What “online” means north of the border
Two different products share the same label. One is a digital package from a Big Five bank. You apply on a website, but you still get branch access, cheque deposits, and a business advisor who can approve a line of credit later. RBC Digital Choice and TD Business Digital sit around $6 a month and include roughly 10 Interac e-Transfers. BMO Essential lands near $5 with 6 e-Transfers.
The other product is a fintech account. Wealthsimple Business Chequing, EQ Bank Business, Loop, Venn, and Airwallex run on apps, charge no monthly fee on their basic tiers, and usually cannot accept cash. That single limitation decides the choice for a lot of Canadian owners.
The regulatory split matters too. Fintechs such as Airwallex hold client money in segregated trust accounts under the Retail Payment Activities Act. Banks sit under CDIC, where eligible deposits are insured to $100,000 per insured category. Neither route is safer by default, but they are not the same promise.
Four costs that catch new owners
The balance waiver looks cheaper than it is
A TD Business Essential account costs $35 a month, waived when you keep $45,000 on deposit. RBC’s top package waives at $75,000, and Scotiabank’s Plan A at $20,000. Saving $420 a year by parking $45,000 sounds fine until you price that cash against debt repayment or a tax instalment. The waiver only makes sense if the balance is already sitting there.
Currency conversion quietly eats margin
Traditional Canadian banks mark up foreign exchange by roughly 2.5% to 3.5%. On a $20,000 USD invoice, that is $500 to $700 gone before the money reaches your operating account. A multi-currency business account for Canadian exporters lets you hold the USD and convert when the rate suits you. For an online business bank account in Ontario serving US customers, this line item often outweighs the monthly fee debate.
Transfer caps and rolling windows
Personal e-Transfer limits often sit near $3,000 per day. Business accounts go higher, with some institutions allowing up to $25,000 per transaction, but the caps vary by account type and are measured over rolling 24-hour, 7-day, and 30-day windows. Paying six subcontractors on a Friday can hit a ceiling you never noticed in the welcome booklet.
Paperwork and ownership disclosure
Opening any business bank account in Canada requires a CRA business number, incorporation documents where applicable, and photo ID plus proof of address for every director and beneficial owner holding 25% or more. Federally regulated institutions verify this under FINTRAC rules. Sole proprietors have historically been turned away by some platforms built for corporations. Wealthsimple now accepts unregistered sole proprietors, which widens the field for consultants and freelancers.
Match the account to your deposit mix
Sarah runs a Kitchener skincare brand selling through Shopify. Most revenue arrives in USD, so she keeps a no-fee CAD account for GST/HST and payroll and a multi-currency account for customer payments. Her old bank charged a conversion spread on every settlement. Moving the receiving side to a platform with local USD details cut a visible slice from each order without changing her bookkeeping.
Marc is a Calgary concrete contractor. He deposits cheques and cash weekly, pays crews by e-Transfer, and needs someone to call when a hold lands on a $9,000 deposit. A branch-based package fits him better than any app. The monthly fee is the cost of cash handling, not a penalty.
Priya, a Toronto consultant working alone, sends four invoices a month and receives maybe six payments. She needs a business bank account for sole proprietors in BC and Ontario that does not punish low volume. Her shortlist is Wealthsimple or EQ Bank, both at no monthly fee, with the trade-off of no cash deposit.
| Provider | Monthly fee | Best for | What works | What to watch |
|---|
| Wealthsimple Business Chequing | $0 | Sole proprietors and corporations with light cash needs | No e-Transfer charges, virtual Visa with 1% cash back | No branch, no cash deposits |
| EQ Bank Business | $0 | Owners holding a CAD cushion | 2.25% interest on CAD | Limited cash and cheque handling |
| Loop Basic | $0 | Importers and cross-border sellers | Multi-currency card | Smaller feature set than a bank package |
| Airwallex Business | $0 on Explore | Exporters and e-commerce | Local details in 20+ countries, collection in 75+, 0% FX from held balances | Not a bank, no lending products |
| BMO Essential | $5 | Small teams needing a branch | 6 e-Transfers included, online opening | Overage fees apply |
| RBC Digital Choice | $6 | Businesses wanting Big Five backing | 10 e-Transfers, branch and ATM network | Fee waiver needs a large balance |
| TD Business Essential | $35 | Cash-heavy operations | Waived at a $45,000 balance, full service | The waiver ties up working capital |
| Desjardins | $5.95 | Quebec-based businesses | French-language service, caisse network | Provincial footprint |
Pricing reflects published rates this fall. Confirm current numbers before you apply, since promotional waivers rotate.
A short checklist before you submit
Register the business number with the CRA and gather articles of incorporation, director IDs, and ownership records for anyone above the 25% threshold. Decide what share of revenue arrives as cash or cheque, because that single figure eliminates half the options.
Then run the arithmetic on twelve months, not one. Monthly fee plus e-Transfer overages plus FX spread, compared against the balance a waiver would lock up. A $6 account with a 3% conversion markup can cost more than a $35 package with clean USD handling.
Ask two questions during onboarding: how long are deposits held on a new account, and what are my per-transaction and 30-day e-Transfer caps. New business accounts often face holding periods while verification clears, and a hold during payroll week hurts more than any fee.
Check that your accounting software connects. QuickBooks and Xero both sync with the major banks and several fintechs, but feed quality varies. If you file HST in Ontario or GST in Alberta, confirm the export includes the transaction detail your bookkeeper needs. For an online business bank account in Quebec, ask about French-language support and Desjardins or caisse alternatives before defaulting to a Toronto-based app.
Where this lands
Most established Canadian businesses end up running two accounts: a CAD operating account for taxes, payroll, and daily bills, plus a multi-currency account for foreign receivables. Startups and one-person shops can often begin with a single no-monthly-fee account and add the second when USD revenue becomes routine.
The account you pick should follow your deposit mix, not the marketing page. Apply to two providers, read the fee schedule and hold policy side by side, and keep the first three statements for comparison. Switching later is possible, but moving pre-authorized debits and payroll takes a quiet week you rarely have.
Pick the account that makes your most frequent transaction cheap and your riskiest one visible. Then revisit it once a year, because Canadian business banking pricing shifts more often than most owners expect.
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