Short answer: As of October 2026, none of Canada's five largest banks — TD, RBC, BMO, CIBC and Scotiabank — publishes a secured credit card you can find and apply for on its website. BMO's own newcomer page says a secured card with a deposit can be arranged in a branch. The other four steer applicants with no credit history toward unsecured newcomer cards instead. Published secured cards in Canada come from smaller issuers.
Do TD, RBC, BMO, CIBC and Scotiabank offer secured credit cards?
Only BMO says in writing that it will discuss a secured credit card with you, and it does so without publishing a product page, a deposit amount or a fee. A secured credit card is a credit card whose limit is backed by a refundable cash deposit you hand the issuer before the account opens. According to Equifax Canada, "a secured credit card requires a monetary deposit", giving the example of putting $300 of your own money on the card and spending it (Equifax Canada on building credit, as of October 2026). On the BMO newcomer credit card page, BMO states that if you do not qualify for an unsecured card you can apply for "a secured credit card where you have to pay a deposit of a certain amount to open your account", and directs you to a branch to talk about options (BMO, as of October 2026). No deposit figure, annual fee or credit limit appears anywhere on that page.
The other four are clearer still. CIBC's newcomer credit card page tells arrivals the opposite — "You don't need a security deposit or credit history" — and lists four unsecured cards with annual fees of $0 to $139 (CIBC, as of October 2026). Scotiabank's StartRight page offers "an unsecured credit card with a credit limit of up to $15,000" and says a Canadian credit history "is not required in order to be eligible" (Scotiabank, as of October 2026). TD's newcomer credit cards page and RBC's equivalent both explain in their FAQs what a secured card is, then feature only unsecured cards (TD and RBC, as of October 2026).
The table below shows what each bank publishes on its own website about secured credit cards, checked in October 2026.
| Bank | Publishes a secured card? | Minimum deposit | Annual fee | Credit check | How you apply | Bureaus reported to |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TD | No. Its newcomer page defines secured cards but features none | Not published | Not published | Hard credit check on the cards it does publish | Online, or book a branch appointment | Not stated on the page |
| RBC | No. Says newcomer cards "may be available as" secured, names no product | Not published | Not published | Hard credit check, subject to RBC's credit criteria | Call a newcomer advisor, book a branch appointment, or apply online after opening an account | Not stated on the page |
| BMO | Yes, on request. No product page, no published terms | Not published | Not published | Not published for the secured card; decided in the branch | Come into a branch with two pieces of ID | Not stated on the page |
| CIBC | No. Tells newcomers no security deposit is needed | Not published | $0 to $139 on the unsecured cards it lists | Hard credit check | Apply online alongside a CIBC Smart Account | Not stated on the page |
| Scotiabank | No. StartRight offers an unsecured card | Not published | Not published on the StartRight page | Hard credit check, subject to Scotiabank's credit criteria | StartRight programme, branch or online | Not stated on the page |
Why do the big banks push a newcomer card instead of a secured card?
The big banks treat a thin credit file and a damaged credit file as two different problems, and only the first one gets a published product. Newcomer programmes at RBC, Scotiabank, CIBC and TD extend unsecured credit to people with no Canadian credit history at all, on the strength of immigration documents, verifiable income and a new chequing account. RBC states that newcomers can get a card "with up to a $15,000 credit limit, even with no Canadian credit history", limited to permanent residents and students who arrived in the last 12 months and temporary workers who arrived in the last 48 months (RBC, as of October 2026).
None of that helps someone whose file already carries missed payments, a collection or a consumer proposal. That applicant is not a newcomer; they are a credit risk the bank can price and decline, and the banks have chosen not to build a published product for them. If that is your situation, the route through a bank is a conversation rather than an application, and the alternatives in credit cards for bad credit in Canada are where most people end up.
If you would rather not negotiate for a product with no published price, the AvenaCredit secured Mastercard publishes its deposit range and its monthly cost up front.
How do you ask a Canadian bank for a secured credit card?
