Where the monthly fee quietly grows
A business chequing account in Canada looks cheap on the sign-up page. The cost shows up later, in the parts nobody reads until the first statement arrives. Traditional banks typically charge $5 to $35 a month, and industry comparisons put foreign exchange markups at roughly 2.5% to 3.5% on top of that when money crosses borders. For a company invoicing US clients from Markham or shipping parts into Michigan, that spread is the largest line item on the banking bill, not the monthly fee.
Transaction limits cause most of the daily friction. A $6 plan from a Big Five bank might include unlimited electronic debits but only 10 outgoing e-Transfers, then $1.50 each after that. A landscaping company in Surrey paying five subcontractors every week burns through that allowance before the middle of the month. Pay-per-use plans look flexible until a busy quarter arrives and the per-item charges add up faster than a flat package would have.
Cash is the third trap. Branch deposits at one major bank run $5.00 per $1,000, while ATM and night-deposit drops run $2.25 per $1,000. A café on 17th Avenue in Calgary handling $30,000 in cash monthly is looking at a few hundred dollars a year just to get bills into the account. Online-only institutions generally cannot take cash at all, which is fine for a software consultancy and unworkable for a bakery.
Three owners illustrate how different the answer is. Dev, a sole proprietor electrical contractor in Surrey, needs unlimited e-Transfers and no paper statements. Mei sells home goods on Etsy and Shopify from Markham, holds US dollars, and cares about conversion cost far more than branch access. Priya runs a two-chair dental office in Mississauga, deposits cash and cheques weekly, and needs a lender who will eventually look at the account history. Same country, three different account decisions.
How the main options compare
The table below draws on published pricing from Canadian banks and financial technology providers. Rates on deposits move with the policy rate, so treat the interest column as a snapshot rather than a promise.
| Provider | Monthly cost | Transactions and e-Transfers | Interest or extras | Best fit | Watch-outs |
|---|
| Wealthsimple Business Chequing | $0 | Unlimited transactions and e-Transfers | Up to 2.25% on CAD balance; CRA payments at no charge | Digital-first owners who want one simple account | No branch cash deposits |
| EQ Bank Business Account | $0 | Unlimited electronic transactions; 50 outgoing and 100 incoming e-Transfers per month | 2.25% on CAD | Solo operators with steady e-Transfer volume | No cash handling; no credit products |
| Venn | $0 | Local EFT/ACH from $0 to $2 depending on plan; unlimited e-Transfers | 2% on CAD; up to 3.5% on USD balances | Corporations holding cash reserves | Canadian corporations outside Quebec only |
| Float | $0 | Unlimited ACH/EFT | 2.5% on CAD, higher on USD | Startups that want yield on operating cash | Built for card spending, limited branch support |
| Wise Business | $0 monthly, one-time $55 setup | Pay-as-you-go; incoming domestic CAD transfers at no charge | 2.22% on CAD, 3.40% on USD | Exporters paying suppliers abroad | Per-transaction pricing needs monitoring |
| Airwallex Business Account | $0 on the entry plan | Multi-currency collection in 20+ currencies | 0% conversion when spending from held currency; 1% back on corporate cards | eCommerce sellers and international B2B | No branches, no commercial mortgages or lines of credit |
| RBC Digital Choice Business | $6 | Unlimited electronic and ATM activity; 10 outgoing e-Transfers included, $1.50 after | Large branch and ATM network; cash at $5.00 per $1,000 in branch | Businesses that need to deposit cash and talk to a human | Paper transactions $2.50 each |
| TD Business Digital Account | $6 | Unlimited electronic and ATM activity; 10 e-Transfers included | CRA payments at $2 | Owners who want digital pricing with branch backup | Extra transfers billed individually |
| CIBC Basic Business Operating | $6 | Pay-per-use, $1.00 self-service and $1.25 full-service | Low entry cost for low activity | Seasonal businesses with quiet months | Every item is metered |
| BMO Essential Business Account | $5 | Unlimited electronic and ATM activity; 6 e-Transfers included, $1.50 after | CRA payments at no charge online, $1.50 assisted | Cost-conscious digital businesses | Small e-Transfer allowance |
| Scotiabank Right Size Account | $6 | Pay-per-use from $1.00 to $1.25 by tier | Adjusts to volume | Owners who dislike flat packages | Per-item charges on everything |
| RBC Ultimate Business Account | $100, waived at a $75,000 daily balance | Unlimited electronic activity, 500 outgoing e-Transfers, 100 paper items | Up to $25,000 in cash deposits included | High-volume operations with mixed paper and electronic flow | Requires a large balance to avoid the fee |
A $0 monthly fee does not mean a $0 relationship. Read the last three columns before the first one. A low headline fee paired with unlimited transfers usually beats a mid-range fee with tight allowances, but only if your volume is predictable.
