10 Best Banks in Canada for Students in 2023 -(Ranked & Reviewed)
By Nick Robert
The best bank in Canada for students needs to offer more than no monthly fees & unlimited transactions; it should also give you rewards and benefits. Choosing a bank and opening a student bank account can make you a long-time customer of the bank.
As a student, you are likely not making much money now, but eventually, you will. The banks want to make you a customer for life. That’s why you should take advantage of all the benefits a student account has to offer while you can.
With so many options available, it’s hard to know which bank and bank account will be right for you. Check out this list of the best options below:
Why you should open a student bank account
Opening a student bank account lets you take advantage of many great offers only available while you are a student. To help get you into their bank, banks offer no monthly fees and unlimited transactions while you are a student.
Additionally, they make qualifying for a credit card more effortless if you bank with their institution. This will help you build your credit history and improve your credit score.
Read more: How to increase your credit score
What to look for in a bank and student bank accounts?
With so many student bank account options, it can be hard to know what to look for. These are the items that are important to evaluate for each bank & account.
No or low monthly fees
Unlimited free transactions
Unlimited Interac e transfers
Rewards
Sign up bonuses
Minimum balance requirements
What happens to your account when you are no longer a student?
The best banks in Canada for students
Here I have ranked and reviewed the best banks & bank account options for students separated by physical, online-only banks & savings accounts.
Best physical banks in Canada
The major banks in Canada all have an account that will work for students. Some are not specifically student accounts but have the same functionality or offer a discount to students. Physical banks are a good first choice because you will have convenient access to ATMs and in-person support.
Scotiabank – Student Banking advantage plan
Features:
Monthly fees: $0
Free transactions: Unlimited
Free Interac e-transfers: Unlimited
Sign-up bonus: $75 for a limited time
Rewards program: Scene points
Minimum balance requirement: $0
Monthly fee after graduation: $16.95
Student credit cards available: yes
Scotiabank has an excellent student bank account that covers everything a student needs. It has no monthly fee, unlimited debit transactions and Interac e transfers, earns rewards, offers a sign-up bonus and has no minimum balance requirement.
Additionally, you can get access to their excellent Scotiabank credit card. This is one of the best student credit cards available in Canada.
Click here to learn more about the Scotiabank student banking advantage plan.
BMO – Student Banking Chequing Account (Performance Plan)
Features:
Monthly fees: $0 (waived while you are a student)
Free transactions: Unlimited
Free Interac e-transfers: Unlimited
Sign-up bonus: Temporarily offering a $100 cash bonus
Rewards program: None
Minimum balance requirement: $0
Monthly fee after graduation: $16.95 – $30.00
Student credit cards available: Yes
As a student, you qualify for the performance plan, the student chequing account from BMO. This bank account is excellent, with no monthly fees, unlimited free transactions and unlimited Interac e-transfers.
The student BMO cashback Mastercard is one of the best student credit cards available. BMO is currently offering a $100 cash bonus for students. If you get their Student BMO Cashback Mastercard, you will earn an additional $125 cash reward.
Click here to learn more about the BMO Performance plan student account with no monthly fee.
CIBC – CIBC Smart for Students Bank Account
Features:
Monthly fees: $0
Free transactions: Unlimited
Free Interac e-transfers: Unlimited
Sign-up bonus: Up to $150
Rewards program: None
Minimum balance requirement: $0
Monthly fee after graduation: $4.95 – $14.95
Student credit cards available: Yes
CIBC is one of the top banks in Canada, with many physical locations across the country. Like many leading banks, it offers no monthly fees, free transactions and Interac e-transfers, & a great welcome bonus. This puts it in the running for the best student bank account in Canada.
The one downside is that you are not earning cash rewards on purchases. However, their student credit card will allow you to earn points & rewards.
Click here to learn more about CIBC smart for students bank account.
TD – TD Student Chequing Account
Features:
Monthly fees: $0
Free transactions: Unlimited
Free Interac e-transfers: Unlimited
Sign-up bonus: Up to $150
Rewards program: None
Minimum balance requirement: $0
Monthly fee after graduation: N/A
Student credit cards available: No
The TD student bank account is a no-fee chequing account similar to the other options in this list. They offer unlimited transactions for free, with no monthly service fee, and provide an excellent sign-up bonus. This is one of the best bank accounts in Canada for students.
On the flip side, they do not offer a credit card specifically for students. They provide cards that students are more likely to qualify for.
Click here to learn more about TD student bank accounts.
RBC – RBC Advantage Banking for Students
Features:
Monthly fees: $0
Free transactions: Unlimited
Free Interac e-transfers: Unlimited
Sign-up bonus: $48 rebate on select credit cards
Rewards program: Avion points
Minimum balance requirement: $0
Monthly fee after graduation: Depends
Student credit cards available: No
The RBC student banking account is an excellent option for students in Canada. It offers the standard no monthly or annual fees, unlimited free debit transactions & E-transfers, but it lacks a cash reward sign-up bonus.