You ask in a branch, because none of the five banks offers a secured card application online. BMO's instruction is the plainest: "Come into a BMO branch and let's talk about your options", bringing two pieces of identification and, for newcomers, proof of status and a Social Insurance Number (BMO, as of October 2026). RBC asks newcomers to call an advisor or book an appointment. Scotiabank and CIBC route the conversation through an advisor as well.
Go in with three questions written down: what deposit the bank wants, what the card costs each month or each year, and which credit bureaus it reports the account to. A branch adviser can answer all three from the cardholder agreement. Nothing is settled until you have those answers, and a bank that cannot produce them in the meeting is not offering you a product you can compare.
Expect a hard credit check either way. A hard credit check is a lender's full pull of your credit report, recorded as an inquiry that stays visible for three years. Whether a secured card involves one depends on the issuer, not on the deposit — the deposit protects the lender's money, not your file. Which issuers run a credit check on a secured card sets out who checks and who does not.
What does a bank secured credit card cost?
No Canadian big bank publishes the cost of a secured credit card, so the honest answer in October 2026 is that you cannot know before you ask. The published figures the banks do give are for their unsecured cards: CIBC lists annual fees from $0 on the Adapta and Dividend cards to $139 on the Aventura Gold Visa, with two years rebated on the fee-charging ones (CIBC, as of October 2026). Those numbers tell you nothing about a secured card's deposit or fee.
There are three separate costs to pin down on any secured card, and people routinely confuse the first two. The deposit is refundable money you get back when the account closes in good standing; it is not a fee. The card fee, monthly or annual, is money you do not get back. Interest applies only if you carry a balance past the due date, and on a card you are using to build credit you should never be carrying one. How long to keep a secured credit card covers getting the deposit back when you are done.
Which credit bureau does a bank card report to?
Canada has two credit bureaus, and a card that reports to only one builds only one of your two files. According to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, "In Canada, there are 2 main credit bureaus" — Equifax and TransUnion — and "Credit bureaus update your credit report at least once per month" (FCAC, as of October 2026). Lenders choose which bureaus they send to; none of the five bank pages reviewed here names them.
A tradeline is a single credit account as it appears on one bureau's file, with its limit, balance and payment history attached. Ask the bank directly which bureaus your card will become a tradeline on. If you are rebuilding for a specific lender — a car dealer or a mortgage broker who you know pulls Equifax, say — the answer decides whether the card is worth the deposit.
AvenaCredit is explicit about this rather than leaving you to ask: every AvenaCredit account, plan or card, reports to Equifax Canada only, and the first report appears 30 to 45 days after the first payment. That is a real limitation if your lender pulls TransUnion, and it is the first thing to check before choosing any credit-building product, ours included.
Is a bank secured card cheaper than the alternatives?
You cannot compare a bank secured card on price, because the price is not published — which is itself the comparison. The table below sets a bank secured card beside a standard secured card from a dedicated card issuer and the three AvenaCredit plans, so you can see what each one costs and what each one puts on your credit report.
| Option | Monthly cost | Upfront cash | What is reported | To which bureau |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank secured card (BMO, by branch request) | Not published | A deposit, amount not published | A revolving credit card account | Not stated; ask the branch |
| Standard secured card from a card issuer | $0 to about $10, or an annual fee instead | Refundable deposit, minimum set by the issuer | A revolving credit card account | Named in the cardholder agreement |
| AvenaCredit secured Mastercard on its own | $9.99 | Refundable deposit of $250 to $5,000 | A revolving credit card account | Equifax |
| AvenaCredit Starter | $24.99 | None, unless you add the card (+$9.99 a month) | A $1,000 reported account, with balance alerts and a dashboard | Equifax |
| AvenaCredit Build | $34.99 | None, unless you add the card (+$9.99 a month) | A $1,500 reported account, plus rent and utility reporting including phone bills | Equifax |
| AvenaCredit Boost | $84.99 | Refundable deposit of $250 to $5,000 for the card, which is included free | A $4,000 reported account, rent and utility reporting including phone bills, and a two-year rent backdate | Equifax |
The honest reading of that table is that a no-fee secured card from a dedicated issuer is the cheapest way to put one revolving account on your file, and a bank card may match it if the branch quotes you a good number. AvenaCredit costs more because it reports a second kind of account alongside the card — a larger reported account, and on Build and Boost your rent and utilities too. The secured Mastercard on its own, at $9.99 a month with no membership plan, sits between the two. There is no credit check on the AvenaCredit card, only an identity check at sign-up; the membership plans involve no hard credit check either. The card comes included free with the Boost plan if you are taking both.
