Quick answer: Switching bank accounts takes more than moving the balance. List the deposits and payments using the old account, open the new account, move funds, update each payer and biller, and check both accounts before asking the old institution to close one. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) recommends this sequence to help avoid missed payments and fees.
What this means: A paycheque, government payment, cheque, or pre-authorized debit can still be tied to your old account while you are switching. Your new bank may help with some transfers, but you need to confirm where each payment actually goes.
What to do next: Review several months of old-account statements and make a list of incoming and outgoing automatic transactions. Follow FCAC’s account-transfer steps as you move each one.
Make a list before you open or close anything
Start with the old account’s statements or transaction history. FCAC suggests looking back over recent months, or a year, to identify pre-authorized debits (PADs) and direct deposits. Include payments that happen only a few times a year. Your list might have wages, pension or benefit deposits, rent or mortgage payments, utilities, insurance premiums, loan payments, and transfers you scheduled yourself.
For each item, note the organization, the expected date, the old account it uses, and how you will ask for the change. Keep this list private. Canadian Money Help does not need your banking details to explain the process. A missed annual charge can be harder to spot than a monthly one, which is one reason FCAC says you may want overlap between the accounts.
Check for cheques you have written but that have not yet cleared. They need attention before you close the account they were drawn on. Also list linked products—such as a credit card or line of credit—so you can ask the institutions whether changing the deposit account affects any payments or services you use.
Open the new account and check its terms
FCAC’s next step is to open the new chequing or savings account. Ask the new institution what the account costs, how you access your money, how deposits and withdrawals work, and whether it has a process to help move recurring payments. Keep the new account agreement and the information you will need to update payers and billers.
Wait until you can use the new account and, if relevant, have its debit card before relying on it for everyday payments. FCAC says switching products and services can take time. The exact opening process and terms depend on the institution and account you choose.
Move funds with both accounts in view
FCAC lists several possible ways to move money between institutions, including electronic transfers, linked accounts, bank drafts, wires, and Interac e-Transfers. Ask the institutions which routes are available and what any fees, limits, and processing times are for your accounts. A transfer method that works for one amount or account may not fit another.
Keep enough in the old account for any cheque or PAD that could still arrive there. Keep enough in the new one for payments you have already redirected. FCAC warns that an account with too little money can produce a missed payment, overdraft, or non-sufficient funds (NSF) charge. The right buffer depends on your actual scheduled transactions; this guide cannot calculate it from general rules.
Change each direct deposit
Give each payer your new banking information through its official process. That might include an employer, pension administrator, benefits office, or other organization that deposits money into the account. Record when the change was submitted and check the next payment in the new account. A confirmation that details were updated is useful; the arriving deposit is the clearest check that routing has changed.
For payments from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), its direct-deposit instructions for individuals explain how to update information in your CRA account or through a participating Canadian financial institution. CRA no longer accepts these updates by telephone. CRA says to keep the old bank account open until the first CRA payment reaches the new account. A system showing updated details does not establish that a particular payment has landed.
CRA’s page also says it does not administer Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Old Age Security (OAS), or Employment Insurance (EI) direct deposits. If you receive one of those payments, use the responsible Government of Canada service’s separate change process. If you receive several kinds of government payment, treat each as its own entry on your list.
Update the billers that take pre-authorized debits
A PAD is a withdrawal a biller makes from your bank account with your permission. FCAC says to give creditors and service providers your new banking details. Ask the new institution whether it offers a process to transfer PADs. If it does not, you will need to set them up on the new account and cancel or change the old arrangements with each biller.
Check each biller’s instructions and keep its confirmation. Moving your own funds does not change the bank account stored in a biller’s PAD agreement. FCAC’s PAD guide explains how to cancel a debit agreement in writing. The underlying bill or contract continues, so arrange the new payment route before the next due date.
Recurring payments that you set up yourself in online banking are different from biller-controlled PADs. Review your online-banking payment list and recreate any instruction you still need in the new account. Check both systems to avoid sending an unintended duplicate payment.
Run a short overlap period and check what actually moved
Review incoming and outgoing transactions in both accounts. Mark an item complete only when you see the expected payment using the new account. Look at your list again after a payday, a benefit payment, and the next round of recurring bills. FCAC says you may wish to keep the old account open for several months to catch a cheque or PAD you missed.
There is no single overlap period that fits every household. A quarterly insurance premium or annual membership may appear much later than a monthly utility bill. Check the account agreement for any monthly fee while both accounts are open, and balance that cost against the risk of closing before the last old-account transaction is dealt with.
For illustration, imagine a household moves a paycheque first and sees it arrive in the new account. The rent PAD still comes out of the old account for one cycle. Their list shows that rent remains unfinished, so they keep enough money in the old account and contact the landlord or payment provider about the change. The example is a checklist, not a prediction about any bank’s processing time.
Ask the old institution to close the account
Once direct deposits, PADs, scheduled payments, and outstanding cheques have been accounted for, ask the old financial institution to close the account. FCAC says an account closes through a request to the institution. The institution may charge a closing fee; check the account agreement and ask about the amount before making the request.
Ask for confirmation that the account was closed and keep the final statement for your records. If you are also moving other products—such as a credit card, loan, or registered account—those have their own transfer or cancellation steps. FCAC’s broader transfer guide explains them separately. You can also ask the old institution for a list of products and services it closed or cancelled.
Frequently asked questions
- Do direct deposits move when I transfer my balance?
- A balance transfer does not update the account information held by each payer. Tell each employer, benefit administrator, or other payer through its official process and confirm the next deposit.
- Can my new bank move my pre-authorized debits?
- FCAC says some institutions have a transfer process. Ask yours what it covers, then check each biller and the first withdrawal from the new account.
- When can I close the old account after changing CRA direct deposit?
- CRA says to wait until the first CRA payment is deposited in the new account. Check other direct deposits, PADs, and outstanding cheques as well.
- Will closing my old account cost money?
- FCAC says a fee may apply. The account agreement and institution can tell you whether one applies and how much it is.
- Does changing CRA direct deposit also change CPP, OAS, or EI?
- CRA says it does not administer those payments. Use each responsible service’s official direct-deposit change process.