How to Deposit Cash in Canada (Complete Guide)

Depositing cash in Canada is straightforward if you bank with one of the Big Six institutions. It becomes more complicated if your primary account is at an online-only bank. And it comes with important legal obligations once amounts reach $10,000. This guide covers all three scenarios: standard branch and ATM deposits, workarounds for online banks, and the anti-money-laundering rules that apply to every Canadian with significant cash to deposit.

The Fastest Methods: Branch and ATM

Depositing at a Bank Branch Teller

Walking into a branch and handing cash to a teller is the most reliable method. Funds are credited immediately — you leave the branch with the money already in your account. There is no practical limit on the amount you can deposit at a teller, though deposits of $10,000 or more will require ID and trigger an automatic FINTRAC report (more on this below).

The branch is also the right venue when you have a very large cash sum, when bills are damaged or unusual denominations, or when you want a paper receipt with a teller’s confirmation rather than an ATM printout.

Depositing at a Bank ATM

All Big Six bank ATMs accept cash deposits from account holders. You insert your card, select deposit, and feed in the bills. The machine counts the bills (modern ATMs do this automatically — you no longer need to put cash in an envelope), displays the total for confirmation, and issues a receipt. Funds are usually available same-day or the next business day.

The per-transaction limit applies to a single ATM session. If you need to deposit more than the limit, you can complete a second transaction, though very large cash deposits at ATMs (multiple transactions in quick succession) may attract attention from the bank’s monitoring systems. For amounts above $10,000, a branch teller is simpler.

Night Deposit

Many bank branches have a secure night deposit box accessible after hours — typically used by small businesses to drop a day’s cash takings. Deposits placed in the night box are processed the next business day. The bank typically provides a locking bag for businesses that use this regularly.

Depositing Cash at Online Banks

Online banks in Canada fall into two categories: those with a partner ATM network that accepts cash, and those that require a workaround.

Tangerine customers can deposit cash for free at any Scotiabank ATM — Tangerine is owned by Scotiabank and shares the branch and ATM infrastructure for deposits. Simplii Financial customers have the same arrangement with CIBC ATMs. These two are the meaningful exceptions to the “online bank = no cash deposit” rule.

Every other major online bank — EQ Bank, Wealthsimple Cash, Neo Financial, Koho — has no direct cash deposit path.

The Secondary Account Strategy

The most practical long-term solution for EQ Bank, Wealthsimple, or Neo Financial users who regularly receive cash is to maintain a free chequing account at a Big Six bank or credit union. Most major banks offer a free or low-cost chequing option — the account costs nothing to hold and is used only as a cash deposit relay.

The flow is simple: deposit cash at the secondary account’s ATM or branch → send an e-Transfer or initiate an electronic transfer to your primary online account → funds arrive in one to three business days. The secondary account incurs no fees if e-Transfers are included in the plan, which is the case with most no-fee chequing accounts.

For someone who deposits cash only occasionally, a Canada Post money order is an alternative. You pay for the money order in cash ($8–$10 per order, maximum $999.99 per money order), then mobile-deposit or mail it to your online bank. At that fee, a $500 cash deposit via money order costs 1.6–2% in fees — reasonable for a one-off, expensive as a routine practice.

FINTRAC Reporting: The $10,000 Threshold

Canada’s Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act requires banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions to report any cash transaction of $10,000 or more to FINTRAC — the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada. This is a Large Cash Transaction Report (LCTR) filed automatically by the bank; you do not file it yourself.

The report is not an accusation. The vast majority of large cash transactions are entirely legitimate — business revenue, proceeds from selling a vehicle or property, inheritance cash, and similar. FINTRAC collects the reports for systemic monitoring, not to investigate individual depositors.

When you deposit $10,000 or more in cash, the teller will ask for identification and the purpose of the deposit. The bank records your name, address, date of birth, occupation, and the reason for the deposit. The transaction proceeds normally. The report is filed by the bank within 15 days.

Structuring Is Illegal — Know What It Means

Structuring is deliberately breaking up cash transactions to stay below the $10,000 reporting threshold. Depositing $9,800 on Monday and $9,700 on Tuesday when the intent was to deposit $19,500 — and the only reason for the split is to avoid the report — is structuring.

Structuring is a criminal offence under Canadian law, regardless of whether the money is from a legitimate source. Banks are trained to identify structuring patterns, and when they do, they file a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) with FINTRAC. An STR has no dollar threshold and can be filed for any amount the bank finds unusual.

The important practical point: if you have a legitimate reason to deposit large amounts of cash — you sell at a farmers market, you received cash for a car, you operate a small business — simply deposit the full amount normally. The FINTRAC report is routine. Splitting the deposit to avoid it turns a non-event into a potential criminal matter.

For Cash-Heavy Businesses

Businesses that regularly handle cash — restaurants, retail shops, market vendors, trades — face a more structured version of the same challenges. A few practices reduce friction and compliance risk:

Deposit regularly, not in bulk. Daily or weekly deposits of predictable size look normal to a bank’s monitoring systems. A $2,000 deposit every Friday from a restaurant is unremarkable. An $18,000 cash deposit every few months from the same account triggers review.

Keep records that tie deposits to income. Sales receipts, point-of-sale reports, market booth records, and invoices form the paper trail that explains large cash deposits if a bank ever asks. A business that can produce those records on request has no compliance problem.

Open a dedicated business account. Mixing business cash with personal deposits makes record-keeping harder and may complicate both your banking relationship and your tax reporting. Most banks offer basic business accounts with cash deposit capability.

Report all cash income. Cash income is taxable income in Canada. CRA does not make an exception for cash, and a FINTRAC report that doesn’t match your declared income is a meaningful discrepancy if CRA ever cross-references the two.

Practical Tips

• Use your own bank’s ATM — third-party ATMs do not accept cash deposits, and non-network ATMs will not have your account on file.
• Keep your deposit receipt until the transaction appears confirmed in your account — disputes are rare but the receipt is your proof.
• Do not split deposits to avoid $10,000 — the consequence of being identified as structuring is significantly worse than the routine report you were trying to avoid.
• For large deposits, plan to explain the source — a car sale receipt, estate documentation, or business records resolve a bank’s questions immediately.
• If you regularly receive cash but primarily bank online, a no-fee Big Six chequing account as a relay account costs nothing and solves the problem permanently.

Related Resources

• How to Open a Bank Account in Canada
• Best No-Fee Chequing Accounts
• Best Online Banks Canada
• EQ Bank Review
• How to Switch Banks
• How to Get a Bank Draft Canada
• Banking Basics Hub: Accounts, Transfers & Banking in Canada