Glossary

Canadian banking glossary

35 terms you’ll meet on this site and in your bank’s fine print, in plain language.

Mitey the Yeti pointing at a glossary entry

Bank Act: The federal law under which every bank in Canada is chartered and regulated.
Big Six: Canada’s six largest domestic banks: RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO, CIBC and National Bank.
CDIC: Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation. Insures eligible deposits at member institutions up to $100,000 per category, per member.
CDIC category: One of nine groupings insured separately: one name, joint, trust, RRSP, RRIF, TFSA, RESP, RDSP and FHSA.
CDIC member: A federally regulated institution whose eligible deposits CDIC insures. Brands of one member share its limits.
Cheque hold: The time a bank may wait before making deposited cheque funds available; maximums are published by FCAC.
Consumer-driven banking: Canada’s name for open banking: sharing your financial data with accredited providers at your direction. Not yet live as of October 30, 2026.
Credit union: A member-owned cooperative financial institution, usually regulated and insured by its province.
Crown financial institution: A government-owned institution such as ATB Financial, whose deposits are guaranteed by the Government of Alberta.
Deposit insurance: Protection of eligible deposits if an institution fails — CDIC federally, or a provincial insurer for credit unions.
Direct bank: A bank serving customers online and by phone rather than through branches.
Division (brand): A trade name used by a bank rather than a separate legal entity — for example Simplii Financial of CIBC.
External complaints body: An independent body that reviews complaints a bank hasn’t resolved. For banks, that is OBSI since November 1, 2024.
FBAR: A US report (FinCEN Form 114) US persons file when foreign accounts total more than US$10,000 at any time in a year.
FCAC: Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. Supervises federally regulated institutions’ compliance with consumer-protection rules.
FDIC: The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, per ownership category.
Federal credit union: A credit union continued under the Bank Act, regulated by OSFI and insured by CDIC.
Fintech: A technology company offering financial services. Many are not banks and hold customer money at partner institutions.
FSRA: Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario, which insures Ontario credit union deposits.
GIC: Guaranteed Investment Certificate: a term deposit paying interest for a fixed period. Eligible for deposit insurance.
Joint deposit: A deposit owned by two or more people; insured by CDIC per distinct set of co-owners.
Low-cost account: A basic account at signatory banks costing no more than $4 a month with at least 18 debit transactions (since December 1, 2025).
No-cost account: The low-cost account with the fee waived for eligible groups such as youth, students, GIS recipients, RDSP beneficiaries and first-year newcomers.
NSF fee: A non-sufficient funds fee for a bounced payment. Capped at $10 on personal deposit accounts at federally regulated banks since March 12, 2026.
OBSI: Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments: free external review of unresolved bank complaints.
OSFI: Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions: the federal prudential regulator of banks.
Pre-authorized debit (PAD): An automatic withdrawal you authorize a biller to take. Errors usually must be reported within 90 calendar days.
Real-Time Rail: Payments Canada’s new real-time payment system; rules took effect August 24, 2026, with launch targeted for late 2026.
Schedule I bank: A domestic bank incorporated under the Bank Act that is not a subsidiary of a foreign bank.
Schedule II bank: A Canadian-incorporated subsidiary of a foreign bank.
Schedule III bank: A branch of a foreign bank authorized to operate in Canada; not a CDIC member.
Screen-scraping: Sharing your banking login with an app so it can read your data. The open banking framework is meant to replace it.
T1135: A CRA form Canadian residents file when specified foreign property costs more than $100,000 CAD at any time in the year.
Trust company: A federally or provincially regulated company that can act as trustee and take deposits; many are CDIC members.
Trust deposit: A deposit held by a trustee for beneficiaries; CDIC can cover up to $100,000 per beneficiary when disclosure rules are met.