The first is the digital arm of a federally regulated bank. Deposits may qualify for CDIC protection, and the app exists mostly so you never stand in a teller line. EQ Bank’s Business Account sits here; it is issued through Equitable Bank.
The second is a payments company that holds client money in trust rather than on deposit. Airwallex operates this way under Canadian retail payments rules, so the protections, the recourse path and the paperwork all differ from a bank account.
The third is a Big Five account with a small monthly fee and full branch access, such as RBC Digital Choice or TD Business Digital. There you are paying for the branch network and the familiar name, not for the app.
Provincial rules cut across all three in ways most comparison pieces skip. EQ Bank does not open Business Accounts for Quebec residents or businesses, and turns away trusts, partnerships and companies owned by another company. Venn does not serve Quebec either. Wise issues cards across Canada except in Quebec, and Loop withholds cards from Quebec sole proprietors. A list written for Ontario readers can therefore hand a Gatineau consultant three options they cannot actually open.
What the monthly fee leaves out
A C$5 or C$6 price tag looks harmless until you read the waiver conditions. Big Five accounts usually drop the fee only while a daily balance sits somewhere between C$15,000 and C$80,000. Price that honestly and the arithmetic turns against you: parking C$65,000 to dodge roughly C$1,500 in annual fees gives up something in the order of C$1,800 in interest at current savings rates. You keep the fee and lose the interest.
Transaction charges come next. Interac e-Transfers tend to run about C$1.50 once the monthly allowance is used up, cash deposits carry a per-thousand charge, and international wires land somewhere between C$30 and C$80. If you sell abroad, currency conversion swamps all of it. The major banks apply markups in the 2% to 3.5% range on card and account conversions, while digital platforms publish spreads closer to 0.25% to 0.5%. On US$10,000 a month, that gap can add up to several thousand dollars over a year.
Seven accounts side by side
Fee figures below are drawn from each provider’s published schedule at the time of writing, before tax. Every provider can reprice without notice, so use the table as a shortlist and confirm the current terms on the account’s own page before you apply.
| Account | Monthly fee | e-Transfer allowance | Cash and cheques | FX cost | Fits best |
|---|
| EQ Bank Business Account | C$0 | 50 outgoing and 100 incoming included, then C$0.50 | No cash deposits; mobile cheque deposit; ATM access via prepaid Business Card | About 2.00% on foreign card purchases | Sole proprietors and small teams banking domestically, with interest paid on balances (roughly 2.25% at last check) |
| Wealthsimple Business | C$0 | Sending and receiving included | Cash at Canada Post, C$10 minimum and C$3,000 cap per deposit | 0% FX on the prepaid Visa; about 1.50% on incoming USD under C$10,000 | Freelancers who want simple CRA bill payments and a clean app |
| Venn Essentials | C$0 | Included, send and receive | Not supported | Around 0.45%, dropping on paid plans | Canadian businesses paid in USD by US platforms |
| Airwallex Explore | C$0 | Send and receive up to C$25,000 per transfer | Not supported | About 0.5% on major currencies, 1% on others | Shopify sellers and wholesalers paying overseas suppliers |
| BMO Essential Business Account | C$5 | 6 included, then C$1.50 | C$2.50 per C$1,000 deposited | About 2.5% on debit card purchases | Owners who want a Big Five name plus branch access |
| RBC Digital Choice Business | C$6 | 10 included, then C$1.50 | C$5 per C$1,000 at a branch, C$2.25 at an ATM | About 2.5% on card conversions | Contractors who occasionally handle cash or paper items |
| CIBC Everyday Business Operating Account | C$20 | 30 transactions including e-Transfers, then C$1.00 to C$1.50 | C$3,000 monthly included, then C$2.25 to C$2.50 per C$1,000 | Not published | Higher-volume operations that keep C$20,000 on deposit |
Matching the account to how you actually get paid
Selling online or invoicing in US dollars
A Shopify seller taking Stripe or PayPal payouts in USD feels the conversion spread on every settlement. Venn treats those payouts as domestic transfers and keeps CAD and USD balances separate, which suits a small store selling to American buyers. Airwallex goes further, with account details in more than 20 currencies and local payout rails in many countries — a better fit for a wholesaler with suppliers in three countries. Both skip cash entirely, so keep a second account if customers pay at a market stall.
Service work with local clients
For a consultant billing in loonies, the deciding factors are Interac e-Transfer limits and CRA bill payments. EQ Bank includes 50 outgoing transfers each month and pays interest on the operating balance, a real gain for a business holding a tax reserve. Wealthsimple includes unlimited transfers and CRA payments, and Canada Post becomes the deposit window for cash. One caution: neither handles wires, so a client paying from Europe needs another route.
Cash, wires and a recognizable name
Landscapers, cafés and trades still deal in deposits. BMO’s C$5 account includes unlimited electronic transactions and branch access but charges C$2.50 per C$1,000 in cash, while RBC’s branch deposit rate is C$5 per C$1,000. A Halifax café depositing C$6,000 a week should price that line before signing anything. Sometimes the branch is worth the fee; sometimes a Canada Post counter and a digital account cost less.
Operating in Quebec
The no-monthly-fee platforms largely stop at the provincial border. National Bank’s business package runs about C$100 a month and requires a C$80,000 daily balance to waive, which is steep, but it delivers bilingual service including French-language support. Desjardins is the other realistic local route. Compare those two against RBC and BMO rather than against EQ Bank, and budget the difference.
Setting up without wasting a week
- Confirm what you can open. Incorporated businesses usually need articles of incorporation, a business number and a signing officer. EQ Bank allows one individual per business and asks for a majority shareholder, a signing officer and a director. Sole proprietors should check whether the platform accepts unregistered businesses.
- Map your payment mix before choosing. Count monthly e-Transfers, cash deposits, wires and foreign-currency receipts. The account that wins on monthly fee often loses on the line you use most.
- Test the small things first. Send one Interac e-Transfer, pay a CRA bill and download a statement into your accounting file. A missing CRA bill payment option is painful to discover in tax season.
- Keep your old account open for two statements. Payroll deposits, pre-authorized debits and client Autodeposit settings take time to migrate, and a missed transfer damages your credibility with clients.
- Re-read the fee schedule every quarter. Waiver thresholds and transfer allowances change, as BMO’s recent introduction of a C$5 fee on some new accounts shows.
Where to get local help
Provincial small business service centres and local chambers of commerce run free sessions on bookkeeping and incorporation, and they usually know which local bank manager answers email. Canada Post outlets handle cash deposits for some digital accounts, though limits apply per deposit. Accountants who file GST/HST returns see which accounts create reconciliation headaches, and most will tell you plainly.
Start with your last three months of transactions and write down every incoming and outgoing payment by type. Then open one account that covers most of them and keep a second for the gaps. Test it for a full quarter, including a tax remittance and one international payment. If the statement surprises you, switch before the next fiscal year rather than after.
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