How to find your bank account details

Online banking is more common than ever. And being able to quickly find your transit, institution, and account numbers is an essential part of completing electronic transactions.

You’ll need these numbers when you move money through:

• Wire transfers
• Pre-authorized debits
• Recurring bill payments
• Transfers between two bank accounts
• Tax refunds
• Payroll with a new employer
• Emergency government benefits
• Brokerage account transfers

You can find your bank account numbers at the bottom of your cheques, or in your Scotiabank online or mobile banking platform.

Here’s a breakdown of the numbers and where you’ll find them.

There are three parts to an account number: the transit number (or the branch number), the institution number (also called the bank number), and your personal account number.

1. The transit number (or branch number) is 5 digits
2. The institution number (or bank number) is 3 digits
3. Your personal account number is 7 digits

Once you identify your institution and transit numbers, you can find your account number. This is the most important and private piece of information you’ll need. You should secure your account number the same way you secure your social insurance or credit card number. Never share it with anyone unless you’re sure you can trust them.

Your Scotiabank account number comes after your account’s transit and institution numbers for a total of 12 digits and may look like this: 00000-002-0000000. Your account number isn’t the same as your debit card number.

Your 7-digit account number can be found at the bottom of your cheque, right after the institution number. Scotiabank’s institution number is 002.

Sign in to online banking or the Scotiabank app to download a direct deposit form or void cheque, which will show your institution, transit and account numbers.

Here's how to view or print your void cheque details:

1. From the app’s Home screen, select your chequing account
2. Select Manage
3. Select Direct deposit/void cheque info
4. Select Void cheque
5. Scroll to Void cheque and select View/print

Every Canadian financial institution has its own 3-digit institution number. Scotiabank's institution number is 002.

Your transit number is the 5-digit number connected to your home branch. You can find it on the bottom of your cheque, right before the institution number. Please refer to the image of the cheque on this page.

Your transit number may change if your branch closes or your bank goes through a merger or restructuring, though this is very rare. If this happens, your bank is required to notify you.

A SWIFT code (also known as a BIC code) is used for Canadian and international wire transfers. An ABA number is used for wires from the US. If you’re making a wire transfer, you'll need your SWIFT and ABA numbers in addition to your transit and account number.

You'll also need to provide the address of the transit, which you can find at the top of your cheque.

Scotiabank’s SWIFT code is NOSCCATT.

Scotiabank’s ABA number is 026002532.

Your cheque number is found at the bottom left-hand corner of your physical cheque. Cheque numbers are found on print cheques, but not on digital cheques, including void cheques that are provided digitally.

Your routing number is a combination of your institution and transit number, and it represents the “route” to your account.

Your routing number is a combination of the 5-digit branch number and the 3-digit institution number. It looks like this: 00000-002.