Financial Institution Partnerships with Sports Teams in Canada: How Can You Benefit?

When it comes to emotional rollercoasters, two things come to mind: dealing with the bank and cheering for your favourite sports team. Partnerships between Canadian banks and sports teams have increased in recent years, with both sides looking to grow their fanbases and clientele. 

Let’s take a dive into how you can take advantage of these unique partnerships!

Why Canadian Banks Are Teaming Up With Sports Teams

With Canadians being deeply invested in both their finances and their favorite sports teams, collaborative partnerships between these two types of institutions are a natural fit. There are a variety of different ways that partnerships are done, from jersey sponsorships, exclusive cardholder benefits at venues, promotional contests, or the right to be the “official” bank of your local team. 

Most of these partnerships offer a tangible benefit that can enhance the fan experience at games, while others are just partnerships to advertise and increase publicity for either organization. These all create increased fan interactions and diversification in how teams grow their revenue, as evidenced by RBC citing sports partnerships as a cornerstone of their growth strategy. 

There will always be competition between banks for loyalty, and by connecting their teams to a banking partner, a loyal fan can become a loyal cardholder to their team’s affiliated bank as well. With all these partnerships and collaborations, one question stands out from the consumer perspective: Do these partnerships really benefit cardholders?

Partnerships That Offer Tangible Benefits

Scotiabank 

Scotiabank is widely associated with the NHL in Canada. I remember growing up watching television ads with Scotiabank’s hockey tin bank, and I asked my parents to sign up for a bank account just to get a tin. As the Official Bank of the NHL in Canada, Scotiabank users have access to exclusive benefits at sports venues and other perks through the Scotia Perks program. Basic account holders can qualify, so you don’t have to be a Scotiabank credit cardholder to earn access to these benefits.

At Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Scotiabank cardholders get dedicated priority entry at one of the gates for Leafs regular season games. Inside, these customers also receive free bag checks, a free bag of popcorn, and a 15% discount on NHL merch

In Calgary, Scotiabank customers can use express entry lanes at the West Entrance for Flames regular season home games at the Saddledome, though the arena is expected to be replaced by the new Scotia Place in Fall 2027. Benefits are expected to remain or even increase once the larger arena is complete.

Contests are part of the benefits that Scotiabank clients can interact with as well. Contests can be seat upgrades at Scotiabank Arena, Scotiabank Saddledome, or Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, as well as access to exclusive events like fan skates or road trips with the Maple Leafs.

Beyond the NHL, Scotiabank offers client perks for PWHL fans, including 10% discounts on merchandise at all regular-season team home games in Canada, regardless of Canadian team.

Neo Financial × CEBL

As the official credit card of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL), Neo Financial cardholders receive exclusive perks for games across all teams. These perks include:

• Neo credit cardholders receive 15% cashback on CEBL ticket purchases, up to $20 through a dedicated link
• $25 bonuses when you sign up for a Neo Credit Card at the game or online. 
• New sign-ups also receive a chance to win an all-access championship weekend getaway, with extra entries when purchasing CEBL tickets

TD × Toronto Blue Jays

The partnership between TD and the Toronto Blue Jays provides two straightforward benefits for eligible TD credit cardholders attending regular-season home games at Rogers Centre. Cardholders can receive 10% back as a statement credit on eligible food and beverage purchases made at stadium concession stands. There is no minimum purchase or maximum spending limit, although the credit may take up to eight weeks to appear. Tickets, merchandise, parking, suite purchases, gift cards, online orders, and Jays Care Foundation donations are excluded.

Eligible cardholders can also use the dedicated priority-access line at Gate 6 by presenting their game-day ticket and physical TD credit card or a digital version stored in a mobile wallet. The cardholder may bring one adult guest and any accompanying minors through the line.

These are not especially luxurious benefits, but they are broadly accessible and easy to use.

Mastercard ×  MLSE (Leafs, Raptors, TFC, Argonauts)

Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment have an agreement with Mastercard to offer exclusive benefits and experiences. Anyone holding a Mastercard credit card can receive these perks, regardless of card type or financial institution. They include:

• 10% off concessions ordered from your seat
• 15% off at the Real Sports Apparel store or online
• Exclusive pre-game tables at RS and e11even restaurants
• Exclusive ticket block just for Mastercard clients for Maple Leafs games
• Entry into a draw for a chance to win game tickets, if 1 of any last 4 digits of your Mastercard matches with the Leafs score

There is also the Masterclub Lounge at Scotiabank Arena, reserved for members only.

