affected; RBC refunded about $22.4 million.⁷
• BMO, $4 million, paid April 22, 2025. Customers who applied in a branch for its 2010 Discounted Banking Programs got written confirmation with the wrong start date for their fee waiver.⁴
• TD, $5.5 million, paid Oct. 17, 2024. Some customers who changed their loan payment frequency had their amortization extended by a calculation error that was not disclosed to them.⁴
• TD, $6.5 million, paid July 11, 2024. Customers were not credited the credit card annual fee rebates they were owed.⁴
• CIBC, $3.0 million, decision posted June 22, 2023. Some transactions were not moved to the new statement after a lost, stolen or defrauded credit card was deactivated.⁴
• National Bank, $600,000, paid April 11, 2023. Personal loan customers were charged fees that differed from the ones in their documents.⁴

By our count that is $23.85 million across the six largest banks. We found no FCAC penalty against Scotiabank, Tangerine or Equitable Bank in that period; Scotiabank's last decision, in December 2021, ended with no penalty.⁴ Credit unions answer to provincial bodies instead: Vancity to B.C.'s financial regulator, BCFSA, and Desjardins caisses to Quebec's Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF).^10,23

Best bank account in Canada for fees

Four of the accounts we checked charge no monthly fee: Tangerine, Simplii, EQ Bank and Wealthsimple.^2,16,24,14 At the big banks and the credit unions you pay a monthly fee unless you keep a set balance in the account.

Fees from each bank's own page on Oct. 6, 2026, before seniors', student and newcomer rebates. Balances are daily minimums, and most banks charge the full fee if you dip below for even a day of the month.^{8,25,26,27,28,29,9,30,31,12,2,16,24,14}

By our calculation, an unlimited account at a Big Five bank costs $203.40 to $215.40 a year ($16.95 to $17.95 a month) if you don't hold the balance that waives the fee. RBC's Advantage account works out to $155.40 a year, and National Bank's The Connected to $191.40.

Banks that signed FCAC's Commitment on Low-Cost and No-Cost Accounts must offer anyone a chequing account for no more than $4 a month with at least 18 debit transactions. Since Dec. 1, 2025, that account must be free for seniors receiving the Guaranteed Income Supplement, Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) beneficiaries, youth 18 and under, students, and newcomers in their first year in Canada. Each bank also covers one of three more groups: Indigenous peoples, people on some provincial social assistance programs, or Disability Tax Credit recipients.³² RBC, for example, lists its Day to Day account at $0 for Indigenous Peoples and for seniors after its rebate.⁸

Sign-up offers were everywhere when we checked: up to $1,000 at Scotiabank, up to $900 in cash at BMO, up to $750 in value at TD and up to $600 cash back at National Bank, each with conditions.^26,27,25,9 J.D. Power found that 7% of customers switched their main bank in the past year, and promotional offers were one of the three main reasons, along with poor service and high fees.¹ Set the bonus against a year or two of fees before you move.

How your deposits are insured: CDIC, AMF and CUDIC

The Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) insures eligible deposits at member institutions up to $100,000 per category, including interest. Categories include deposits in one name, joint deposits, RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, RDSPs and RESPs, so one person can have more than $100,000 covered at the same bank. Each member institution has its own coverage.⁵

• Tangerine is owned by Scotiabank but is a CDIC member in its own right, so money at Tangerine is insured separately from money at Scotiabank.^2,5
• Simplii is a trade name of CIBC. Your Simplii and CIBC deposits are added together and share one set of CDIC limits.¹⁶
• EQ Bank is a trade name of Equitable Bank, a CDIC member.³³
• Wealthsimple is not a bank. It holds chequing balances in trust at several Schedule 1 banks that are CDIC members and spreads larger balances across them, which it says gives up to $1,000,000 of CDIC coverage across your chequing accounts. Save accounts are covered to $100,000.¹³
• Desjardins caisses in Quebec are covered by the AMF, which insures deposits up to $100,000 per person per deposit category.²³
• Vancity and other B.C. credit unions are covered by the Credit Union Deposit Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (CUDIC), which guarantees 100% of eligible deposits.^10,11

Best bank for small business in Canada

J.D. Power's 2025 small business study surveyed 2,469 owners and financial decision-makers from June to August 2025. RBC scored highest, at 663. BMO came second at 653, one point above the study average.⁶

J.D. Power 2025 small business banking scores

Points out of 1,000; the axis stops at 700. Source: J.D. Power 2025 Canada Small Business Banking Satisfaction Study.

