Looking for a child's bank account in Canada.

July 10, 2014 6:06 AM

Hi, can anyone recommend a child's bank account in Canada.

Wow, it's been a while since i was here. Hello again! I guess having kids does that to you. Well, my children are accumulating a nice amount of cash in their jars and I would like to start savings accounts for them. We are in Canada. Thanks.

posted by Frasermoo to Work & Money (8 answers total)

I don't know that there's a huge difference between each bank's children's account. Does your bank offer one? I'd just go with that, for simplicity's sake. I've used both the Royal Bank and Desjardins for young relatives' accounts, and they were fine -- no fees, lots of neat documentation for young kids to learn about money.
posted by third word on a random page at 6:17 AM on July 10, 2014

Pretty much echoing third word -- just get them the kids account at wherever you bank if they offer that.

My account as a child was at Scotiabank, because that's where my parents banked. If your kids happen to like movies, they might like that account because it comes with a Scene rewards card.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:44 AM on July 10, 2014

Best answer: This may be out of date by now, but the Star did a run down of what the different banks offer in 2011. They concluded that CIBC was the best choice at the time.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:48 AM on July 10, 2014

Best answer: My childhood account was with a credit union in Saskatchewan, and it was a very positive experience. I've since switched over to one of the big banks, but I think the credit union concept helped me to feel some more "ownership" over my account as a kid than I would have otherwise. There was also a cartoon cat on my account book, which I appreciated.
posted by snorkmaiden at 9:45 AM on July 10, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Seconding a credit union, if there's a branch near you. I use Meridian, and they are lightyears better than any bank.
posted by scruss at 11:56 AM on July 10, 2014

Response by poster: Thanks for the responses. I was not even aware of credit unions. I think I'll give that a go.
posted by Frasermoo at 1:36 PM on July 10, 2014

One thing to be aware of with credit unions is that they don't have as many branches or ATMs as some of the bigger banks. Depending on their policy on out-of-network ATMs, it may be harder for your kids to get there to get at their money without fees. Which might be a plus, but it may become an irritant when they're teenagers and trying to get to an appropriate ATM on transit.

I bank with Meridian, and I find it a bit of a pain in the ass, so I imagine it would be worse for a kid.
posted by jacquilynne at 1:47 PM on July 10, 2014 [1 favorite]

Credit unions offer fee-free accounts for kids in Canada. I had my account with a small credit union in Montreal, and it served me well on learning how the banking process works. I now bank with another credit union in Vancouver.

Also, it's useful to note that the ATMs for credit unions are ding-free across Canada (if you bank at one credit union, you can use all other credit union ATMs for your transactions, with no added fees). In addition, HSBC is also part of that ding-free network in Canada.
posted by seawallrunner at 10:08 PM on July 10, 2014