Where the money actually moves in Canada
Most Canadian small businesses still run on Interac e-Transfer. Clients send a payment from their own banking app, and it lands in minutes. That works fine until your account package caps outgoing transfers at ten a month, or charges you extra for the eleventh. A consultant in Halifax who invoices fifteen clients in a busy month can end up paying more in transfer and transaction fees than the monthly account fee itself.
Cash and cheques have not disappeared either. Contractors, farmers, cafés and anyone selling at a farmer's market still deposit paper. Digital-first platforms rarely handle cash, and that single gap pushes many owners back to a branch account with a fee waiver tied to a balance most small operations never keep.
The third pressure is cross-border work. Industry data shows the large majority of Canadian small and mid-sized exporters sell into the United States. If you bill in US dollars, the conversion markup at a traditional bank, often two to three percent above the interbank rate, quietly eats a slice of every invoice. On a $10,000 payment, that spread is a few hundred dollars gone before the money reaches your account.
Then there is the paperwork of running a Canadian company. GST/HST remittances, payroll, and supplier pre-authorized debits all need to come out of a dedicated account, and Canada Revenue Agency direct deposit works best when the account is in the business name.
What the realistic options look like
Fees below come from published provider pricing and change often, so confirm the numbers on the provider site before you commit.
| Provider | Monthly fee | Best suited to | Worth knowing |
|---|
| RBC Digital Choice Business | $6, no minimum balance | Solo owners who bank online and by ATM | Unlimited electronic debits and credits, up to ten outgoing e-Transfers monthly; branch and paper transactions cost extra |
| RBC Ultimate Business | $100, waived with a $75,000 daily balance | Cash-heavy operations with high deposit volume | Broad deposit allowance; the waiver is out of reach for most small firms |
| TD Unlimited Business Plan | $125, waived with a $65,000 daily balance | Businesses that need branch access | Unlimited transactions; entry plans start lower but cap monthly activity |
| CIBC Unlimited Business Operating | $65, waived with a $65,000 balance | Owners who want predictable flat pricing | Entry account is $6 with no included transactions |
| BMO Essential Business | $5 | Simple domestic banking | Low base fee, per-use charges add up |
| EQ Bank Business | $0 | Sole proprietors holding a cash cushion | Pays interest on CAD balances |
| Venn Business | $0 on the Essentials plan | Corporations outside Quebec holding CAD and USD | Interest on both currencies, foreign exchange markup around 0.45 percent on the entry plan |
| Float | $0 on the Essentials plan | Teams spending in both CAD and USD | Separate cards per currency; 0.25 percent on CAD to USD conversions |
| Airwallex Business Account | $0 on the Explore plan | E-commerce and service firms billing abroad | Local account details in more than twenty currencies; no cash deposits and no paper cheques |
| OFX Global Business | $0 Standard, $75 Full Suite | Importers paying overseas suppliers | Forward contracts, phone support; margin on conversions is not published |
A word on safety: several of these are fintechs, not banks. Under the Retail Payment Activities Act, registered payment service providers hold customer funds in segregated trust accounts. Deposit insurance works differently there than at a chartered bank, where eligible deposits are covered by CDIC up to set limits per category. Ask each provider how your money is held before you move operating cash into it.
Three situations and the practical fix
A solo consultant billing in Canadian dollars
Priya, a marketing consultant in Mississauga, started on a personal account and spent her first year reconciling around forty invoices by hand. She moved to a six-dollar digital business account, kept her personal chequing for rent, and set up CRA direct deposit for her GST/HST refund. Her accounting time dropped to a couple of hours a quarter. The lesson: at low volume, a cheap online account plus a separate savings account for tax money solves most of the problem. Watch the outgoing e-Transfer allowance, and move to a flat-fee plan once you cross roughly fifteen outgoing transfers a month.
An online store selling into the United States
A Calgary apparel brand receiving US-dollar payouts from a payment processor has a different problem. Every payout converted at the bank rate cost real margin. Holding USD in a multi-currency account and paying US suppliers from that balance avoids the round trip. Owners in this position should compare the all-in cost, meaning monthly fee plus conversion markup plus payout fees, rather than the headline rate.
A shop that still takes cash
Retailers in smaller towns usually need the opposite setup: a branch-based account with a decent cash deposit allowance, plus a digital account for online sales. Running two accounts is normal and rarely costs more than one mid-tier package, since each does a different job.
What to check before you apply
Work through these in order, because the first two decide everything else.
- Map how money arrives. Count last month's incoming payments by method: e-Transfer, card, cash, cheque, wire. Whichever method dominates should drive the account choice.
- Price the real monthly cost. Add the base fee, the per-transaction overage, and the conversion spread on foreign currency. A $0 account with a 2.5 percent markup can cost more than a $35 account.
- Confirm what kind of institution you are dealing with. Banks appear in the FCAC account comparison tool, which lets you stack Canadian packages side by side. Payment service providers registered under the Retail Payment Activities Act are listed by the Bank of Canada. Check the registry before depositing client money.
- Gather documents early. Sole proprietors need a Master Business Licence or business name registration plus government photo ID. Corporations need Articles of Incorporation and a corporate profile listing directors. Approval at most banks takes up to two business days, and complex ownership structures usually require a phone or in-person application.
- Turn on the boring settings. CRA direct deposit, accounting software sync, and a weekly balance check take twenty minutes and save hours later.
If you incorporate through a service such as Ownr, some banks attach a rebate to the account application, which is worth asking about at signup.
A reasonable place to start
You do not have to solve every banking question in week one. Most owners do fine with a low-fee digital account for day-to-day operations, a second account or savings product for tax reserves, and a plan to revisit the setup once monthly revenue stabilises. The account you open today should be the one that costs least while your volume is small, not the one built for a company five years ahead of you.
Set a reminder to review fees once a year, especially if your client mix shifts toward US customers or cash sales. Switching later is easier than most people expect, and the comparison takes an afternoon. Start with the free plan, keep your records clean, and let the account grow into the business rather than the other way round.
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