Scotiabank RESP review

Supported grants and incentives

• Basic CESG: offered on the Canada.ca RESP promoters list for The Bank of Nova Scotia and Scotia Capital Inc.
• Additional CESG: offered on the Canada.ca list for The Bank of Nova Scotia and Scotia Capital Inc.
• Canada Learning Bond (CLB): offered on the Canada.ca list for The Bank of Nova Scotia and Scotia Capital Inc.
• B.C. Training and Education Savings Grant (BCTESG): offered on the Canada.ca list for The Bank of Nova Scotia; marked N/A for Scotia Capital Inc.
• Quebec Education Savings Incentive (QESI): Revenu Quebec lists Scotia Capital Inc. and Scotia Securities Inc. as QESI providers, subject to promoter and trustee legal and administrative compliance.
• Scotia iTRADE individual plan terms include CESG, CLB, and QESI application language, but families should still confirm the exact legal promoter and account path before relying on provincial incentive support.

Account types

• Individual RESP.
• Family RESP.
• Scotiabank's branch RESP page says individual and family plans are offered and directs families to advisors.
• Scotiabank's account-type page says individual plans have one beneficiary and the beneficiary does not have to be related to the subscriber.
• The same account-type page says family plans can have multiple beneficiaries, but beneficiaries must be related by blood or adoption to the subscriber.
• Scotia iTRADE offers a self-directed RESP path through Scotia Capital Inc. and describes itself as order-execution-only.

Fees

• Scotiabank's branch registered-account fee page lists the Scotia RESP transfer fee to another financial institution as $150, with transfers to another member of Scotiabank shown as free.
• The same Scotiabank fee page shows no listed eligible-withdrawal fee or account-closing fee for the Scotia RESP row.
• Scotiabank's fee page says a $5 service charge can apply for an in-branch transfer from the Savings Accelerator Account to a day-to-day bank account.
• Scotia iTRADE pricing lists standard online equity and options commissions of $9.99, or $4.99 for clients who meet the 150 commission-generating trades per quarter threshold; options add $1.25 per contract.
• Scotia iTRADE pricing says fixed-income secondary-market trades are $1 per $1,000 face value, subject to a $24.99 minimum and $250 maximum, and foreign-exchange fees can apply.
• Scotia iTRADE pricing says the low-activity account administration fee is waived for registered plan accounts, including RESPs, when listed conditions such as full activation and a current mailing address are met.
• Scotia iTRADE's U.S.-Friendly registered account service for RESP trades in U.S. securities carries a $30 quarterly fee plus applicable taxes.
• Scotia iTRADE lists paper statement and paper trade confirmation fees, wire-out fees, stop-payment fees, late tender/reorganization instruction fees, and other administration fees that may matter depending on service use.
• Scotia iTRADE's fee schedule says mutual-fund company charges can still apply, telephone representative-assisted trades add a fee, and a per-fund quarterly fee can apply for mutual funds not distributed by Scotia iTRADE.

Transfer process

• Scotiabank publishes a RESP Transfer form that records transfers between RESPs and warns that grants may have to be repaid or overcontributions may arise if beneficiary relationship conditions are not met.
• The RESP transfer form says information may be shared between promoters and with government bodies for transfer and program administration.
• Scotiabank's public branch RESP pages direct families to advisor support rather than publishing one detailed public transfer-in or transfer-out checklist.
• Scotia iTRADE says investment-account transfers from another institution can be started electronically through Scotia Online, then printed, signed, sent with a recent statement, and mailed to Scotia iTRADE.
• Scotia iTRADE's new-client FAQ says RESP transfers require the RESP Transfer Authorization Form rather than only the generic registered-account form.
• Scotia iTRADE's terms warn that transferring from another RESP can create overcontribution and tax issues, so grant history and beneficiary matching should be reviewed before transfer.

Withdrawal process

• Scotiabank's withdrawal article says the subscriber starts by contacting the RESP provider and providing proof that the beneficiary is enrolled in a qualifying part-time or full-time program.
• The same Scotiabank article says there is no limit on PSE contribution withdrawals, while EAP withdrawals are limited during the first 13 weeks to $8,000 for full-time study or $4,000 for part-time study.
• Scotiabank says EAP amounts must be reported by the beneficiary and the provider should issue a T4A slip for years when EAPs are received.
• For non-schooling withdrawals, Scotiabank says contribution withdrawals can trigger grant repayment and accumulated income withdrawals generally require the plan to be open at least 10 years, beneficiaries over 21 and not pursuing higher education, and Canadian residency.
• Scotia iTRADE's RESP page says subscribers use the RESP Withdrawal Request Form for AIP and capital withdrawals and that AIP straight withdrawals can face deregistration tax plus an additional 20% surtax.
• Scotia iTRADE's current RESP page and older family-plan terms still show outdated $5,000/$2,500 first-13-week EAP limits and a 2022 annual receipt threshold; families should verify the current limit against current government rules and provider confirmation before requesting an EAP.
• Scotia iTRADE terms say AIP/RRSP rollover requests require the plan to terminate by the end of February of the following year after the first AIP.

Neutral comparison notes

• Scotiabank is not one uniform RESP path. Families may be comparing a branch/advisor Scotiabank account, Scotia Securities Inc. mutual-fund path, The Bank of Nova Scotia registered account, Scotia iTRADE self-directed account, or Scotia Wealth path.
• Canada.ca shows BCTESG support for The Bank of Nova Scotia but not for Scotia Capital Inc., so B.C. families should verify the exact promoter before opening or transferring.
• Revenu Quebec lists Scotia Capital Inc. and Scotia Securities Inc. for QESI, but QESI still depends on provider/trustee compliance and correct application handling.
• Compared with branch-led RESP paths, Scotia iTRADE publishes more explicit trading and administration fees but is order-execution-only and does not provide recommendations.
• Scotiabank's public materials contain a mismatch: the general withdrawal article uses the current $8,000/$4,000 first-13-week EAP limits, while Scotia iTRADE pages and older plan terms still show older $5,000/$2,500 figures.
• The Scotiabank fee page clearly lists a $150 transfer-out fee for Scotia RESPs, but Scotia iTRADE-specific transfer-out or account administration costs should still be confirmed before moving a self-directed RESP.

Investment options noted on official pages

• Scotiabank's branch RESP page lists GICs, Savings Accelerator Account, Scotia High Interest Savings Account, Scotia Essentials Portfolios, and mutual funds as ways to build the RESP.
• Scotiabank describes advisor support through branches and digital monitoring through online and mobile banking.
• Scotia iTRADE FAQ lists equities, options, ETFs, mutual funds, bonds, and new issues as tradable products, but RESP eligibility and account restrictions still need to be checked before trading.
• Scotia iTRADE says all registered account types except RESPs have a U.S.-dollar side; RESP clients use a U.S.-Friendly option instead.
• Scotia iTRADE terms say investments must be qualified investments and permitted by the provider, and that the provider may decline a particular investment.

Sources to use

Compare next

Provider pages are education notes, not endorsements. Compare at least one more profile before deciding.

• BMO Investments Inc. RESP review
• BMO InvestorLine Inc. RESP review
• RBC Direct Investing Inc. RESP review
• TD Canada Trust / TD Direct Investing RESP review
• Questrade Inc. RESP review
• Wealthsimple RESP review
• Open the full RESP provider directory

Decide next

• How to choose an RESP provider
• How to transfer an RESP between providers
• How RESP withdrawals work

Act next