Who should go to a bank, and who should not
Go to your bank first if you already hold a chequing account there, you want everything on one statement, and you have the patience for a branch appointment that may end with no product at all. Newcomers in particular should start at a bank: the unsecured newcomer cards at RBC, Scotiabank, CIBC and TD are better products than any secured card, with higher limits and no deposit, and building credit as a newcomer to Canada explains how to qualify while your file is still empty.
Skip the banks if your file is damaged rather than empty, if you need the card this month, or if you want to know the price before you spend an hour in a branch. Skip AvenaCredit too if a free secured card would do everything you need — if one revolving account on one bureau is the whole job, paying a monthly fee buys you nothing. Our products earn their cost only when you need more than one account reported, or rent and utilities counted.
If you are deciding between a card and a reported membership, how a secured credit card actually works is the guide to read first, and a secured card compared with a credit builder loan covers the other common fork. You can also compare the three plans side by side.
Next step: If a branch appointment with no published price is not how you want to spend your week, and you want a card with a deposit range and a monthly cost you can read before you commit, the AvenaCredit secured Mastercard page lists both and takes names for the launch list.
Common questions
Does TD have a secured credit card in Canada?
TD does not publish a secured credit card on its Canadian website as of October 2026. Its newcomer credit cards page explains what a secured card is in the FAQ, then features only unsecured cards such as the TD Aeroplan Visa Platinum. A TD banking specialist may discuss other options in a branch appointment, but no secured product and no deposit amount appear online.
Which Canadian bank offers a secured credit card?
Among the big five, only BMO states on its own site that you can apply for a secured credit card, and it gives no deposit figure, no fee and no product page — the conversation happens in a branch. TD, RBC, CIBC and Scotiabank publish no secured card at all, as of October 2026. Published secured cards come from dedicated card issuers rather than from the large banks.
Can I get a secured credit card from RBC?
RBC publishes no secured credit card as of October 2026. Its newcomer page says newcomer cards "may be available as" secured or unsecured, but every card it features is unsecured, with limits of up to $15,000 for eligible newcomers. To ask about a secured option you would call an RBC newcomer advisor or book a branch appointment rather than apply online.
Do bank secured credit cards report to both Equifax and TransUnion?
None of the five bank pages reviewed here states which credit bureaus its cards report to, so you have to ask. Canada has two bureaus, Equifax and TransUnion, and lenders choose where they send account information. Ask the branch adviser to confirm it from the cardholder agreement before you hand over a deposit, especially if you are rebuilding for one specific lender.
Is a secured credit card from a bank better than one from a fintech?
Not automatically. A bank card may come with branch service and a path to an unsecured card later, but no big bank publishes its secured card's deposit, fee or reporting, so you cannot compare it before you apply. A dedicated issuer publishes all three. Judge both on deposit, monthly cost and which bureaus receive the account.
Will asking a bank for a secured card hurt my credit score?
Asking a question in a branch does not touch your credit report, but submitting an application usually does. A completed credit card application normally triggers a hard credit check, recorded as an inquiry visible for three years. If you are shopping several options, ask about terms first and apply only once you have decided, so you collect one inquiry rather than four.
See more AvenaCredit articles on Google
Add us as a preferred source and our articles are more likely to show up when you search on Google.
Ready to build your credit?
One payment a month, reported to Equifax Canada. No hard credit check, no loan, no interest.