Dormant account fees at Canadian banks
A bank can charge a fee when an account sits unused, and it has to warn you before a long-inactive balance moves to the Bank of Canada. This page is the dollar each bank prints, plus the transfer rule on the Bank of Canada's own site. A bank whose fee page was not opened is left out.
Last checked: Oct 2026
The fee each bank prints
Opened 16 October 2026. These are notice, inactivity, or dormancy fees. They are not the monthly plan fee. Monthly chequing account fees by bank is that other charge.
| Bank | Fee the page prints | What the same page also says |
|---|---|---|
| RBC Royal Bank | $20.00, then $40.00 | The 2 year and 5 year inactive account notice is $20.00. The 9 year notice is $40.00. Both are waived for an RBC Leo Young Savers Account. The $20.00 notice is also waived if you acknowledge it within 30 days of the mailing date, or if the account is reactivated in the stated period. A footnote says an inactive account fee is charged each year the account is inactive, while notices go out after the 2nd and 5th year. If the account is inactive for 9 years it is closed, and after 10 years the balance is transferred to the Bank of Canada. The first notice follows two calendar years, January 1 through December 31, with no transactions. |
| Scotiabank | $20.00, $30.00, then $40.00 | After two, three, and four years, the notice of inactivity is $20.00. After five, six, seven, and eight years it is $30.00. The nine year notice of transfer to the Bank of Canada is $40.00. That nine year notice does not apply to U.S. dollar and Euro accounts. |
| Tangerine | $10, then $20 a year, then $40 | The bank fee schedule prints a 1 year inactivity fee of $10. Separately, the 2 to 9 year dormancy fee is $20 per year on non-registered personal and business savings accounts. The 10 year dormancy fee is associated with chequing and those savings accounts, and the amount cell prints $40 for personal and business savings accounts. Dormancy starts when it has been 2 years since you last logged in or accessed the account. The fee is taken each year starting the day after that date, for 7 years, unless you reactivate by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on the anniversary. |
How a balance reaches the Bank of Canada
The Bank of Canada's Unclaimed Properties Office says federally regulated banks and trust companies must transfer accounts, deposits, and negotiable instruments that have been inactive for 10 years. That duty is in the Bank Act and the Trust and Loan Companies Act. Before the 10 year mark, they must send a dormancy notice after two year, five year, and nine year periods of inactivity, by mail and by email if they have both.
You can search unclaimed bank balances on the Bank of Canada's site. The resources page says there is no fee to search and to start a claim. You have to show you own the balance. The office emails a claim form. If the claim is over $5,000, the form and documents go online or by mail. If the documents are not received within 12 months of that email, the claim request is closed. The average processing time is 120 days. Canada Savings Bonds are a different search on the same site.
TD, BMO, CIBC, National Bank, Desjardins, Simplii, and EQ Bank are not in the table. A page that prints their dormant or inactive account dollar was not opened on 16 October 2026. The 10 year transfer rule above still comes from the Bank of Canada, for federally regulated banks. It is not a substitute for a fee those banks did not print here.
Questions
- When does a Canadian bank balance go to the Bank of Canada?
- The Bank of Canada says federally regulated banks must transfer accounts and deposits that have been inactive for 10 years, at the end of each year. They must send notices after two, five, and nine years of inactivity.
- Does the Bank of Canada charge to search?
- No. Its resources page says there is no fee associated with searching for and initiating a property claim. A claim over $5,000 needs the form and documents online or by mail. Average processing is 120 days.
- Are RBC, Scotiabank, and Tangerine the same dollar?
- No. RBC prints $20.00 for the 2 and 5 year notices and $40.00 for the 9 year notice. Scotiabank prints $20.00, then $30.00, then $40.00. Tangerine prints a $10 inactivity fee after 1 year, $20 per year for the 2 to 9 year dormancy fee on the savings accounts named, and $40 for the 10 year line.
- Why are the other big banks missing?
- Their dormant fee pages were not opened on 16 October 2026. This page does not copy a dollar from a roundup. The Bank of Canada transfer rule still applies to federally regulated banks.
Sources
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