How To Open A Bank Account In Canada As A Student In 2025

Are you a student in Canada and need to open an account? Good thing there are so many banks and options to choose from in Canada, so opening an account in one of the numerous banks won’t be an issue plus international students get lots of amazing benefits you never thought existed.

What Documents Do You Need?

• Passport
• Letter of acceptance
• Study permit
• Temporary Permit (IMM Form 1442, 1208, 1102)
• Canadian or USA driver’s licence
• Canadian government identification card
• Travellers’ Cheques

I know you could create an account online but these requirements are what you need to open an account offline and may depend on the banks you choose.

How To Open An Account In Canada As A Student

1. Choose A Bank

As earlier stated, there are tons of banks to try out in Canada as a foreigner and each of these banks has its unique features and benefits. They include;

• Bank of Montreal (BMO)
• Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) (set up your Canadian bank account from your home country)
• Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC)
• Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)
• Scotiabank
• Simplii Financial (set up your Canadian bank account from your home country)
• Toronto-Dominion (TD) Canada Trust
• Education Credit Union
• Libro Financial Group
• Kindred Credit Union
• Your Neighbourhood Credit Union

Schedule an appointment to set up your account once you’ve chosen a bank, the appointment could be online or on phone.

2. Get Your Documents Ready.

Though requirements differ from bank to bank the aforementioned documents are the basic along with two IDs which could be either of the following;

• Passport
• Study permit
• Letter of acceptance
• Travellers’ cheques

3. Choose An Account Type

Savings, Chequing and foreign currency accounts are all different account types. The savings account helps you store money for a long period while you earn some interest. The chequing account has no interest but you can have access to your money to withdraw, pay credit card bills and write cheques while the foreign currency account enables you to save up money in other currencies.

4. The PIN Authentication

Once your account is set up, the bank representative will give you (if you’re opening the account in person and not online) or send you (if it’s online registration) a bank card or debit card with which you can access your account with using an ATM or debit machine. With this, you could use any Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) for withdrawals, deposits, and bill payments and pay for items at stores and restaurants using your debit card if they accept debit card payments.

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