Low-cost account

Low-cost accounts are accounts with monthly fees of no more than C$4.00, offered in Canada. Low-cost accounts came about as a result of an agreement between the Canadian federal government and the banking sector. There are currently eight banks offering low-cost accounts to their customers.

Features

Low-cost accounts have the following features:

* deposits free of charge;
* debit card usage;
* cheque-writing;
* account statement or passbook updated at no charge;
* 8-15 debit transactions per month, with two or more in-branch; and
* monthly fee no higher than C$4.00.

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada publishes a booklet called Low-Cost Accounts[1] which explains the fees and features associated with these accounts.