Why more Canadian owners are skipping the branch
Canada's banking market is unusually concentrated. Five institutions hold most of the deposits, and their business accounts were designed around people who walk in with deposit slips. A standard small business plan at one of the big banks often runs $5 to $35 a month, with transaction caps that reset quietly and per-item charges that show up later.
The second pressure is Interac e-Transfer. In Canada, it is the default way clients pay invoices, and business accounts handle it very differently. Some include ten outgoing transfers monthly, then charge $1 to $1.50 each. A contractor sending twenty invoices a month can lose $15 before touching anything else.
Then there is the tax side. Quarterly GST/HST remittances and payroll source deductions go to the CRA, and a handful of accounts charge around $2 per payment. Four instalments a year is small money, but it is pure friction on a task nobody enjoys.
A fourth issue is currency. Freelancers billing US clients often discover their business account converts at a spread they never agreed to. That is where a separate USD holding account starts to make sense.
What actually separates one account from another
Monthly fee is the least interesting number. The real comparison sits in three places: how many e-Transfers are included, whether electronic fund transfers and bill payments cost anything, and whether the balance earns interest. A $0 account with fifty included transfers usually beats a $6 account with ten.
Interest matters more than it looks. On a $20,000 operating balance, 2.25% is roughly $450 a year, which quietly pays for a lot of bookkeeping software. Most big bank business chequing accounts pay nothing at all.
Deposit protection is worth checking too. Business deposits at eligible institutions may be covered by CDIC up to $100,000, but the rules around business accounts are narrower than personal ones. Ask before you assume.
| Account | Monthly fee | Interest on balance | Included e-Transfers | CRA payments | Suited to |
|---|
| EQ Bank Business | $0 | 2.25% (variable) | 50 outgoing, 100 incoming | No fee | Sole proprietors and incorporated owners outside Quebec |
| Wealthsimple Business | $0 | Up to 2.25% | Unlimited | No fee | Digital-first businesses with steady invoicing |
| Wise Business | $0 plus one-time $55 setup | 2.22% CAD, 3.40% USD | Pay per use | Not supported | Exporters holding both CAD and USD |
| RBC Digital Choice Business | $6 | None | 10 outgoing, then $1.50 | Not offered | Owners who want 4,000+ ATMs and a branch option |
| TD Business Digital | $6 | None | 10 | $2 each | Mixed electronic and ATM activity |
| BMO Essential Business | $5 | None | 6 outgoing, then $1.50 | No fee online | Low-volume, ATM-based deposits |
| CIBC Basic Business Operating | $6 | None | None included, $1.50 plus a $1.00 self-serve fee | $2 each | Businesses with unpredictable transaction counts |
| Scotiabank Right Size | $6 | None | None included, $1 each | Not offered | Very low transaction volume |
Figures reflect published rates at the time of writing and are subject to change. Interest rates on these accounts are variable.
Three owner profiles and what fits them
The consultant who invoices by e-Transfer
Sarah runs a two-person marketing practice in Toronto. Her clients pay by Interac e-Transfer, roughly thirty times a month, and she was paying overage charges on a $6 account without noticing. Moving to a digital business chequing account in Canada with fifty included outgoing transfers cut that line item and let her balance earn interest.
Her setup: one main operating account, two sub-accounts labelled "tax reserve" and "software subscriptions." Sub-accounts are the underrated feature here. EQ Bank's business account allows up to ten, which turns a tax obligation into a transfer instead of a spreadsheet exercise.
The e-commerce seller with US revenue
Dev sells outdoor gear from Vancouver and settles in both currencies. A single CAD account means every US sale gets converted at whatever spread the bank chooses. He runs a USD account alongside his CAD account and withdraws to the currency he needs.
For cross-border work, a Wise Business account is pragmatic. There is a one-time $55 setup charge and pay-as-you-go pricing, with interest paid on both CAD and USD balances. The trade-off is that CRA bill payments are not supported there, so most sellers keep a domestic account for tax remittances and use the multi-currency account for receipts.
The incorporated startup with payroll
Nadia incorporated in Calgary and pays two employees. She needs unlimited electronic debits, remote cheque deposit, and clean records for her accountant. A big bank digital plan at $6 covers unlimited electronic transactions and mobile cheque deposit, and branch access matters when something goes wrong with a payroll run.
Her advice: open the account before the first payroll cycle, not during it. Onboarding a corporation takes longer than onboarding a sole proprietorship because the bank verifies directors and shareholders holding more than 25%.
Getting through onboarding without a wasted week
Sole proprietors can generally apply online with government photo ID, proof of business name registration if one is used, and a Canadian mobile number for verification. Corporations face a longer document list: articles of incorporation, a corporate profile report or certificate of status, and ownership details for anyone above the 25% threshold. Have these as PDFs before you start, because most applications time out.
Two practical notes. Some accounts, including EQ Bank's business account, are not offered to Quebec residents or businesses, trusts, partnerships, or companies owned by another company. And if you want both a personal and business account at the same institution, open the personal one first and use the same email address.
Fund the account the same day. A new business account with a zero balance can be flagged during routine reviews, and an incoming e-Transfer to an unfunded account is a common first-week headache.
The costs that stay invisible
Per-item pricing looks harmless until you count. At $1.25 a transaction for anything not included, a business processing forty payments a month pays $50, which is more than the monthly fee suggests. Unlimited electronic transaction plans exist precisely to remove that guessing game.
Cash handling is another gap. Online accounts are built for electronic money, and depositing bills usually requires an ATM or a partner network. A café or market vendor should weigh that honestly against a branch-based plan.
Nothing here is permanent. An account that fit at ten invoices a month may not fit at eighty, and switching business accounts in Canada is far less painful than most owners assume. Open the new one first, redirect payroll and pre-authorized debits, then close the old one after a full cycle clears.
Start by listing your real monthly volume: outgoing e-Transfers, bill payments, CRA remittances, and cash deposits. Match that list to the table above, open the account that covers the majority, and revisit it once a year. The difference between a well-matched account and a default one is often several hundred dollars annually, plus a lot less time spent reconciling.
研究の知恵