The branch still exists, but the math moved
Canada's big banks still hold most business deposits, and their small business plans reflect an era of paper cheques and teller lines. Monthly fees commonly run from $5 to $125, with a set number of transactions and deposit items before per-item charges begin. A $35 plan might include 40 transactions. An unlimited plan at $125 usually only drops to $0 if you park $65,000 in the account every day. For a freelancer invoicing four clients a month, that structure is hard to justify.
Digital banks and fintechs built their accounts around Interac e-Transfer, electronic funds transfers and bill payments instead of transaction counting. EQ Bank's business account charges no monthly fee, pays 2.25% on the entire balance and includes 50 outgoing e-Transfers. Tangerine's new business spending account pays 1.25%, with a savings side at 3%. Wealthsimple's business chequing advertises up to 2.25%. On paper, the difference in annual cost is several hundred dollars.
The two models split most sharply over cash. A café in Halifax deposits notes and coins weekly, so a plan that includes $5,000 of cash deposits matters more than an interest rate. A web studio in Mississauga never touches cash, which makes paying for deposit capacity a waste. Province matters as well. EQ Bank's business account is unavailable to Quebec residents, partnerships and trusts, and Venn's business accounts exclude Quebec corporations. These eligibility notes tend to surface after the application, not before.
What separates a workable account from a costly one
Four things decide the fit: how you get paid, how you pay others, where physical cash lands, and what the balance earns while it sits. A business collecting USD from American clients should look at currency markup before monthly fees, because converting at a 2.5% to 3.5% markup on every invoice costs more than a $35 charge. A retail shop needs next-day card settlement and change orders. A consultant needs generous e-Transfer limits and a clean export into QuickBooks or Xero.
| Account | Monthly fee | Interest | Included activity | Cash deposits | Best fit | Watch-outs |
|---|
| EQ Bank Business | $0 | 2.25% on full balance | 50 outgoing and 100 incoming e-Transfers, EFTs and bill payments at no extra charge | Not supported; mobile cheque deposit only | Freelancers, registered sole proprietors, incorporated owners who bank digitally | Not open to Quebec residents, partnerships or trusts |
| Tangerine Business Spending | $0 | 1.25% | Digital-first spending account, no minimum balance | Limited | Early-stage owners who want a simple operating account | Rollout is still restricted; confirm access before planning around it |
| Wealthsimple Business Chequing | $0 | Up to 2.25% | Everyday chequing with app-based controls | Not supported | Solo owners already using the platform for investing | No branch network or cash handling |
| BMO Essential Business | $5 | Low | Unlimited electronic and ATM transactions, 6 e-Transfers, 25 deposited items | None included; $2.50 per $1,000 of notes after that | Online-heavy businesses that occasionally need a teller | In-branch visits cost $5 each |
| TD Business Essential | $35 | Low | 40 transactions, 50 deposited items, 10 e-Transfers, $5,000 cash | $5,000 included monthly | Cash-active businesses that want branch access | Fee only waived at a $45,000 daily balance |
| Venn Business | $0 plan | Up to 3.5% on USD | Separate CAD and USD holdings, 0.45% conversion markup | Not supported | Corporations holding USD reserves | Corporations outside Quebec only |
| Airwallex Business | $0 on entry plan | None on balances | Local account details in 20+ currencies, cards with 1% cashback on eligible spend | Not supported | Exporters, e-commerce and SaaS teams | Fintech, not a bank; no lending products |
The $0 headline hides real differences. Some accounts cap e-Transfers and charge $1.50 for each one beyond the limit. Others treat ATM withdrawals as a transaction. Deposit insurance is another dividing line: bank accounts fall under CDIC coverage up to $100,000 per insured category, while fintech balances sit in trust structures that work differently. Ask specifically where your money is held before you move payroll through it.
Three owners, three different answers
Sarah, graphic designer, Ottawa
Sarah incorporated two years ago and bills in Canadian dollars, with one retainer client in Chicago. She was paying $35 a month for a plan whose main benefit, in-branch service, she used twice a year. Her bookkeeper suggested separating operating cash from tax reserves. She moved day-to-day banking to a no-monthly-fee digital account paying interest on the full balance, then opened a separate savings account for GST/HST set-asides. The monthly fee disappeared, and the tax money stopped blending into spending. Her one concession: cash from a occasional market stall goes into a credit union account she already held.
Daniel, e-commerce seller, Vancouver
Daniel sells outdoor gear into the United States and pays two suppliers in China. His old setup converted every USD payment at the retail rate, and the leakage was invisible until his accountant modelled it. He opened a multi-currency business account with local US details, so American customers pay through domestic rails and funds stay in USD until he chooses to convert. Airwallex quotes 0.5% markup on major currencies; Venn offers a lower conversion markup alongside USD interest. Daniel keeps the multi-currency account for collections and a Canadian dollar account for payroll and CRA remittances.
Amara, café owner, Halifax
Amara's problem was the opposite. Cash arrives daily, and her point-of-sale deposits settle next day. She tested a $5 plan from BMO with unlimited electronic transactions, then found the cash handling charges added up faster than expected. She moved to TD Business Essential at $35, which includes $5,000 in monthly cash deposits and 40 transactions, and kept her payroll on the same profile. The branch visit for change orders is now a fifteen-minute errand rather than a workaround.
Opening the account without losing a week
Register the business first, or confirm your sole proprietorship paperwork is current. You will need your business number, trade name registration if you operate under one, articles of incorporation for a corporation, identification for every signing authority, and ownership details if another company holds shares. A void cheque or bank statement from an existing account speeds up funding.
Applications for digital accounts are usually reviewed within one to three business days, though corporations with complex ownership structures take longer. Expect a credit check on some profiles, and expect a hold on early deposits while the account is new. Connect your accounting file and set up CRA remittance payee details in the first week, not the first tax season.
Provincial resources shorten the paperwork: your provincial business registry handles name searches, BizPaL lists the permits and licences tied to your industry, and a local chamber of commerce or CPA can flag the tax account structure your business actually needs. Owners in Quebec should confirm eligibility with each provider before applying, since several digital accounts exclude the province.
Where digital stops being enough
Cash-heavy operations, commercial lending, and large international wires are the weak points. A digital account rarely offers a business line of credit or a mortgage, and a new account may not support the deposit volume a growing retailer needs. Support hours also matter when a payment fails on a Saturday.
A workable approach is to test the account with real traffic for one quarter. Route a single client's payments through it, watch how e-Transfer limits, holds and exports behave, then decide whether to move the rest. Keep a second account at a different institution for redundancy, even if it only holds a few hundred dollars and a savings balance. Review the plan once a year against your actual transaction count, because the cheapest option changes as your payment mix shifts. Start with the account that matches how money already reaches you, not the one with the largest advertised interest rate.
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