Can Canadian Banks Block You From Buying Crypto? Questrade, KOHO, RBC And More

Why Would A Canadian Bank Block Crypto Purchases?

It’s becoming well known that Canadian banks are not so crypto-friendly. In a way, it makes sense. Canadian banks argue that they want to protect their customers from fraud. However, a credit card is borrowed money and it’s reasonable that banks don’t want you to use borrowed money to buy a volatile asset in case you can’t pay off your credit card. CBC’s 2018 coverage gave exactly that reasoning for the TD and BMO decisions.

Canadian banks will usually allow you to use your debit card to purchase crypto since it is your own money. However, not every Canadian bank allows this. Some Canadian banks will only allow you to use Interac e-Transfer to deposit fiat into your account on an exchange. If you want the bank-by-bank detail, read which Canadian banks allow crypto.

How Do Interac Limits Cause Crypto Transfers To Fail?

Usually you will have a daily, weekly and monthly limit for Interac e-Transfer. Your bank sets it, and you can usually find your limits in your online banking account. If you try to send more than this, it is likely the transaction will fail and you may find yourself locked out of your account. A transaction to a crypto exchange is already something banks watch closely, but when you also go over the limit, that can flag the transaction as fraud.

To avoid being locked out of your account, make sure you don’t go over your Interac limits. You can go into a branch in person to increase your limits or make a transfer larger than your limit.

How Can I Stop My Bank Flagging Crypto Payments?

You may want to open another bank account elsewhere. Multiple transactions to a Canadian crypto exchange throughout the day or every day may also trigger a fraud warning even if you’re transacting under your limits. If you have more than one account, you can spread out the transactions between banks so they don’t seem as suspicious. Alternatively, call your bank and let them know that you will be making frequent transactions to a particular exchange, so that they don’t flag the transactions.

Some crypto exchanges do not allow Interac e-Transfers but will accept third party payment systems and payment gateways. Your bank may see these transactions as suspicious as well, in which case you will need to call your bank and verify it was you. We would recommend using Canadian exchanges that accept e-transfer and are officially registered, for example Coinbase or Kraken, which announced free Interac e-Transfer deposits in April 2025.

Is It Banks Protecting You Or Banks Controlling Your Money?

Depositing large amounts of crypto to an exchange or simply buying it with a card can be a challenge. Many people argue that banks simply don’t want to relinquish control over people’s money. While there may be some truth to this as crypto could be a bank killer, it is most likely that banks simply want to protect your account from fraud. Banks treat crypto transactions as suspicious activity, but while they cannot stop you from depositing money to a crypto exchange, they can and will flag transactions if you go over your limits.

Some people argue that banks just see crypto as gambling but don’t understand why banks allow you to spend money on gambling sites but not crypto. The difference people point to is that the gambling industry is regulated. Crypto platforms in Canada now are too: the ones in my ranking are registered with the Canadian Securities Administrators. So when banks say they are trying to protect you, they have a point. On the other hand, banks shouldn’t have a say how people spend their own money.

In general, buying crypto is easier now than ever, but banks often put up roadblocks which can be difficult to navigate. If you keep transactions under your limit and don’t make transactions every day and use officially registered crypto exchanges in Canada, then you should be able to buy crypto without issue.

Does Questrade Have Crypto?

Not in the sense most people mean. As far as I could find, you cannot buy, hold or send actual bitcoin or ether inside a Questrade account. What you can do is buy a Canadian-listed bitcoin or ether ETF in a TFSA, RRSP or FHSA, which gives you price exposure without owning coins. Reports say Questrade's president confirmed direct crypto trading is on the 2026 roadmap, but I could not confirm that anything is live, so look at its site before you rely on it.

If you only want exposure, the fees on the ETFs matter more than the broker. Purpose Bitcoin ETF (BTCC) shows a 1.29% MER and Fidelity's FBTC a 0.35% MER, per their own issuer pages as of mid-2026. I compare them in my Bitcoin ETFs in Canada guide. If you want the coins themselves, with a wallet you control, use a registered exchange such as Coinbase or Kraken.

Does KOHO Offer Crypto?

Yes, and it is one of the few spending accounts that does. KOHO's own crypto page says you can buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum and other coins paired with Canadian dollars from your spending balance, with one transparent 0.5% fee and no foreign exchange fee. You can start with $1. The trading is done through Ndax, which KOHO describes as a CIRO-registered investment dealer.

Two limits to know. For now only Bitcoin deposits from external wallets or other platforms are supported, and KOHO says more coins are on the way. The page does not publish trading limits. If you plan to trade often, a direct account on a platform like NDAX is worth comparing, since NDAX lists a flat 0.20% fee on its own site.

Can You Buy Crypto With RBC, TD, BMO, CIBC Or Scotiabank?

None of these banks sells crypto to retail customers. They are the pipe your money travels through. Debit, Interac e-Transfer and wire transfers to a registered exchange are the routes that usually work, and each bank can still flag a payment. The 2021 rows are what a representative told me then, so use them as history and confirm with your own bank. The full bank-by-bank chats are in which Canadian banks allow crypto.

What About Desjardins, National Bank, Tangerine, EQ Bank, Simplii And Neo?

I have no current published crypto policy for Desjardins, EQ Bank, Simplii or Neo Financial, so I will not guess. My 2021 chats said National Bank allowed credit card, debit, e-Transfer and wire payments for crypto, and Tangerine allowed e-Transfer only. Banks change these rules without notice. The practical move is the same for all of them: call, say you are sending money to a registered exchange, and ask about your e-Transfer limit before the first big payment.

What About Credit Unions, Mogo And Interactive Brokers Canada?

I could not verify a crypto policy for ATB, Servus, Vancity or Meridian, nor a direct crypto product at Interactive Brokers Canada, Moka or nesto. Mogo launched MogoCrypto in 2018 as a brokerage partnered with Coinsquare, but I could not confirm that product is still running, so check the Mogo app. With credit unions, e-Transfer limits are often lower than at the big banks, which is the more common cause of a failed deposit than any crypto rule.