Routing number (Canada)
A routing number is the term for bank codes in Canada. Routing numbers cons known as the Canadian Payments Association, to allow easy identification of the branch location and financial institution associated with an account.
Format[]
A routing number consists of a five digit transit number (also called branch number) identifying the branch where an account is held and a three digit financial institution number corresponding to the financial institution. The number is given as one of the following forms, where XXXXX is the transit number and YYY is the financial institution number:
XXXXX-YYYfor MICR-encoded documents0YYYXXXXXfor electronic funds transfers
A leading zero is used when formatting a routing number for electronic payments.
Routing symbol[]
The symbol that delimits a routing number on MICR-encoded paper documents is the E-13B transit character (Unicode value U+2446): ⑆
Transit numbers[]
Each branch in a financial institution is assigned a unique transit number for identification. The final digit of the transit number indicates the geographical location of the branch. The association is as follows:
XXXX0for British Columbia and YukonXXXX1for western Quebec, including Montreal and surrounding areasXXXX2for southern Ontario, including Toronto and surrounding areaXXXX3for Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and NewfoundlandXXXX4for New BrunswickXXXX5for eastern Quebec and LabradorXXXX6for eastern Ontario, including Ottawa and surrounding areaXXXX7for Manitoba and north-western OntarioXXXX8for SaskatchewanXXXX9for Alberta, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut
Therefore, a number XXXX6-004 would indicate that the associated account is held at a branch of the Toronto-Dominion Bank located in eastern Ontario.
Financial institution numbers[]
A selection of institution numbers for major Canadian financial institutions is below.
| Bank Name | Institution Number |
|---|---|
| Bank of Montreal | 001 |
| Bank of Nova Scotia (operating as Scotiabank) | 002 |
| Royal Bank of Canada | 003 |
| Toronto-Dominion Bank (operating as TD Canada Trust) | 004 |
| National Bank of Canada | 006 |
| Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (includes Simplii Financial) | 010 |
| HSBC Canada | 016 |
| Canadian Western Bank | 030 |
| Laurentian Bank of Canada | 039 |
| Government of Canada[a] | 117 |
| Canada Post (money orders) | 127 |
| Bank of Canada (Canadian central bank) | 177 |
| ATB Financial | 219 |
| MUFG Bank, Canada Branch | 245 |
| Citibank Canada | 260 |
| Mega International Commercial Bank Canada | 269 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (Toronto Branch) | 270 |
| Bank of China (Canada) | 308 |
| Vancity Community Investment Bank | 309 |
| First Nations Bank of Canada | 310 |
| CTBC Bank (Canada) | 315 |
| President's Choice Bank[b] | 320 |
| Canadian Tire Bank | 338 |
| ICICI Bank Canada | 340 |
| 352 | |
| The Canada Trust Company (in use for accounts opened prior to the merger of TD & Canada Trust) | 509 |
| Manulife Bank | 540 |
| CS Alterna Bank | 608 |
| Tangerine Bank (formerly ING Direct Canada) | 614 |
| B2B Bank | 618 |
| Equitable Bank (includes EQ Bank) | 623 |
| Central 1 Credit Union member institutions in British Columbia[citation needed] | 809 |
| Caisses Desjardins du Québec | 815 |
| Caisses populaires Desjardins du Manitoba | 819 |
| Central 1 Credit Union member institutions in Ontario[citation needed] | 828 |
| Caisses populaires Desjardins de l'Ontario | 829 |
| Meridian Credit Union | 837 |
| Credit Union Heritage (Nova Scotia) | 839 |
| Alterna Savings and Credit Union | 842 |
| Caisses populaires Desjardins acadiennes | 865 |
| Credit Union Central of Manitoba member institutions | 879 |
| Credit Union Central of Saskatchewan (SaskCentral) member institutions | 889 |
| member institutions | 899 |
Directories of routing numbers[]
Payments Canada maintains the Financial Institutions File (FIF), an electronic directory of routing numbers for all financial institutions in Canada. The FIF is updated weekly and is operated as a fee-based subscription service to member institutions of Payments Canada.[2]
A companion free-of-charge directory, the Financial Institutions Branch Directory (FIBD), is also operated by Payments Canada for occasional referencing by the general public. The FIBD is only available in PDF format and cannot be imported into business applications.[3]
See also[]
- International Bank Account Number
- ABA routing transit number, American bank code format
- Bank State Branch, Australian bank code format
- Bankleitzahl, Austrian and German bank code format
- New Zealand bank account prefix
- Sort code, British and Irish bank code formats
Notes[]
- ^ Not a member of Payments Canada
- ^ Not affiliated with President's Choice Financial's former consumer banking operations. PC Financial's bank accounts were operated by CIBC so all accounts used CIBC's 010 institution number. Following the end of PC Financial and CIBC's joint venture, all PC Financial consumer bank accounts were transferred to Simplii Financial.[1]
References[]
- ^ "CIBC takes over banking business from PC Financial, renames bank Simplii". CBC News. Retrieved 2018-01-08.
- ^ "Financial Institutions File". Payments Canada. 11 August 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
- ^ "Financial Institutions Branch Directory". Payments Canada. 12 August 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
- Bank codes
- Banking in Canada
- Banking terms