The Bremo Blog

Money, without the jargon.

Honest writing on Canadian banking, credit, and the technology reshaping money.

Money with your name on it
Banking

The bank account that quietly stops being yours

Leave an account untouched and it goes dormant, then it starts costing you, then after ten years the bank hands your balance to the Bank of Canada. There is $1.6 billion sitting there right now, and the registry that reunites people with it is free to search. Here is how the countdown works, how to make sure your account never reaches it, and how to check in five minutes whether there is money waiting under your name, or a relative's.

Latest
Money the bank forgot
Banking

The bank account that quietly stops being yours

Ten years untouched and your balance moves to the Bank of Canada. There is $1.6 billion waiting, and the search is free.

7 min read
The charge you did not make
Banking

How to dispute an unauthorized or fraudulent card charge in Canada

Your liability is capped at $50, and zero-liability usually refunds it all, if you report in time.

8 min read
What they hold, not what they owe
Tech

Proof of reserves: what it proves, and what it hides

It shows what an exchange holds. It cannot show what it owes.

9 min read
The invisible 2.5%
Banking

The 2.5% you pay every time you spend in a foreign currency

It is not on your receipt or the price tag. One rule at the checkout saves the most.

7 min read
The hold, decoded
Banking

Why your deposited cheque says it cleared but you cannot spend it

Holds run 4 to 8 business days by law. The first $100 is always yours right away.

8 min read
Delete the security question
Banking

Turn on Autodeposit and the part of an e-Transfer scammers attack disappears

The security question is the weakest link. Autodeposit deletes it.

8 min read
The supply that can hurt you
Tech

Circulating, total, and max supply: the three numbers behind a token

A low circulating supply is not scarcity. It is a promise that more is coming.

9 min read
Close it clean
Banking

How to close a Canadian bank account without getting burned

Drain last, close on purpose. The order that dodges bounced payments and fees.

9 min read
Your two credit files
Credit

How to check your credit report for free in Canada

You have two credit files, not one. Read both, and it never costs a point.

8 min read
The first-home stack
Home buying

How the FHSA and the land transfer tax rebate work together

One break cuts the cost of saving. The other cuts the cost of closing.

9 min read
New to Canada, banking day one
Banking

Opening your first bank account in Canada as a newcomer

No job, no deposit, no credit history? The bank still cannot say no.

9 min read
The $48 fee is now $10
Banking

NSF fees in Canada just got capped at $10

A bounced payment used to cost $48. Here is how it works now.

7 min read
Is your money covered?
Banking

CDIC vs provincial deposit insurance: is your money covered?

Coverage is per category and per institution, not per dollar.

9 min read
Your keys, your coins
Tech

Self-custody, plainly: what your keys and seed phrase control

A wallet holds keys, not coins. Here is how to hold them safely.

9 min read
First home, first account
Banking

TFSA vs FHSA: the better account for a first home

Both grow tax-free. Only one also cuts your tax bill.

8 min read
The fee waiver trap
Banking

What a bank fee waiver really costs you

Park $4,000 to skip the fee? Here is the math they leave off the page.

8 min read
What backs your digital dollar
Tech

Stablecoins vs volatile coins: what backs the dollar in your wallet

A stablecoin is an IOU. Here is how to check the IOU is good.

9 min read
Read the fine print first
Banking

How to read a bank account's fine print before it costs you

The four places a free account quietly becomes a paid one.

8 min read
Welcome bonuses, decoded
Banking

How Canadian bank welcome bonuses actually work

Structure, timing, the tax nuance, and the fine print that decides if you keep it.

8 min read
What moves your score
Credit

What actually moves your credit score in Canada

Two levers do most of the work. Everything else is a rounding error.

7 min read
Switch banks, keep your life
Banking

How to switch banks without breaking your bills

A calm, step-by-step move that keeps every payment running.

7 min read
Fixed supply, explained
Tech

What a fixed-supply cryptocurrency actually means

Scarcity by code, not by promise. Plain-English, no hype.

8 min read
No-fee, decoded
Banking

What "no-fee" banking really means in Canada

The four questions that separate free from "free."

6 min read
Money
Money the bank forgot
Banking

The account that quietly stops being yours

Dormant for 10 years and it moves to the Bank of Canada. $1.6 billion is waiting, and the registry is free.

7 min read
The charge you did not make
Banking

Dispute an unauthorized or fraudulent card charge

The $50 cap, zero-liability, fraud versus a merchant dispute, and the deadline that decides it.

8 min read
The invisible 2.5%
Banking

The 2.5% on every foreign-currency purchase

Where the fee hides, and the one rule that beats it.

7 min read
The hold, decoded
Banking

Why a deposited cheque is on hold

4 to 8 business days by law, and the first $100 is yours right away.

8 min read
Delete the security question
Banking

Interac e-Transfer: turn on Autodeposit

The security question is what scammers attack. Autodeposit removes it.

8 min read
Close it clean
Banking

Close a bank account without getting burned

Drain last, close on purpose, and transfer registered accounts rather than withdraw.

9 min read
Your two credit files
Credit

Check your credit report for free in Canada

Two bureaus, two files. Pull both, twice a year, for zero dollars.

8 min read
The first-home stack
Home buying

FHSA plus the land transfer tax rebate

The two first-home breaks that stack, with a worked example.

9 min read
New to Canada, banking day one
Banking

Your first bank account in Canada as a newcomer

The ID to bring, the SIN rule, and the catch in every newcomer package.

9 min read
The $48 fee is now $10
Banking

NSF fees in Canada just got capped at $10

The cap, the two hidden protections, and how to pay zero.

7 min read
Is your money covered?
Banking

CDIC vs provincial deposit insurance

What actually protects your money, and how to check it yourself.

9 min read
First home, first account
Banking

TFSA vs FHSA for a first home

Fill the FHSA first for the deduction. Here is why.

8 min read
The fee waiver trap
Banking

What a bank fee waiver really costs you

A minimum balance is a zero-percent loan to your bank.

8 min read
Read the fine print first
Banking

Read a bank account's fine print before it costs you

The four terms that turn a free account into a paid one.

8 min read
Welcome bonuses, decoded
Banking

How bank welcome bonuses actually work

When they pay, if they are taxable, and how to avoid a clawback.

8 min read
Credit, decoded
Credit

What actually moves your credit score

Pay on time, keep balances low. That is most of it.

7 min read
No-fee banking
Banking

What "no-fee" banking really means

Free account, or "free" account? Four questions.

6 min read
Switching, done right
Banking

Switch banks without breaking your bills

The order of operations that keeps everything paid.

7 min read
Tech
What they hold, not what they owe
Tech

Proof of reserves, explained

What it proves, what it hides, and how to verify your own balance.

9 min read
The supply that can hurt you
Tech

Circulating, total, and max supply

Three supply numbers, and the gap where dilution hides.

9 min read
Your keys, your coins
Tech

Self-custody, plainly

What your seed phrase controls, and how to keep it safe.

9 min read
What backs your digital dollar
Tech

Stablecoins vs volatile coins

What actually backs the dollar in your wallet, and how to check.

9 min read
Fixed supply
Tech

What a fixed-supply cryptocurrency means

Scarcity written into the code, explained simply.

8 min read
Verify, don't trust
Tech

Reading a crypto project honestly

Check the claims yourself. Here is the checklist.

9 min read