RBC Fined $4.25 Million Over Credit Card Statement Errors — 5 Things Customers Should Check

Regularly reviewing your credit card statement can help uncover errors before they become costly. A recent enforcement action against Royal Bank of Canada highlights why even routine banking mistakes deserve attention.

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) has imposed a $4.25 million penalty on RBC after determining that inaccurate credit card statements were issued to nearly 228,000 customer accounts.

What Led to the RBC Credit Card Statement Errors?

According to the FCAC, the problem occurred between 2021 and 2024 and primarily involved customers whose credit cards had been deactivated because of suspected fraud.

After customers received replacement cards, certain credits associated with their previous accounts were not properly transferred to the new accounts.

This resulted in inaccurate monthly credit card statements for some customers. In certain cases, the incorrect account balances also led to additional charges.

Overall, 227,947 accounts were affected.

The regulator attributed the issue to insufficient operational controls and oversight at RBC. The FCAC emphasized that consumers need accurate financial information so they can properly understand their accounts and make informed decisions.

RBC Refunded More Than $22.4 Million

RBC said it identified and reported the problem to the regulator itself and cooperated fully with the subsequent investigation.

The bank has since returned more than $22.4 million to affected customers.

An additional $299,000 was donated to charity on behalf of customers RBC was unable to locate.

Although affected customers have been compensated, the incident provides an important reminder to carefully review credit card statements, especially after fraud, card replacements or other account changes.

5 Things to Check on Your Credit Card Statement

1. Make Sure Refunds and Credits Appear

After returning a purchase, disputing a transaction or receiving another form of account credit, confirm that the amount has actually been posted.

A missing credit can increase your outstanding balance and potentially affect the interest charged on your account.

2. Review Statements After Receiving a Replacement Card

If a credit card is replaced because it was lost, stolen or compromised, carefully compare the first statement for the replacement card with the final statement from the previous account.

Payments, credits and outstanding balances should transfer correctly.

3. Watch for Unexpected Fees and Interest

An inaccurate account balance may sometimes result in additional interest or other charges.

Even relatively small unexplained fees should be investigated when they do not match your account activity.

4. Check Accounts After Changing Credit Card Products

Customers should also review their statements carefully when switching to another card or banking product.

Previous transactions, recurring payments, balances and available credits should all be transferred correctly during the change.

5. Report Statement Errors Quickly

If you notice a transaction, credit, balance or fee that appears incorrect, contact your financial institution as soon as possible.

Keeping copies of statements and related correspondence can also be useful until the issue has been fully resolved.

RBC Fine Highlights Importance of Reviewing Statements

The $4.25 million RBC penalty is among the larger enforcement actions announced by the FCAC this year. It also follows a separate regulatory action involving BMO over incorrect fees charged to certain personal banking accounts.

Although the circumstances surrounding the two cases were different, both demonstrate why consumers should routinely review their bank statements, credit card statements and credit reports.

Banking errors are often small and can usually be corrected once they are discovered, but unnoticed mistakes may become more expensive over time.

Spending a few minutes each month reviewing your credit card statement can help identify missing refunds, incorrect charges, unexpected fees and other account problems before they cause additional financial consequences.