CRA Direct Deposit
CRA direct deposit is a fast, convenient and secure way to receive payments from the Government of Canada directly into your 1st Choice Account!
Be Fraud Aware: The CRA will never send you an email, text or Interac e-transfer to a link asking for your personal information to receive your benefit payment or refund. These are scams.
Canadian Emergency Response Benefit Notice
Setting up CRA Direct Deposit does not register you for the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit. You will need to apply on the CRA website for the CERB.
Getting Started
Registering for the CRA direct deposit is easy and takes less than 5 minutes!
To get started:
- Log into online banking, go to ‘Account Services’.
- Select 'Set Up CRA Direct Deposit’, select which account you would like payments deposited into.
- Confirm your name and DOB match what are in the CRA records. If anything needs changing, contact us so we can update your 1st Choice information to match the CRA records.
- Submit your information. It’s that easy!
You can confirm you direct deposit information change by logging into CRA’s My Account 2-3 business days after updating it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Direct deposit is a secure electronic transfer of funds deposited directly into your bank account at a financial institution of your choice. Direct deposit replaces the need to issue payments by paper cheque.
Direct deposit allows you to access your money faster and is more convenient as your payment will not be delayed due to unforeseen circumstances such as bad weather. It is reliable and your payment will always be deposited on time in the bank account that you supply at the time of your enrolment in direct deposit.
You can receive the following through direct deposit if you are eligible:
- Income tax refunds
- Canadian emergency response benefit (CERB)
- Canada child benefit (CCB)
- GST/HST tax credits
- Canada workers benefit (CWB)
- Other provincial payments.
If your payment method is direct deposit, you can expect to receive payments within five business days of the scheduled payment date. If your payment method is cheque, you can expect the cheque in the mail within 10 business days.
Please allow this time before contacting 1st Choice or the CRA about your payment.
The Government of Canada considers privacy and security of utmost importance in the issuance of payments. Any information you provide to the Government of Canada when you enroll for direct deposit is protected under the Government of Canada Privacy Act and as described in Receiver General Payments (Personal Information Bank PWGSC PCU 712).
The Receiver General will use and disclose personal information for direct deposit purposes only to the federal institutions from which you are receiving payments and to your financial institution in order to issue direct deposit payments.Personal information such as your Social Insurance Number (SIN) will not be disclosed to your financial institution.
Access to your bank account is governed by your account agreement with your financial institution. Please consult with your financial institution for more information regarding their privacy and security measures.
Yes. The Canada Revenue Agency will use all the account information that is on file for you. Please log into My Account to tell us which account you want us to use for payments to which you may become entitled.
You can verify that the payment has been received by checking your banking statement on the account you used to sign up for direct deposit. Your payment amount will be deposited directly into the account.
You can also confirm that the payment was sent by the CRA by logging into CRA’s My Account.
The CRA aims to process your direct deposit enrolment or information updates in one or two business days. Given the current environment, you may experience longer than usual processing times once 1st Choice has sent your information to the CRA.
If you are fully registered for CRA’s My Account, you can verify your direct deposit information through this online self-service portal.
You only need to enroll once. If you submit multiple requests to update your direct deposit information, the most recent enrolment you complete will become the account on file with the CRA. Direct deposits will only be made into one account, at one financial institution.