When you are expecting money through a bank wire or direct deposit, the sender requests your transit number, financial institution number, and bank account number.
These are the same numbers printed at the bottom of a typical Canadian cheque.
The bank institution number in Canada is a three-digit number that identifies the financial institution (i.e. bank, trust company, or credit union). This number does not change.
A transit number is a five-digit number that’s also referred to as a “branch number”. It identifies your specific bank branch.
Your bank account number is a 7-12 digit number and it is unique to you.
A routing number is a combination of the financial institution number and the transit number. It is 8-9 digits long and may be preceded with a “0”.
For example, if the routing number for your bank account is 084245678, the institution number is 842 and the transit/branch number is 45678.
Related: Free Credit Scores in Canada.
Using the sample CIBC cheque above, “1” is the transit number, “2” is the institution number, and “3” is the account number.
List of Canadian Bank Institution Numbers
The institution numbers for the five big banks are:
- Bank of Montreal (BMO): 001
- The Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank): 002
- Royal Bank of Canada (RBC): 003
- Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD): 004
- Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC): 010
For other banks, trust and loan companies, credit unions and Caisse Populaires, the institution numbers can be found below in alphabetical order:
| Airline Financial Credit Union Limited | 830 |
| ATB Financial | 219 |
| All Trans Financial Services Credit Union Limited | 810 |
| Alterna Savings and Credit Union | 842 |
| Amex Bank of Canada | 303 |
| Atlantic Central | 839 |
| B2B Bank | 618 |
| Bank of America, National Association | 241 |
| Bank of Canada | 177 |
| Bank of China (Canada) | 308 |
| Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (Canada) | 245 |
| Bank West | 342 |
| Barclay’s Bank PLC, Canada Branch | 360 |
| BNP Paribas | 250 |
| Bridgewater Bank | 347 |
| La Caisse Centrale Desjardins Du Québec | 815 |
| Caisse populaire Alliance Limitée | 890 |
| Canadian Tire Bank | 338 |
| Canadian Western Bank | 030 |
| Capital One Bank (Canada Branch) | 323 |
| Central 1 Credit Union British Columbia | 809 |
| Central 1 Credit Union Ontario | 828 |
| CIBC Trust Corporation | 548 |
| Citibank Canada | 260 |
| Citibank N.A. | 328 |
| Citizens Bank of Canada | 309 |
| Coast Capital Savings Federal Credit Union | 382 |
| Comerica Bank | 330 |
| Communication Technologies Credit Union Limited | 807 |
| Community Trust Company | 507 |
| Concentra Financial Services Association | 853 |
| Credit Union Central Alberta Limited | 899 |
| Credit Union Central of Manitoba Limited | 879 |
| Credit Union Central of Saskatchewan | 889 |
| CS Alterna Bank | 608 |
| CTBC Bank of Canada | 315 |
| Deutsche Bank AG | 265 |
| DirectCash Bank | 352 |
| Dundalk District Credit Union Limited | 828 |
| Effort Trust Company | 532 |
| Edward Jones | 701 |
| Fifth Third Bank, National Association | 345 |
| First Commercial Bank | 332 |
| First Nations Bank of Canada | 310 |
| Caisse populaire acadienne ltée (NB) | 865 |
| La FéCaisse Desjardins Ontario Credit Union Inc. | 829 |
| Caisse Populaire Group Financier Ltée (MB) | 819 |
| General Bank of Canada | 344 |
| Golden Horseshoe Credit Union Limited | 854 |
| Habib Canadian Bank | 321 |
| Haventree Bank | 381 |
| HomeEquity Bank | 358 |
| Home Trust Company | 627 |
| HSBC Bank Canada | 016 |
| HSBC Mortgage Corporation (Canada) | 604 |
| ICICI Bank Canada | 340 |
| Industrial Alliance Trust Inc. | 625 |
| Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Canada) | 307 |
| Investors Group Trust Co. Ltd. | 536 |
| J.P. Morgan Bank Canada | 314 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank National Association | 270 |
| Korea Exchange Bank of Canada | 275 |
| Laurentian Bank of Canada | 039 |
| Laurentian Trust of Canada Inc. | 522 |
| M&T Bank | 357 |
| Manulife Bank of Canada | 540 |
| Manulife Trust Company | 626 |
| Mega International Commercial Bank (Canada) | 269 |
| Meridian Credit Union | 837 |
| Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd. Canada Branch | 277 |
| Montreal Trust Company of Canada | 550 |
| Motus Bank | 374 |
| National Bank of Canada | 006 |
| National Trust Company | 590 |
| Ontario Civil Service Credit Union Limited | 846 |
| Peace Hills Trust Company | 568 |
| Peoples Trust Company | 621 |
| President’s Choice Bank | 320 |
| Rabobank Nederland | 322 |
| Royal Bank Mortgage Corporation | 592 |
| Royal Bank of Canada | 003 |
| Royal Trust Corporation of Canada | 580 |
| SBI Canada Bank | 294 |
| Scotia Mortgage Corporation | 606 |
| Shinhan Bank Canada | 355 |
| Société Générale (Canada Branch) | 292 |
| Société Générale (Canada Branch) Ontario | 346 |
| State Street | 327 |
| Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation of Canada | 301 |
| Sun Life Financial Trust Inc. | 551 |
| Tangerine Bank | 614 |
| TD Mortgage Corporation | 597 |
| TD Pacific Mortgage Corporation | 603 |
| The Bank of New York Mellon | 242 |
| The Bank of Nova Scotia | 002 |
| The Canada Trust Company | 509 |
| The Equitable Trust Company | 623 |
| The Northern Trust Company Canada Branch | 349 |
| The Toronto-Dominion Bank | 004 |
| U.S. Bank National Association | 318 |
| UBS AG Canada Branch | 339 |
| UBS Bank (Canada) | 290 |
| United Overseas Bank Limited | 335 |
| Vancity Community Investment Bank | 309 |
| VersaBank | 334 |
| Wealth One Bank of Canada | 370 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, Canadian Branch | 362 |
For more details about each financial institution’s details including their routing number and branch addresses, you can check the list maintained by Payments Canada.
If you don’t have a cheque and are not sure about what your transit and account numbers are, you can log in to your online banking to find it.
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