Unlike other options in this list, the RBC student account allows you to earn Avion points on everyday purchases. Earn one avion point for every $10 in purchases. This makes it one of the best student bank accounts.
HSBC – Student Chequing Account
Features:
Monthly fees: $0
Free transactions: Unlimited
Free Interac e-transfers: Unlimited
Sign-up bonus: Up to $150
Rewards program: None
Minimum balance requirement: $0
Monthly fee after graduation: Depends
Student credit cards available: No
The HSBC student chequing account is less commonly known than the other options from the five major banks in Canada. Despite this, HSBC student chequing accounts have great features like no fees, unlimited transactions and a terrific sign-up bonus.
Student bank account opening is easy with HSBC, as long as you are a Canadian resident enrolled as a full-time student in a Canadian post-secondary school education program.
This bank offers many in-person branches. However, it has fewer physical locations than several other large banks in Canada.
Click here to learn more about the HSBC Student Chequing account option for students in Canada.
The best online-only bank in Canada for students
Nowadays, students have less need for in-person banking, which opens up other bank accounts as options. Online-only banks are growing in popularity, as they generally offer lower fees or higher rewards and benefits for students. One of the significant advantages is that they already offer no annual fees forever, so there is no need to switch accounts after graduation.
Tangerine bank – Chequings Account
Features:
Monthly fees: $0
Free transactions: Unlimited
Free Interac e-transfers: Unlimited
Sign-up bonus: Up to $400
Rewards program: None
Minimum balance requirement: $0
Monthly fee after graduation: $0
Student credit cards available: Sort of
The Chequings account from Tangerine is not strictly a student bank account, but it does offer all of the same benefits as one. Even better, it offers no monthly fees after you graduate, so you can continue enjoying the same great benefits as students.
Tangerine also offers up to $400 in rewards when you sign up for a chequing and savings account. They offer a 4.99% annual return for six months on their savings account. By combining the two offerings, you can save money on any extra funds.
Tangerine bank also leverages Scotiabanks ATM access across the country. You can also learn more about the excellent credit card option I reviewed in this post. For an online-only bank, you get the best of both worlds.
Click here to learn more about the options available to Canadians.
Simplii Financial – No Fee Chequing Account
Features:
Monthly fees: $0
Free transactions: Unlimited
Free Interac e-transfers: Unlimited
Sign-up bonus: Up to $350
Rewards program: None
Minimum balance requirement: $0
Monthly fee after graduation: $0
Student credit cards available: No
While this is not a bank account specifically for students, it has the best of both worlds. It boasts no monthly fees, unlimited transactions, and a great sign-up bonus. Like Tangerine, this continues after you graduate, so there is no need to switch bank accounts in the future.
You can use this with their high-interest savings account and earn up to 5% on any available idle cash. Simplii makes it easy to access your money with a debit card by partnering with CIBC to give you convenient bank machine access across the country.
Click here to learn more about Simplii Financial’s no-fee chequing account.
Best savings account for students in Canada
Many of these accounts are great for day-to-day banking, but none will earn you high interest. An excellent personal finance strategy is to move excess cash you do not immediately need into a high-interest savings account. You can transfer the money out of these accounts when you need it.
Both Tangerine and Simplii have high-interest savings accounts you can use, and here are a few other options available.
Hubert Financial – High-interest Happy SAvings account
Hubert Financial makes it convenient and easy to earn interest on your savings, allowing you to easily (and cheaply) move money between accounts. Your money is always available in these accounts, earning interest daily.
The interest on this account will go up and down with prime bank rates. When the prime rate changes up or down, Hubert will adjust the savings rate to go with it. Right now, daily savings earn 3% interest annually.
Benefits of a Hubert savings account:
Interest is calculated daily
100% guaranteed by the Deposit Guarantee Corporation of Manitoba
No minimum balance required
No monthly service fees
EQ bank’s savings plus account
EQ bank’s savings plus account works as hybrid bank accounts between chequing and savings. They currently pay 2.5% interest, with no monthly fees, free Interac e-transfers, free EFT and bill payments. This is a one-stop banking solution for students if they do all their banking online and do not need a physical debit card.
Summary of the best bank accounts in Canada for Students
There is much to consider in picking the best bank in Canada for Students. After reviewing the options, many physical, online-only, and savings accounts are available to students. I hope this helped you get started filling all of your banking needs.
About the Author
Nick Robert is the founder and creator of Nickrobert.com. I created this website to educate Canadians about everything related to personal finance. As a Chartered Professional Accountant & Chartered Accountant, I have worked with many Canadians to achieve their personal finance goals.
To contact me, you can visit my contact page to email me directly, or you can visit and participate in my subreddit. Let me know about any topics you would like me to cover. If you are interested in guest posting on this website, message me through the contact page.