• RBC663
• BMO653
• Study averageall banks652
• TD651
• CIBC647
• Scotiabank641

0200400600

Overall small business satisfaction fell 3 points, to 652, and J.D. Power counted 60% of small businesses as financially unhealthy. The factors that lifted scores most included hearing from the bank before a problem came up, having the bank explain its fee structure, and not having a problem at all.⁶ The study covers only the five banks in the chart. J.D. Power plans to release its 2026 results on Oct. 22, 2026.³⁴

Business disputes are a small share of OBSI's work: 102 cases about commercial accounts and 49 about commercial loans in 2025.³ Before you choose, ask each bank for its business fee schedule and count a typical month of deposits, cheques, e-Transfers and cash handling.

How to choose a bank account

• Count a month of transactions. Low-fee accounts include 12 to 25 transactions a month, and extras cost money: $1.25 each past 18 at CIBC's Everyday account, for example.²⁹
• Check the balance rule. Free-with-balance accounts usually need the minimum every day of the month. Vancity and Desjardins both spell this out.^12,30
• Ask for the no-cost account if you qualify. Seniors on the Guaranteed Income Supplement, students, youth, newcomers and RDSP beneficiaries are covered.³²
• Mind the insurance limits. If you hold more than $100,000, spread it across deposit categories or separate member institutions. Simplii and CIBC count as one.^5,16
• Know the complaint path. Keep a note of the date you first complain. After 56 days, or once the bank gives its final answer, you can go to OBSI.^19,20

Before you trust other "best bank" rankings

• Awards are licensed. J.D. Power lets its top-ranked brands use the award publicly through a licensing program that requires subscribing to the study.¹⁷ The scores themselves are public in its press releases.
• Badges come from somewhere. Simplii advertises that it was "Voted Best Chequing Account 2023 and 2025 by Ratehub".¹⁶ Before you give a badge weight, check who voted and how the site that awarded it is paid.
• Complaint counts favour small banks. Use them with the resolved share and the penalty record, as we did.
• Interest rates move. EQ Bank advertised 2.75% on its Personal Account and Wealthsimple up to 2.25% on chequing when we checked, but those rates can change at any time.^24,14

Some things no record here can tell you: mortgage rates, investment advice, or the service at your nearest branch. J.D. Power surveys only customers who call one of its 10 banks their main bank and hold a chequing account there.¹

Common questions

How we did this

We read each record at its source between Oct. 6 and 7, 2026: OBSI's 2025 annual report (the bank table on pages 35 and 36 and the credit union table on page 43), FCAC's decisions page and its RBC summary, J.D. Power's 2025 retail and small business press releases and charts, FCAC's low-cost account commitment, CDIC's coverage rules, provincial deposit insurance pages and each bank's own chequing page. We covered the six largest banks, four digital options (Tangerine, Simplii, EQ Bank and Wealthsimple) and two large credit unions with published records, Desjardins and Vancity.

Our calculations are labelled: the resolved shares, the penalty total and the yearly fee costs. We did not contact the banks, and no bank paid for a mention. We did not use Reddit or reader reviews for this edition. J.D. Power's 2026 results are due Oct. 15 (retail) and Oct. 22 (small business), and we will update the scores and picks then.

