Canadians need to pay $150 or more in exit fees just to leave their bank — TD Bank is the latest to hike transfer-out fees

Why increasing RRSP transfer-out fees makes no sense

Service fees and financial advice costs will increase over time — to reflect the higher cost of goods and service; however, transfer-out fees are not service fees. These are exit fees; charges triggered solely when someone decides to leave a financial institution.

In a world where most financial transactions are now automated, secure and nearly instantaneous, the hike in fees appears out of step. Yet, in the last half decade, these fees have more than tripled at several institutions. This begs the question: Has the actual work involved tripled? Nor can the rising costs be blamed solely on inflation.

Instead, it appears these rising fees serve as deterrents. The fees discourage customers from switching to more innovative, lower-cost providers. It’s a penalty on choice, plain and simple. And the timing couldn’t be worse.

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Canadians want better — and they’re being punished for it

Consumers today want streamlined platforms, transparency, fair fees and real-time access to their investments. Fintech firms such as Wealthsimple offer that experience, often with no exit fees at all.

But moving your money isn’t free if you’re coming from one of the traditional banks. It can easily cost hundreds of dollars. Why? Because each registered account — TFSA, RRSP, LIRA and others — is treated as a separate transaction. If you were to hold four registered accounts with a transfer-out fee of $150 per account, then to switch you’d have to pay $600.

These charges disproportionately hurt everyday Canadians who are consolidating accounts, merging finances after marriage, moving between provinces, or just trying to build a better future elsewhere.

The bigger picture: Hundreds of millions at stake

In a recent LinkedIn post, Paul Teshima, chief commercial officer at Wealthsimple, estimated that exit and withdrawal fees could be costing Canadians hundreds of millions of dollars annually. That’s money that should be compounding in retirement accounts, not padding bank profit margins.

The worst part? There’s no clear evidence that the cost of processing transfers has increased. In fact, if anything, the digitalization of financial services should be driving costs down. Transfers may still involve some administrative oversight, but it’s not 1987. People rarely mail physical documentation.

Yet delays persist. Complaints about transfers taking 25 or more days or being delayed by archaic systems are all over social media. And the longer it takes to transfer out, the longer your assets are exposed to market fluctuations without any oversight.

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What you can expect to pay in transfer-out fees?

Here’s a quick breakdown of average transfer-out fees as of mid-2025:

• TD Canada Trust: $150 per account (effective July 1)
• RBC: $150 per account
• Tangerine: $125 per account
• Wealthsimple: $0 (and they reimburse up to $150 per account if you're transferring in more than $25,000). Open a Wealthsimple account
• EQ Bank: $0 Open an EQ Bank account

Assume you hold an RRSP, a TFSA, an RESP and a LIRA — all common accounts. Transferring those three could cost you between $500 and $600, depending on your institution. For many, that’s a steep price to pay just to exercise financial autonomy.

Is it acceptable to continue paying Big Bank fees?

These rising fees reveal a troubling disconnect: Legacy banks are charging more to provide less, while using outdated processes to justify modern penalties.

Some, such as Teshima, believe Canadians deserve better. As he suggests, if banks won’t adapt to the reality of a tech-driven financial world, customers will move — fees or not. In the end, financial freedom shouldn’t come with a toll gate.