Where online accounts earn their place
Cash handling decides more cases than price. If your business touches paper money weekly, a digital-only account forces you into a workaround: depositing through a partner institution, using a cash-accepting payment processor, or paying for a courier. Some owners keep a $6 Big Five account purely as a deposit door and run day-to-day payments through a digital account. Two accounts, one purpose each, and the combined cost still lands below a single premium package.
Transfers, payroll and the CRA
Interac e-Transfer is the working currency of small business in Canada. Fractional limits matter more than most comparison charts admit: 6 included transfers at BMO, 10 at RBC and TD, 50 outgoing at EQ Bank, unlimited at Wealthsimple and Venn. Payroll through e-Transfer to a dozen staff, plus supplier payments, pushes most growing companies past the low allowances within a week.
Tax payments belong in the same calculation. A $2 CRA charge per payment sounds trivial until you make quarterly instalments for GST/HST, payroll deductions and corporate income tax. Several online accounts process CRA payments at no charge, which removes a recurring nuisance for sole proprietors filing quarterly.
Multi-currency without the markup
Mei's case shows the arithmetic. Selling into the US with a Canadian-dollar account means every settlement gets converted, and a 2.5% markup on $80,000 of annual US revenue is real money. A multi-currency account that holds USD and converts only when needed changes the outcome, and platforms such as Airwallex and Wise publish their conversion pricing openly. Banks rarely do.
Interest on money that is already sitting there
Operating balances are not savings, but they can still earn something. Rates in the 2% to 2.5% range on CAD balances are competitive with what many business savings accounts pay, and the daily liquidity stays intact. Confirm whether a rate is promotional, tiered or tied to a minimum balance before you move your float.
Setting up without wasted branch trips
Most Canadian banks now let you start a business account application online in about 15 minutes, but identity verification still requires a visit in many cases. Bring three things: a government-issued photo ID such as a passport, driver's licence or permanent resident card; a business registration document such as articles of incorporation, a certificate of existence or a master business licence; and ownership details for anyone holding a significant share of the company.
Register or incorporate first if you have not already. Provincial registries handle this: ServiceOntario for Ontario, BC Registries for British Columbia, and the equivalent office in your province. A sole proprietorship can often open with a business licence and personal identification, while a corporation needs the incorporation record and director information.
Before switching, list every pre-authorized debit attached to the old account: payroll provider, rent, insurance, supplier terms, subscription tools. Moving a business account without that list creates missed payments and a credit file you would rather not explain. Run both accounts in parallel for a full billing cycle, confirm deposits and withdrawals land where expected, then close the old one.
Ask two questions that rarely appear in marketing material. First, what happens to the monthly fee if my balance drops below a threshold in a slow month. Second, how do I reach a person when a transfer is held for review at 9 pm on a Friday. The answer to the second one tells you more about fit than any rate table.
One last habit worth building: download statements as PDFs monthly and store them outside the banking app. Account fees are deductible as a business expense, and clean records make that claim straightforward at tax time. Owners in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary are all working with the same handful of providers, so the differentiation comes down to how your money actually moves. Start with your e-Transfer count and cash volume from the last three months, then match the account to those numbers instead of the other way around.
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