Sources

Show all 34 sourcesHide sources

1. J.D. Power. "Customer Satisfaction Gap Widens Between Big 5 and Midsize Banks in Canada (2025 Canada Retail Banking Satisfaction Study)." Oct. 16, 2025. www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2025-canada-retail-banking-satisfaction-study/
2. Tangerine. "No-fee daily Chequing Account." Accessed Oct. 6, 2026. www.tangerine.ca/en/personal/spend/chequing-account
3. Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI). "Annual Report 2025." March 13, 2026. media-001-ca.cdn.govstack.com/obsi-006-ca/media/utuptlw0/obsi-annual-report-2025-en-aoda.pdf
4. Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. "FCAC Decisions and summaries of proceedings." Updated June 25, 2026. www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/industry/commissioner-decisions.html
5. Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation. "What's covered." Accessed Oct. 6, 2026. www.cdic.ca/depositors/whats-covered/
6. J.D. Power. "Economic Headwinds Erode Small Business Satisfaction with Banks in Canada (2025 Canada Small Business Banking Satisfaction Study)." Oct. 23, 2025. www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2025-canada-small-business-banking-satisfaction-study/
7. Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. "Summary of proceeding #5 (Royal Bank of Canada)." June 25, 2026. www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/industry/commissioner-decisions/summary-proceeding-5.html
8. RBC Royal Bank. "Chequing Accounts in Canada." Accessed Oct. 6, 2026. www.rbcroyalbank.com/bank-accounts/chequing-accounts/
9. National Bank of Canada. "Chequing accounts and packages." Accessed Oct. 6, 2026. www.nbc.ca/personal/accounts/chequing.html
10. BC Financial Services Authority. "Credit Union Deposit Insurance." Accessed Oct. 6, 2026. www.bcfsa.ca/public-resources/credit-union-deposit-insurance
11. Vancity. "Access chequing." Accessed Oct. 6, 2026. www.vancity.com/bank/accounts/access-chequing
12. Vancity. "Accounts: our most popular chequing accounts." Accessed Oct. 6, 2026. www.vancity.com/bank/accounts
13. Wealthsimple. "Understand how CDIC coverage works in your chequing account." Accessed Oct. 6, 2026. help.wealthsimple.com/hc/en-ca/articles/14905388487579-Understand-how-CDIC-coverage-works-in-your-chequing-account
14. Wealthsimple. "Chequing." Accessed Oct. 6, 2026. www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/chequing
15. Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. "Canadians now have a single external complaints body for banking." Nov. 1, 2024. www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/news/2024/10/canadians-now-have-a-single-external-complaints-body-for-banking.html
16. Simplii Financial. "No Fee Chequing Account." Accessed Oct. 6, 2026. www.simplii.com/en/bank-accounts/no-fee-chequing.html
17. J.D. Power. "Canada Retail Banking Satisfaction Study: key dates and award information." Accessed Oct. 6, 2026. www.jdpower.com/business/canada-retail-banking-satisfaction-study/
18. OBSI. "OBSI 2025 Annual Report released." March 13, 2026. www.obsi.ca/en/news/posts/obsi-2025-annual-report-released/
19. Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. "Guideline on Complaint-Handling Procedures for Banks and Authorized Foreign Banks." Jan. 27, 2022. www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/industry/commissioner-guidance/complaint-handling-procedures-banks.html
20. OBSI. "OBSI becomes sole banking ombudsman for Canadian customers of federally regulated banks." Nov. 1, 2024. www.obsi.ca/en/news/posts/obsi-becomes-sole-banking-ombudsman-for-canadian-customers-of-federally-regulated-banks/
21. Desjardins. "Comments, dissatisfactions and complaints." Accessed Oct. 6, 2026. www.desjardins.com/en/contact-us/feedback-complaints.html
22. Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. "Appearance before the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy (briefing package)." Feb. 4, 2026. www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/corporate/transparency/briefing-packages-parliamentary-committee-appearances/standing-committee-banking-commerce-economy-february-4-2026.html
23. Desjardins. "Understanding deposit insurance." Accessed Oct. 6, 2026. www.desjardins.com/en/accounts-services/understanding-deposit-insurance.html
24. EQ Bank. "Personal Account." Accessed Oct. 6, 2026. www.eqbank.ca/personal-banking/personal-account
25. TD Canada Trust. "Chequing accounts." Accessed Oct. 6, 2026. www.td.com/ca/en/personal-banking/products/bank-accounts/chequing-accounts
26. Scotiabank. "Discover Scotia's chequing accounts." Accessed Oct. 6, 2026. www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/personal/bank-accounts/chequing-accounts.html
27. BMO. "Chequing Accounts." Accessed Oct. 6, 2026. www.bmo.com/en-ca/main/personal/bank-accounts/chequing-accounts/
28. CIBC. "Chequing Accounts." Accessed Oct. 6, 2026. www.cibc.com/en/personal-banking/bank-accounts/chequing-accounts.html
29. CIBC. "CIBC Everyday Chequing Account: fees and details." Accessed Oct. 6, 2026. www.cibc.com/en/personal-banking/bank-accounts/chequing-accounts/everyday-chequing-account/fees-and-details.html
30. Desjardins. "Basic plan." Accessed Oct. 6, 2026. www.desjardins.com/en/accounts-services/everyday-account/basic-plan.html
31. Desjardins. "Accounts and services." Accessed Oct. 6, 2026. www.desjardins.com/en/accounts-services.html
32. Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. "Commitment on Low-Cost and No-Cost Accounts." Effective Dec. 1, 2025. www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/industry/laws-regulations/low-cost-no-cost-accounts.html
33. EQ Bank. "Fees and features." Accessed Oct. 6, 2026. www.eqbank.ca/personal-banking/fees-and-features
34. J.D. Power. "Canada Small Business Banking Satisfaction Study: key dates." Accessed Oct. 6, 2026. www.jdpower.com/business/canada-small-business-banking-satisfaction-study/

Update log

• Oct. 7, 2026First published.

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