Quick answer: The route depends on the benefit. For Old Age Security (OAS), you may be able to change banking details in My Service Canada Account after a one-time activation. For Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Employment Insurance (EI), Service Canada currently directs you to request a callback, visit an office or contact the program call centre.
What this means: Updating direct deposit with the Canada Revenue Agency does not update CPP, OAS or EI. My Service Canada Account can show some information without letting you change it for every program.
What to do next: Use Service Canada’s current change-of-information page, choose your benefit, and follow that program’s route. Keep your old bank account available until you confirm where the next payment arrives.
Start with the payment you need to change
Before entering new bank details, identify who pays the benefit. CRA handles tax refunds and CRA-administered credits; Service Canada handles CPP, OAS and EI. This sounds fussy, but it prevents the common problem of changing one account and assuming every government payment will follow. If you also receive CRA payments, use the separate CRA direct-deposit guide.
- OAS: My Service Canada Account after activation, or Service Canada assistance.
- CPP: Request a callback, visit Service Canada, or contact the CPP call centre.
- EI: Request a callback, visit Service Canada, or contact the EI call centre.
Service Canada’s options can change, so use its current page at the time you update your details.
If you receive more than one of these payments, make a small checklist with each program name. Mark an item complete only after that program confirms the update. This avoids treating a single successful sign-in or phone call as proof that every payment destination changed.
OAS: activate the online change option first
Service Canada’s OAS receiving-your-pension page says you must first call 1-800-277-9914 or visit a Service Canada location to activate this feature in your OAS account. That is a one-time step. Then sign in to My Service Canada Account, open the OAS dashboard, select Profile, and choose Manage my payment destination.
After confirmation, the updated banking information appears in the Payment details area of your profile. If you cannot use the online route, Service Canada also offers an eServiceCanada callback request and a phone route. If you live outside Canada, its OAS instructions say to contact Service Canada to update banking details rather than trying to change them online.
CPP: use Service Canada assistance
Service Canada’s current personal-information page says you cannot change CPP information directly in My Service Canada Account at this time. You can request a callback through eServiceCanada, go to a Service Canada office, or contact the CPP call centre using the links on that official page.
Tell the representative you need to change direct deposit for CPP. Follow the identity-check and submission method they give you. Do not assume an OAS or CRA update also changes CPP just because the payments arrive at the same bank.
EI: use the EI assistance route
The same Service Canada page says EI banking changes cannot currently be made directly in My Service Canada Account. Use the eServiceCanada callback request, an in-person office or the EI call centre. The EI after-you-apply page
You can check your claim information in MSCA, but seeing an account field is not proof you can edit it there. If an EI report or payment is in progress, ask Service Canada which details are on your claim and what to expect next.
For a new EI application, the application itself asks for banking information. This guide is about changing information later; do not confuse the initial application field with a self-serve change feature in MSCA.
Before closing the old bank account
Changing a government record and receiving a deposit in the new account are separate events. Keep your old account accessible while the change is being confirmed, and check both accounts around the next payment. The bank-switching steps in our bank account guide also cover payroll, pre-authorized payments and other deposits that may need their own updates.
Never send your account number, transit number or Social Insurance Number to Canadian Money Help. Start from a verified Canada.ca page, not a link in an unexpected message, before sharing private information with Service Canada.
If an in-person visit is the practical route, use Service Canada’s office finder from its official change-of-information page. Bring the identification the page lists and ask which banking proof, if any, your program requires before travelling. Requirements depend on the change and identity check.
Example: one bank change, three benefits
Suppose you receive OAS, CPP and a CRA credit and are moving to another bank. For OAS, check whether the online OAS update feature has been activated. For CPP, use Service Canada assistance. For the CRA credit, make a separate CRA direct-deposit change. Then watch the next deposit for each program before relying on the new account. The example shows the separate routes; it does not predict payment timing.
If a payment does not arrive
First identify which agency issues the missing payment, check both old and new accounts, and review the relevant program’s payment information. Use that program’s official contact route rather than sending banking details to a third-party site. CRA’s missing-payment rule is not automatically the CPP, OAS or EI rule.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I change CPP direct deposit in My Service Canada Account?
- Not directly at this time. Service Canada says to request a callback, visit an office or contact the CPP call centre.
- Can I change OAS banking details online?
- Yes, if the OAS update feature has been activated. Service Canada says to call or visit once for activation, then use OAS Profile in MSCA.
- Can I change EI banking details online in MSCA?
- Service Canada’s current instructions say no. Use its callback, office or EI call-centre route.
- Does a CRA direct-deposit change update CPP and OAS?
- No. CRA and Service Canada administer different payments, so use the responsible program’s change process.
- Should I close my old account immediately?
- Wait until you have confirmed where your next payments arrive. A record change does not tell you how an already-processing payment will be routed.
Rules and process basis
Service Canada’s current account instructions distinguish OAS online changes from CPP and EI assistance routes. Its OAS page supplies the activation and dashboard steps. The program administering a payment controls the actual banking update.