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Through March to June 2026, many changes are taking effect across Scotiabank’s bank accounts on both the Preferred and Ultimate accounts. If you are considering opening a new bank account, it might be prudent to do so prior to the changes taking place.
What is Changing?
Scotiabank is making a wide swathe of changes from changing the NSF fees to adjusting their credit card annual fee waiver.
Banking Service changes:
- Non-sufficient funds (NSF) fee dropping from $48 to $10
- Safety Deposit Box price on all sizes increasing between $20 and $50
- Bank draft fees going from $9.50 up to $9.95 (free with Ultimate and Private Banking)
Currently, you can waive the monthly account fee on the Ultimate Package by keeping a minimum balance of $6,000 or a combined balance of $30,000 between your chequing and savings accounts. Effective March 20, the $6,000 requirement does not change, but the other option goes up to $100,000 required across all eligible accounts (including iTRADE accounts).
Also, the savings account interest rate boost and preferred interest rates on GICs are going away effective June 22, 2026.
The biggest change is the first year annual fee rebate of $150 is changing to an ongoing $40 annual fee rebate.
Does It Matter?
To be frank, none of the changes are overwhelmingly dramatic. Furthermore, signing up does not grandfather you into old rates. But timing still matters – if you were considering moving your main banking to Scotiabank, there are still a few reasons to do so sooner rather than later:
- $150 credit card first-year annual fee waiver would be effective immediately
- Locking in a preferred rate on select GIC’s
The credit card annual fee rebate changing to $40 per year instead of a one-time $150 waiver could be a positive depending on your use case.
If you have a keeper card with Scotiabank (I like the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite), $40 per year will add up to more than $150 over the course of a few years.
If you are signing up to test out if a new credit card will fit with your lifestyle, a $40 annual fee rebate won’t have the same immediate impact as a full annual fee waiver.
The NSF fees decreasing is definitely a positive, however, I know savvy PMB readers are unlikely to ever encounter this fee, anyway.
As another (unrelated to these changes) fun fact, Scotiabank allows clients to restructure their credit limits between lines of credit and credit cards, which is a fairly unique offering.
Takeaway
Scotiabank is making changes across its line of bank accounts affecting both Preferred and Ultimate packages. The most notable change is the credit card annual fee waiver going from a one-time $150 waiver to $40 annually so if you want to lock in the former, be sure to sign up before June 22, 2026.
