How to get a Scotiabank NSF fee refunded
Scotiabank's Day-to-Day Banking Companion Booklet prints $10.00 when a cheque or other debit item is returned because the account does not have enough money. The footnote says that fee is not charged if the gap is $10 or less, and not more than once within two business days per account. Scotiabank does not print a next-day deposit that refunds the fee.
Last updated: October 20, 2026
Last checked: Oct 2026
The returned-item fee
Opened 20 October 2026. Amounts in this guide are Canadian dollars. The booklet lists "Cheque or other debit item drawn against your account that is returned as Non-sufficient funds (NSF) in your account" at $10.00. The footnote says the fee applies to each presentment or re-presentment. It will not apply if the difference between the account balance and the funds needed is $10 or less. It will also not be charged more than once within two business days per account. The comparison row is in Canada NSF fees by bank. The Basic account monthly fee is on how to waive a Scotiabank monthly fee.
A September 2026 notice about Day-to-Day account pages was opened the same day and does not change this NSF line. Use the booklet footnote, not an older fees-page row that stops at May 2021.
Upload the statement on Expenvo. The PDF stays on your device. Expenvo lists the lines. It does not sign in to the bank, and it does not move the money.
Overdraft Protection is priced separately
The booklet describes two plans. Pay-per-use is not available in Quebec. It is $5.00 on the same day or within two business days every time an overdraft is created or increased, not more than once per day, and no fee if you do not use the overdraft. The monthly plan is $5.00 at the end of the statement cycle even if the account was not overdrawn that month, as long as the balance stays within the limit. Interest on overdrawn balances is 21% a year, calculated daily and charged monthly. Each payment while you are overdrawn past the pre-authorized limit is another $5.00.
Without Overdraft Protection, the booklet prints a $5.00 handling fee for each item that places the account in overdraft, and $5.00 for each payment while that overdraft balance is outstanding, plus normal transaction fees and interest.
A notice effective 31 July 2026 says Overdraft Protection Plan fees, monthly, modified monthly, or pay-per-use, do not apply to plans where at least one plan holder resides in Quebec. The booklet still describes a $5.00 modified monthly fee for existing Quebec clients who had Overdraft Protection before 21 May 2021, if the account is overdrawn a day or more. Where the July 2026 notice and that older booklet sentence disagree, the notice is the later document: those plan fees do not apply if a plan holder resides in Quebec. Scotia Total Equity Plan approval is another case where the per-use and monthly plan fees do not apply.
What to say to Scotiabank
Scotiabank's contact page lists 1-800-472-6842. If the statement prints a different number, use the statement. "Hello. I am calling about one NSF fee. The date is [date]. The amount is $10.00. Please tell me whether the shortfall was $10 or less, or whether another NSF fee was charged on this account within two business days. If neither is true, I am asking you to review the fee and reverse it."
Then wait. A yes should include the day the credit will show. A no can be followed by a request for the complaint steps. Do not quote a success rate. How to ask your bank to refund a fee is the page for the complaint timing.
What a refund request is not
The $10 or less rule and the two business day rule stop a fee from being charged. They do not say Scotiabank will give back a fee that was charged correctly. Overdraft Protection fees are a plan you pay for coverage. They are not an NSF refund. The US opt-in rule on how to ask about an overdraft fee does not set a Scotiabank fee. Plan prices at other banks are in Canada overdraft fees by bank.
Questions
- How much is a Scotiabank NSF fee?
- The Day-to-Day Banking Companion Booklet prints $10.00 when a cheque or other debit item is returned NSF. It applies on each presentment or re-presentment, with the two limits in the footnote.
- When is the Scotiabank NSF fee not charged?
- The footnote says it will not apply if the difference between the balance and the funds needed is $10 or less, and it will not be charged more than once within two business days per account.
- Do Quebec clients pay Scotiabank overdraft plan fees?
- The notice effective 31 July 2026 says monthly, modified monthly, and pay-per-use Overdraft Protection Plan fees do not apply where at least one plan holder resides in Quebec.
Sources
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