Start Quiz
Canada’s financial services vs the world
Test your banking knowledge by answering the following questions!
A
B
Most U.K. customers expect to pay a service fee for their chequing account.
B. That's correct!
Q1: How do service fees on Big 5 bank chequing accounts in Canada differ from the U.K. and Australia?
More Canadians pay service fees on their chequing accounts than customers in both the U.K. and Australia.
C
Australians are envious of the number of free chequing accounts available in Canada.
1 of 5
In the U.K., customers don’t expect to pay a fee to hold a chequing account, while in Australia, three of the top four retail banks offer free chequing accounts to all customers. Only about three in 10 Canadians pay no service fees for these chequing accounts — and that includes customers who maintain a minimum monthly balance at 0 per cent interest.
2
1
3
1, 3. Competition in Canadian Retail Banking, North Economics, February 2024
2. Canadian Bankers Association
B is the correct answer
Customers in the U.K. pay $40 for an NSF charge, while Australians pay $55.
Canadians pay the lowest NSF charges.
Canadians pay the highest NSF charges, as much as $48 per instance.
Q2: Almost everybody has experienced a transaction that triggers a non-sufficient funds (NSF) charge. How do Canadian Big 5 bank NSF fees compare with those charged in the U.K. and Australia?
A. That's correct!
In the U.K. and Australia, NSF fees are capped at about $4 and $5 respectively, with many customers paying no NSF fees in certain instances. Canadian NSF fees top the charts at $45 to $48.
4. Competition in Canadian Retail Banking, North Economics, February 2024
4
A is the correct answer
2 of 5
Canada is the only country of the three where unlimited transactions are not a standard feature of a chequing account.
Customers in Australia are charged only for the first 25 transactions each month, after which all remaining transactions are free.
Customers in the U.K. receive a standard number of free transactions each month, after which transaction fees rise with increased usage.
Q3: Canadian bank customers have come to expect a certain number of free debit and electronic transactions with their chequing accounts. How do those offerings compare with the U.K. and Australia?
Bank customers in the U.K. and Australia receive unlimited free debit and electronic transactions as a standard feature of their chequing accounts. It’s more restrictive in Canada.
5. Competition in Canadian Retail Banking, North Economics, February 2024
5
C is the correct answer
3 of 5
Australia charges more for ATM usage because of the costs associated with providing service to areas with low population density.
Bank customers in the U.K. and Australia have access to a wide range of free-to-use ATMs.
Canadian customers pay somewhere in the mid-range for network access and convenience fees.
Bank customers in the U.K. and Australia pay nothing for using an ATM belonging to another major retail bank. In Portugal, the law forbids ATMs from charging fees for deposits, withdrawals or payment of services. Canadian ATM fees are the highest of the four, with financial institutions charging a convenience fee of between $1 and $5 per transaction for out-of-network ATM withdrawals.
7
6. Competition in Canadian Retail Banking, North Economics, February 2024
7. Banco de Portugal 8. Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
6
8
4 of 5
Q4: Canadian bank customers are careful to only use ATMs belonging to their own banks so they can avoid costly transaction convenience charges. How do non-customer ATM fees compare between Canada and those in the U.K. and Australia?
Canada has the most ATMs per adult by far.
Hail Britannia! It’s the U.K. for the win.
Chalk one up for the ATMs Down Under.
Q5: Of the U.K., Australia and Canada, which has the largest number of ATMs per 100,000 adults?
C. That's correct!
Australia ranks 10th, while the U.K. comes in 17th. Score one for the Canucks who rank third in the world for ATM penetration, with more than 212 ATMS per 100,000 adults. Now about those Canadian ATM fees...
8. The World Bank
5 of 5
Retake Quiz
You may be a proud Canadian, but customer banking experiences in Canada still lag behind the U.K., Australia and many other countries. Check out Neo Financial’s customer offerings to see how they’re evening up the score.
You scored 0 out of 5
More Info
You may be a proud Canadian, but customer banking experiences in Canada still lag the U.K., Australia and many other countries. Check out Neo Financial’s customer offerings to see how they’re evening up the score.
You scored 1 out of 5
You scored 2 out of 5
Good job! You can check out how Neo Financial is working to bring international customer banking experiences to Canada!
You scored 3 out of 5
You scored 4 out of 5
Excellent! Your knowledge of global banking services is outstanding. Now see how Neo Financial is bringing international customer service standards to Canada.
You scored 5 out of 5
