2.4.1 Consumer rights and responsibilities

You have rights when you deal with financial institutions in Canada:

• You have a right to open an account when you present the correct identification (ID) in person to a bank. Credit unions, caisses populaires, trust companies and banks have rules like those below for proving your identity when you open an account.
  • You need two pieces of ID, including:
    • at least one government-issued piece of ID such as a driver's license, a passport or a social insurance card
    • one other piece of ID such as a signed debit or credit card with your name on it, a valid foreign passport or an employee ID card.
  • If you have only one government-issued piece of ID, you may be able to have someone that the institution knows confirm that you are who you say you are.

For more information about the ID you need to open a bank account, go to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s information on Banking.

• Many of Canada's major banking institutions have agreed to offer a basic chequing account for a monthly fee of $4 or less. The services included in these accounts vary, and there may be charges for additional services, such as in-person bill payments.
• When you open a deposit account, you have a right to receive information about your account in writing, including:
  • the complete account agreement
  • any interest paid and how it is calculated
  • any charges on the account
  • the hold policy on cheques—that is, how long the institution will hold a cheque you deposit to verify it before giving you access to the funds you deposited
  • what to do if you have a complaint.
• When the institution makes changes that affect your account, such as changes in fees, it must give you notice in writing.
• You have the right to cash a cheque issued by the Government of Canada for free at any bank. You have this right for any Government of Canada cheque up to $1,750, even if you are not a customer of the bank, as long as you provide ID. Most financial institutions will also cash cheques from provincial and territorial governments for free.

What are your responsibilities as a customer? You must:

• read and understand the terms of your account agreement
• check your account statement regularly and report anything you think is not right
• keep your account documents, passwords and personal identification numbers (PINs) secure.