Types of ATM fees
There are different automated teller machines (ATM) fees you may need to pay.
Regular Account Fee
Service charge imposed by your financial institution to withdraw money at any ATM. A service package offered by your financial institution often covers this fee.
Network Access Fee
Fee charged by your financial institution when you withdraw money at an ATM that your financial institution doesn’t own. Your financial institution adds this fee to the regular account fees.
Convenience Fee
Fee charged by privately-owned ATM operators and by financial institutions where you don't have a bank account.
Your financial institution adds the convenience fee to the:
- network access fee
- regular account fee
ATM fees you may need to pay
You may need to pay fees when using automated teller machines (ATMs) in Canada. Additional fees may apply if you use ATMs outside of the country.
Last modified: August 2022
Note: Some ATMs are not owned by a financial institution such as a bank or caisse populaire. These ATMs are usually located in non-traditional locations and display no major bank labels on the machine. These machines are independently owned and operated.
Institutions
The fees in Table 1 were collected from Canadian financial institutions.
These include:
- Alterna Bank
- Alterna Savings
- BMO Bank of Montreal
- CIBC
- Desjardins
- HSBC
- Laurentian Bank
- National Bank
- RBC Royal Bank
- Scotiabank
- TD Canada Trust
- various credit unions
Information you must get about ATM fees
When you open a bank account at a federally regulated financial institution, it must give you information about all charges applicable to the account, including ATM fees.
Learn how to open a bank account.
When you don’t have to pay ATM fees
There are some fees you may not have to pay.
For example, some credit unions are also members of THE EXCHANGE network. This is similar to the INTERAC network. Members of THE EXCHANGE network don’t charge customers of other member institutions convenience fees. However, network members may charge their customers a network access fee for using THE EXCHANGE network.
Check with your financial institution to see what fees you’ll have to pay.
Tips to save when withdrawing money from ATMs
Consider the following when using ATMs:
- use your own financial institution's ATMs whenever possible to avoid extra fees when you withdraw cash
- fees can add up quickly when you use an ATM that your financial institution doesn’t own
- stay within your monthly transaction limit by making fewer withdrawals from ATMs
- consider how much cash you need to carry and if you could use your debit card for in-store purchases. You’re not usually charged a fee when paying by debit in-store
- if you use a credit card for a cash advance at an ATM, there may be additional fees
- ask for cash back from merchants that offer this service at no charge
With cash back, an amount is added to the total purchase price of a transaction you pay for with your debit card. You get that amount in cash along with your purchase.
