A quarter (24%) of Canadian residents said they opened a financial account with an institution other than their existing bank in the previous 12 months, according to a March 2025 survey conducted by Environics Research. This was up from 21% in the research firm’s last two surveys, and the highest number in the survey’s 20-year history.
Among those who opened a new account at another financial institution, less than a third (29%) were primary switchers who changed their main financial institution in the past year, while the majority (71%) were secondary switchers who opened a new product but did not use the new institution as their primary bank.
The survey showed that opening new chequing accounts in particular can be a gateway for more business, with 25% of those that switched chequing accounts signing on for more products with the new financial institution. The majority of the new products were savings accounts (56%), followed by credit cards (35%) and TFSAs (16%).
“It’s not necessarily about brand loyalty because that is the [mindset of the] boomer generation,” Heidi Wilson, vice-president of financial services at Environics Research, said in an interview. Rather, she said that “[consumers] want to optimize their financial life and want to choose the best investment channel for them whether it’s advisory or [self-directed investing] or day-to-day banking accounts.”
Reducing fees (27%) and earning rewards (21%) were leading reasons for changing chequing accounts in 2025. This was followed by convenience and recommendations from others (both tied at 14%).
Customers aged under 30 are more attracted to low and no-fee offers while financial institutions offering cash back promotions are more attractive to those under 40.
Big banks have deeper pockets and can afford to entice customers to them with rewards like tech gadgets, cash and even gold, Wilson added.
Looking forward into 2026, banks will have to strengthen retention efforts as it costs much more to earn a new client than to keep one, Wilson said. “When you leave, they lose that lifetime revenue stream, including all that low-cost funding for their lending and the probability that you won’t buy future products with them. That’s a big risk.”
Switchers will present early signs of leaving their existing financial institution. At first, there might be a small dip in their account value as they transfer some of their funds to another bank to “kick the tires,” then they may close an account with their existing institution before leaving for good, Wilson said. “That’s an at-risk client … what can you do to win them back?”
People aged 35 to 44 (5.8%) were most likely to switch accounts, followed by 5.2% of those aged 25-34 and 4.7% of those aged 45 to 54. Of the primary switchers, 41% switched all of their accounts while 59% switched some of their accounts.
The survey also showed that online account opening continued to rise, accounting for 55% of all switchers in 2025, compared to 22% in 2013. Meanwhile, the number of switchers who opened accounted at a physical location dropped to 31% last year from 47% in 2013 .
Changing payroll auto-deposit, closing accounts and opening new products used to be a hassle, but has become easier online, Wilson noted.
The survey involved 45,000 Canadian adults in March 2025. The previously biannual survey will change to an annual cadence starting this year with the next data collection cycle in March.