RBC Royal Bank × Vancouver Canucks

Starting in the 2026-2027 NHL season, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) replaces TD as the official banking partner of Canucks Sports & Entertainment. Aside from jersey sponsorship placements, RBC has announced that there will be member perks exclusive to RBC account and cardholders. They will also be more involved in community sponsorship programs, including the home opener and the Canucks for Kids Fund.

Although some benefits have been released, specific perks will be announced later on, closer to the start of the season. So far the following perks exclusive to RBC customers have been announced:

• Avion Rewards integration, including the ability to redeem Avion points for game tickets
• Arena perks and dedicated entry points for cardholders at Rogers Arena (Vancouver) and Rogers Forum (Abbotsford)

Partnerships That Are More Logo Than Loyalty

Some partnerships with teams are more about collaborating brands than rewarding new loyalty. These are flashy marketing campaigns that may not offer real tangible benefits to either fan base.

WestJet × Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays have another unique partnership, with WestJet. Being the team’s official airline, they recently repainted a plane to celebrate the renewal of the collaboration, originally established in 2012, coinciding with the Blue Jays’ 50th season and WestJet’s 30th anniversary.

Although both the Toronto Blue Jays and WestJet have strong ties in their partnership, there are no tangible benefits for cardholders or fans of either side.

BMO × Canada Soccer 

Canada Soccer partnered up with BMO and named them the Official and Exclusive Banking and Financial Services Partner, ahead of the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament. Unfortunately, there were no consumer benefits that arose from this, with just a Kit Sponsorship to promote BMO’s brand.

Tangerine × Toronto Raptors

As the official bank of the Toronto Raptors, Tangerine offers promotional contest-based benefits to all fans, regardless of whether or not they are cardholders. Tangerine cardholders only have one exclusive benefit: pre-game shootaround sessions before Raptors’ matches.

On Friday games, Fangerine Fridays are game days where Tangerine hosts different contests, including jersey drops and fan features at the game. They also sponsor shooting contests and exclusive suite-level access.

How to Stack These Perks With Your Points Strategy

Sports team partnerships can be an important part of your overall points strategy, especially if you are a dedicated fan of your teams. Stacking perks can really maximize your loyalty and value for games. 

Scotiabank

The majority of Canadian financial institutions offer a Mastercard product as part of their lineup. Using a Mastercard at any Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment game will unlock lots of different benefits. However, those holding a Scotiabank Mastercard product, not only receive the perks associated with Mastercard, but also can take advantage of the other Scotiabank-specific perks, like free popcorn and bag checks.

Continuing with Scotiabank, if you’re looking to maximize your point earning potential, the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card will be the best points card for stacking and earning points from purchases with your sports team. The earning rate of 5x Scene+ Points in the Entertainment category by far outpaces other cards and banks. 

Additionally, stacking it with benefits at Scotiabank Arena, is an opportunity for Toronto Maple Leafs fans to maximize the game experience. Likewise, when the new arena is built, Scotiabank is expected to offer similar or better perks when the Calgary Flames start playing in their new home, as well as perks for cheering on your favourite PWHL team across the country.

RBC

Although the partnership between the Vancouver Canucks and RBC has not officially started yet, RBC customers will be expecting better benefits when cheering for the Vancouver Canucks and their affiliated teams. Previously TD was the at-home jersey sponsor, however, there were very limited perks offered to cardholders or even fans in general. With RBC’s announcement earlier this year, there are expected to be a lot more fan-facing benefits. 

Conclusion 

There does seem to be a growing trend in sports teams partnering with financial institutions across the country. Scotiabank cardholders will have the best chances of accessing cardholder perks at sports matches, with significant expansion expected in the next few years. Likewise, RBC is expected to provide cardholder benefits for its members as well, compared to the Canucks’ previous banking partner.

Most sports partnerships mentioned typically focus on sports fans living in Toronto. Whether there are specific cardholder perks that members of a bank can access, or a simple logo placement on gear or commercial co-brand partnerships, these partnerships can help consumers get the most value out of their favourite teams.