2.2.6 Control your fees

Most accounts include some fees, whether a monthly account fee, individual fees per transaction or both. (Some no-fee accounts are available, but they may include only limited services.) Some common fees your financial institution might charge you are:

• transaction fees for withdrawing or transferring money
• bill payment fees if you pay your bills at the financial institution
• debit card fees if you use debit to pay for purchases, or if you withdraw cash from a cash machine that is not operated by your financial institution
• non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees if you write a cheque for more than you have in the account and the financial institution doesn't honour it
• overdraft fees for protection that covers your payments if there is not enough money in your account and the financial institution covers the payment
• account statement fees to give you a printed statement
• cheque printing fees to provide you with a set of cheques.

Some accounts charge a monthly fee that lets you do several transactions for one price. If you pay a lot of individual service fees, you may find that a monthly fee will provide the services you use at less cost. Also, you may be able to reduce fees by making one larger withdrawal per week instead of several small ones.

Ask your financial institution what fees they charge your account. They may have an account available that will provide the services you need at less cost. Or, if you want to find out what other financial institutions offer, including banks, credit unions, caisses populaires and trust companies, go to the Financial Consumer Agency’s Account Comparison Tool. The tool will tell you what various financial institutions charge for accounts in your province or territory.

See the video, Banking tips, for more information.