In March 2026, there are big changes coming to banking! 

Non-Sufficient Fund fees happen when a bank account doesn’t have enough money to cover a payment. The payment is then declined, and a NSF fee is charged by the bank. The company trying to take the payment out of the bank account may also charge you a fee (which are not regulated by the government). 

The Canadian government regulates financial institutions and is setting new requirements related to NSFs that take effect March 12th, 2026. These changes are part of the government’s efforts to lower banking costs and stop financial hardship because of accumulating NSF fees. 

These changes are for personal deposit accounts at federally regulated banks. 

Here are the changes:

•$10  fee cap: Banks will only be able to charge a NSF fee of up to $10.

•1 fee per 2 days: Only 1 NSF fee will be able to be charged within a period of 2 business days (days from Monday to Friday)

•No fee under $10: If the bank account is overdrawn by less than $10, no fee will be charged. 

•Advance Alerts: Banks must give account holders at least a 3-hour warning before a payment goes through if there isn’t enough money in the account, giving them time to deposit money.