09
Financial
Literacy
for Young
Canadians
What You Need to Know
•Financial literacy is an essential life skill. Developing
an understanding of money at a young age will help
people better manage their money in the future.
•Banks recognize that they have a role to play in
contributing to financial literacy for Canadians and they
lead and sponsor many financial literacy programs
including the Canadian Bankers Association’s high
school seminar program, Your Money.
Financial Literacy for
Young Canadians
Getting Your Child Interested
in Saving Their Money
There’s nothing wrong
with a piggy bank. But
some kids love the idea
of having their own
bank account.
Most banks offer no-fee account
packages for children so that they can
get started with their savings. It may
be convenient to open an account where
you already bank so ask if they have a
special children’s account.
You can also compare children’s account
packages using The Financial Consumer
Agency of Canada’s (FCAC) online,
interactive Banking Package Selector
Tool. The guide is available both online
and in print.
Many banks also have special websites
to help children learn about banking
and to get them excited and interested
in saving their money. Some also offer
branch tours to help children understand
how a bank works. As children get older,
it is even more important to instill good
money management skills as they take
on part-time jobs or begin saving for postsecondary education.
Helping Youth Understand Finances
Financial literacy is an essential life skill. Developing an understanding of money at a young
age will help people better manage their money in the future. But managing money
is about more than just accounts. All of the major banks post extensive resources for
students on their websites including information about:
• effective budgeting while on campus,
• planning for a career, and how to become an entrepreneur,
• available scholarships.
Banks offer special accounts for students and other incentives to learn how to manage
their money.
Special Accounts for Students
Many banks offer low-fee or no-fee banking
account packages for students and you can
compare those accounts with the student in
your life using The Financial Consumer Agency
of Canada’s (FCAC) online, interactive Banking
Package Selector Tool at www.fcac.gc.ca.
To open an account, a student will need two specific pieces
of identification, such as a Canadian-issued birth certificate,
a Canadian driver’s licence, a passport, or a social insurance
card. There are many different options for identification and
a full list is available on the Canadian Bankers Association
website at www.cba.ca under Opening an Account.
Helping Students Prepare for the Future
There are links to podcasts, social networking
resources and blogs that can help students plan
for the future and manage their money now and
after they leave school.
How Banks are Helping
The banks offer many programs to
support and help teach financial literacy
skills such as saving and money
management.
up amount is then transferred to a
savings account. And the program
was recently extended to include Tax
Free Savings Accounts as well. Go to
http://scotiabank.com/BankTheRest
for information.
• Bank the Rest — This is a savings
program that allows you to
automatically round up purchases
made using the Scotiabank
debit card to the next multiple of $1
or $5. The difference between
the purchase total and the rounded
• The Learning Partnership’s
Entrepreneurial Adventure (EA) —
Sponsored by BMO Financial Group,
EA brings students and teachers from
kindergarten to grade 12 together with
business partners to create ventures
The banks also jointly support a non-commercial
in-class seminar called Your Money, which the
Canadian Bankers Association has been offering
for more than thirteen years to deliver basic money
management information to senior high school
students in communities across Canada.
that benefit their local communities.
See www.bmo.com/home/about/
banking/corporate-responsibility/
financial-literacy for more.
• E
nactus – This program, sponsored
in part by banks including TD Bank
Group, RBC, CIBC, Scotiabank and
HSBC Bank Canada, provides grants
for students to develop and implement
sustainable financial education projects.
Find out more at www.enactus.org.
• It All Ads Up – RBC has partnered
with Free The Children to bring
financial literacy into the classroom
through a new package of lesson
plans to help students learn how
to earn, save, give and spend
responsibly. freethechildren.com/
italladdsup
• Junior Achievement Programs –
These popular programs are
offered in schools and teach money
management skills as well as
business and entrepreneurship
education. Several banks in
Canada are supporters of Junior
Achievement including CIBC,
RBC, TD Bank Group, HSBC Bank
Canada, Scotiabank, and BMO
Financial Group. Learn more at
http://jacan.org.
• C
IBC’s SmartStart Parents Kit, part
of the SmartStart financial literacy
program, includes a comprehensive
series of age-related workbooks that
parents can use to teach kids about
financial basics, money management,
investing and saving for the future.
• C
learfacts.ca – This financial literacy
website, sponsored by National Bank,
offers articles and information for
families, home-owners, students, and
business owners.
Another key source of
information is the Financial
Consumer Agency of
Canada. The City is the FCAC’s
interactive, self-guided online
learning resource for young
people, www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca.
More Information
Bank website resources for children
and youth:
CIBC SmartStart program:
www.cibc.com/ca/youth/index-html.
html?1,1
The Your Money
Seminar Program
The banks also jointly support a noncommercial in-class seminar called Your
Money, which the Canadian Bankers
Association has been offering for
over 13 years to deliver basic money
management information to senior high
school students in communities across
Canada. Offered in partnership with
the federal Financial Consumer Agency
of Canada (FCAC) and delivered by
volunteer bankers, the seminar has
reached over 220,000 students to date.
Teachers interested in booking a free
seminar for their class can find out more
at Your Money, www.yourmoney.cba.ca.
Questions?
If you have general questions about
banking in Canada, call the Canadian
Bankers Association’s Banking
Information Line at 1-800-263-0231 or
send an email to inform@cba.ca.
RBC Leo Young Savers Account www.rbcroyalbank.com/products/
deposits/leo-young-savers-account.html
TD Youth account:
www.tdcanadatrust.com/productsservices/banking/accounts/savingsaccounts/youth.jsp
Scotiabank Getting There Savings
Account for Youth:
http://www.scotiabank.com/ca/
en/0,,14,00.html
BMO Bank Accounts for Youth:
http://www.bmo.com/home/personal/
banking/bank-accounts/teens
National Bank’s Banking Programs
for Youth (PDF):
http://www.nbc.ca/bnc/cda/
productfamily/0,2664,divId-2_langId-1_
navCode-15776,00.html
ING Planet Orange:
www.orangekids.com
Laurentian Bank’s Operations
Account Youth:
www.laurentianbank.ca/en/personal_
banking_services/index.html
Bank website resources for students:
RBC Better Student Life:
www.betterstudentlife.ca
CIBC Student Life:
https://www.cibc.com/ca/advice-centre/
paying-for-school.html
TD Student Life:
http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/productsservices/banking/student-life/studentindex.jsp
BMO Smart Steps for Students:
http://www.bmo.com/smartstepsportal
/student/en/saving-spending-borrowingtips.html
Scotiabank Student Life:
www.scotiabank.com/ca/en
/0,,294,00.html
National Bank:
http://www.nbc.ca/bnc/cda/
productfamily/0,2664,divId-2_langId-1_
navCode-15777,00.html
Laurentian Bank:
https://www.laurentianbank.ca/en/
personal_banking_services/my_ideas/
ideas_students.html
Additional Resources
The Canadian Bankers Association’s
Your Money Seminars
www.yourmoney.cba.ca
The Financial Consumer Agency of
Canada’s financial literacy program:
www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca/eng/education