Your Credit Card Rights in Canada: What FCAC Actually Guarantees You

If a bank sends a credit card that was never requested, charges a card without permission, or won't fix a billing error, there are specific, legally backed rights involved — not just goodwill from the bank. Here's what you're actually entitled to, sourced directly from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) and federal law — including one important nuance about what FCAC can and can't do personally.

Why it matters

Knowing your actual rights changes how you respond when something goes wrong. It also helps avoid a common and frustrating misunderstanding: many Canadians assume that if their bank won't fix a problem, FCAC will personally step in and resolve it. That's not quite how the system works — and knowing the real process gets a complaint resolved faster than assuming the wrong one.

What you're actually entitled to

A $50 cap on unauthorized transactions. By law, maximum liability for an unauthorized transaction on a credit card is $50 — provided the issue is reported promptly. Card networks like Visa, Mastercard, and American Express also maintain zero-liability policies that often mean paying nothing at all, though these policies can exclude certain transaction types (like PIN-authenticated cash advances), so it's worth understanding a specific issuer's policy.

Express consent before a card or credit limit increase. Federal regulation requires express consent before a financial institution issues a new credit card or raises an existing credit limit. If consent is given verbally, it must be followed up with written confirmation. This exists specifically so no one is surprised by a card — or a higher limit — they never asked for.

A formal complaint-handling process at the bank. Every federally regulated bank must have a documented process for handling customer complaints. Anyone not satisfied with how their bank resolves a complaint — or once 56 days have passed since the bank received it — has the right to escalate.

This is a meaningful, relatively recent improvement: previously, some banks could effectively choose their own referee.

Provincial protections that still apply on top of federal ones. Because banks are federally regulated, it's a common assumption that only federal rules apply to a credit card. That's not correct. In its 2014 "credit card trilogy" decisions — Bank of Montreal v. Marcotte and two companion cases — the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that provincial consumer protection law requiring disclosure of certain charges (in that case, foreign currency conversion fees) could still apply to federally regulated banks, despite banking generally falling under federal jurisdiction. The case itself specifically dealt with Quebec's Consumer Protection Act, and legal commentary broadly treats the underlying constitutional reasoning as extending to other provinces' disclosure requirements as well — meaning a provincial consumer protection law may still have something to say about how a bank discloses certain charges, even though the bank is federally regulated.

The nuance most coverage gets wrong

FCAC supervises federally regulated banks and card networks for compliance with the law, codes of conduct, and public commitments they've made. What FCAC does not do is personally investigate or resolve an individual dispute, or award compensation. Its role is systemic: it assesses whether banks, as a whole, are complying with their obligations, and it can act against a bank that isn't. For a specific dispute to actually get resolved, the path is: the bank's own complaint process first, then escalation to OBSI (Canada's single external complaints body) if the outcome isn't satisfactory or 56 days have passed. FCAC does track and can act on complaint patterns, and it welcomes hearing about individual problems as part of that broader supervision — but it isn't the body that adjudicates a specific case or issues a refund.

A real example

Say a bank raises a credit limit without asking first. That's not a grey area — express consent is required before a credit limit increase, whether given verbally (with written follow-up) or in writing. If a bank raised a limit without that consent, the first step is the bank's own complaint process. If it's not resolved satisfactorily, or 56 days pass without resolution, the next step is escalating to OBSI, which will assess the complaint independently of the bank and can issue a formal recommendation.

Common mistakes

• Assuming FCAC will personally resolve an individual complaint. It won't — FCAC supervises systemic compliance, not individual disputes. The actual path is the bank's complaint process, then OBSI.
• Not knowing there's a $50 liability cap. Unauthorized transactions, reported promptly, are capped at $50 by law — often reduced to $0 under a card network's zero-liability policy.
• Assuming only federal rules apply to a credit card. Provincial consumer protection law, particularly around fee disclosure, can still apply to a federally regulated bank.
• Giving up after the bank's own complaint process instead of escalating. OBSI exists specifically for complaints that aren't resolved to satisfaction within 56 days, or aren't resolved at all.

Sources

• Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, "Credit Cards: Understanding Your Rights and Your Responsibilities"
• Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, "Canadians Now Have a Single External Complaints Body for Banking" (Nov. 1, 2024)
• Supreme Court of Canada, Bank of Montreal v. Marcotte, 2014 SCC 55
• Government of Canada, 2009 regulatory release on credit card consumer protections

This article is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal or personalized financial advice. If you have an active dispute with your bank, consult your bank's complaint process directly, OBSI, or a qualified professional as appropriate to your situation.

What to do next

Starting with a bank's own complaint process — and knowing the 56-day mark and OBSI as the actual next steps if that doesn't resolve things — is the practical path for any unresolved credit card dispute. For how interest and grace periods work in the first place, see How Credit Card Interest and Grace Periods Actually Work in Canada. For how the provincial-disclosure principle discussed above applies specifically to foreign currency charges, see The Foreign Transaction Fee Trap: A Newcomer and International Student's Guide.