How does CDIC deposit insurance work?
CDIC insures eligible deposits at its member institutions up to $100,000 per insured category, per member, including principal and interest. Coverage is free and automatic. The nine categories are one-name, joint, trust, RRSP, RRIF, TFSA, RESP, RDSP and FHSA deposits. Mutual funds, stocks, bonds, ETFs and crypto-assets are not covered, and brands share their member’s limit.
The rule in one line
Up to $100,000 of eligible deposits — principal and interest combined — in each insured category, at each CDIC member institution. Because categories are insured separately, your total protection at one member can be well above $100,000.
The nine categories
| Category | Notes |
|---|---|
| Deposits in one name | Chequing, savings and term deposits in your name alone. |
| Joint deposits | Held in two or more names; each distinct set of co-owners gets its own limit, if the institution’s records show every owner. |
| Deposits held in trust | Separate from the trustee’s own deposits; up to $100,000 per beneficiary when CDIC’s disclosure rules are met. |
| RRSPs | Eligible deposits inside a registered retirement savings plan. |
| RRIFs | Eligible deposits inside a registered retirement income fund. |
| TFSAs | Eligible deposits inside a tax-free savings account. |
| RESPs | Added April 30, 2022. |
| RDSPs | Added April 30, 2022. |
| FHSAs | First home savings accounts. |
In the second phase of CDIC’s reforms (April 30, 2022) RESPs and RDSPs became separate categories and the separate mortgage-tax category ended; eligible mortgage-tax deposits now fall under the other categories.
What is covered and what isn’t
| Covered (if eligible) | Not covered |
|---|---|
| Savings and chequing accounts, including money arriving by payroll, Interac e-Transfer or cheque | Mutual funds |
| GICs and other term deposits (terms over five years since April 30, 2020) | Stocks and bonds |
| Deposits in foreign currencies such as US dollars (since April 30, 2020) | Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) |
| Eligible deposits inside the registered plans listed above | Crypto-assets, including stablecoins |
Foreign-currency deposits don’t get extra room: they are added to your Canadian-dollar deposits in the same category.
Worked example
Worked example · computed by the deposit insurance calculator
| Member | Category | Deposits | Covered | Over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank A | Own name | $130,000 | $100,000 | $30,000 |
| Bank A | TFSA | $45,000 | $45,000 | $0 |
| Bank A | Joint (Me + Partner) | $80,000 | $80,000 | $0 |
| Bank B | Own name | $60,000 | $60,000 | $0 |
$285,000 of $315,000 protected — the only gap is the $30,000 above the limit in Bank A’s one-name category. Check your own deposits →
Brands share their member’s limit
Coverage follows the legal member institution, not the logo. CDIC lists the trade names each member uses — for example Simplii Financial for CIBC, EQ Bank for Equitable Bank, Oaken Financial for Home Bank and Home Trust, and Motive Financial and CWB Financial Group for National Bank. Deposits under any of those names share the member’s limits. By contrast, Tangerine Bank is a member in its own right, separate from its parent Scotiabank. Look up any name in the CDIC member directory.
Who is not a CDIC member
Every federally regulated institution that takes retail deposits is a member, but some institutions you may see are not: foreign bank branches (Schedule III), provincially regulated credit unions (protected by their province instead), ATB Financial (guaranteed by Alberta) and a few banks that don’t take retail deposits. On the official lists checked October 30, 2026, these banks were not CDIC members:
Rogers Bank · Amex Bank of Canada · Citco Bank Canada (OSFI/CDIC lists, checked October 30, 2026)
Fintechs and “held in trust” accounts
Some apps aren’t banks at all. They hold your money at one or more CDIC members, sometimes in trust. Coverage then depends on which member holds it and whether you already have deposits there. See fintechs vs banks.
If a member fails
You don’t need to file a claim. CDIC says cheques for non-registered deposits start going out in the days after a failed member closes; registered deposits take longer because they must move to another institution offering the same plan. CDIC may instead support a transfer of deposits to a healthy institution. More: what happens if a bank fails.
Two names on your statements might be one CDIC member. Check before you split savings “to be safe”.
What this means for you
CDIC coverage is automatic, but it only protects what fits inside each limit. The useful habit is to add up your deposits by member and by category, not by account or by brand.
Worked example. An illustration with round numbers. You and your partner keep money at two CDIC members. Member A is a bank you use both directly and through its online brand — the way Simplii Financial is a trade name of CIBC. Member B is a member in its own right, the way Tangerine Bank is separate from Scotiabank.
| What you hold | Member | Category | Amount | Covered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chequing at the bank, savings under its online brand and US-dollar savings, all in your name | A | Deposits in one name | $105,000 | $100,000 — $5,000 over |
| Joint savings with your partner, both owners on the records | A | Joint deposits | $70,000 | $70,000 |
| TFSA GIC | A | TFSA | $40,000 | $40,000 |
| RESP savings for your child | A | RESP | $30,000 | $30,000 |
| ETF held in the TFSA | A | Not a deposit | $25,000 | $0 |
| Savings in your name | B | Deposits in one name | $60,000 | $60,000 |
Of $305,000 in deposits, $300,000 is covered. Three rules decide it. Your chequing, the online-brand savings and the US-dollar savings all count as deposits in your name at Member A, because brands share their member’s limit and foreign-currency deposits get no extra room. The joint, TFSA and RESP deposits are separate categories, each with its own $100,000. And the ETF was never covered, because it is an investment, not a deposit.
- Move at least $5,000 of the one-name money at Member A to Member B or another member, and leave room for interest: the limit covers principal and interest combined.
- Check that the joint account’s records show every owner — joint coverage depends on it.
- Before splitting savings across names “to be safe”, look up each one in the CDIC member directory.
- Run your own figures through the deposit insurance calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Is CDIC coverage per person or per account?
Neither exactly: it is per insured category, per member institution. Several accounts in the same category at the same member share one $100,000 limit.
Do I have to sign up for CDIC coverage?
No. Coverage is free and automatic on eligible deposits at member institutions.
Is a GIC longer than five years covered?
Yes. Since April 30, 2020 eligible term deposits with terms longer than five years are covered.
Are RESPs covered separately?
Yes. RESPs and RDSPs have been separate CDIC categories since April 30, 2022.
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