A newcomer account’s free period ends on a set date, and cheaper accounts exist after it.

Newcomers can get a no-cost bank account for their first year in Canada, and a low-cost account is open to all Canadians after that. The choice that matters is made on the day the free period ends.

That the package with the longest free period, or the biggest bonus, is the one to pick.

Both matter less than what the account becomes when the free period ends, because you may keep the account long after the bonus has been paid.

A free period is a stage of an account, not a kind of account. When it ends, the account keeps running on the bank’s regular terms, whatever those are.

You have a right to know those terms. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada says that when you open an account, the bank must give you information about it, including fees, increases in charges and new charges. When a bank increases a fee or introduces a new charge, it must give you written information about it, and if you were not made aware of a change before it came into effect, you can make a complaint.

So ask two things on the day you open the account: on what date does the free period end, and what will the account cost after it. Put that date in your calendar a month early.

There is a federal commitment on low-cost and no-cost accounts, and FCAC describes what it means for you.

A no-cost account has no monthly fee. FCAC names newcomers to Canada as eligible for one in their first year in Canada. The commitment defines newcomers as permanent residents, including people with approval in principle from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, protected persons, and temporary residents such as students, workers and temporary resident permit holders.

A low-cost account is open to all. FCAC says all Canadians can get a bank account with a monthly fee of $4 or less, and that the institutions offering low-cost accounts under the commitment cannot require you to keep a minimum balance in them.

These are the commitment’s floors. What each bank includes on top of them, and which types of debit transaction count, is set by the bank, so ask it. FCAC says institutions offering these accounts must display, in branches and online, that they are available and how to use FCAC’s Account Comparison Tool.

This is the real answer to what happens when the free period ends. You do not have to keep paying for an account you no longer need, and an institution that offers a low-cost account under the commitment must tell you it is available.

A bank account and a credit card are separate accounts. Changing where you do your everyday banking is a decision about the first. The second is part of your credit history.

FCAC says closing an older credit account can hurt your score, because you lose older credit history and reduce your available credit. It suggests keeping an account open, even with a zero balance, if it has no annual fee, is easy to manage, and you can use it now and then. Building from zero covers why that history matters.

The video on this page ranks six banks’ newcomer packages, first to sixth, and this page does not follow it there.

The site does not rank products. The video also quotes monthly fees, free periods, balance requirements, bonuses and transfer fees for named banks, and one of those banks is one this site does not name. None of those figures was read off a bank’s own page for this page, so none is repeated here. A bank’s current terms are on its own page, and they change.

It opens by saying the wrong bank account in your first month can keep your credit at zero for a year, and that a landlord will turn you down because of it. A bank account is not credit. What the video means is that some banks may not give a newcomer a credit card, which is a practice of particular banks that this page did not check. No source here connects a bank account choice to a landlord’s decision.

It lists four traps in newcomer packages: the fee that starts when the free period ends, a bonus taken back if you close early, monthly conditions to keep an account free, and fees for teller transactions. Each is a term of particular banks, and the lesson under all four stands: read the conditions before you sign. On the first, the video says no reminder is sent. FCAC says a bank must give written information when it increases a fee or introduces a new charge. FCAC’s page does not say whether the end of a free period counts, so ask your bank.

And it does not mention the no-cost account newcomers are eligible for in their first year, or the low-cost account open to all Canadians after it. Those two are the reason this page exists.

Who counts as a newcomer for a no-cost account

The Commitment on Low-Cost and No-Cost Accounts defines newcomers as permanent residents, including people who have received approval in principle from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to stay in Canada, refugees who are protected persons, and temporary residents, including students, workers and temporary resident permit holders. The eligibility is for your first year in Canada.

What can I do if a new fee appears without warning

FCAC says a bank must give you written information when it increases a fee or introduces a new charge, and that if you were not made aware of a change before it came into effect, you can make a complaint. Start with your bank, and keep the statement that shows the fee.

Every claim on this page was checked against these documents on 26 September 2026.

• Financial Consumer Agency of Canada: Opening a bank account · Low-cost and no-cost accounts · Commitment on Low-Cost and No-Cost Accounts · Improving your credit score

Watch · 17:38

Best Bank Account for Newcomers in Canada 2026 (1 Year Free vs 3?). Published 14 May 2026. Loads on click. Nothing is requested from YouTube until you ask.

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