What business banking in Canada actually costs
The advertised monthly fee is rarely the whole fee, and that gap catches a lot of small operators. A digital package at a Big Five bank runs $6 a month, and that's a fair price for unlimited electronic debits and credits. Then the extras arrive. Outgoing Interac e-Transfers beyond the ten or so included typically cost around $1.50 each, and paying corporate tax or GST/HST through the bank's bill payment screen can add $2 per transaction at some institutions. A business sending fifteen e-Transfers and making four CRA payments a month can quietly turn a $6 plan into $30-something.
That math matters more than ever now, because the entry-level tier has become genuinely competitive. RBC's Digital Choice Business Account Package and TD's Business Digital Account both sit at $6. BMO's Essential Business Account is $5. Desjardins' Digital Plan is $5.95. CIBC and Scotiabank charge $6 but bill per use on top, with Scotiabank's self-service items priced between $1.00 and $1.25. Volume packages at the same banks climb toward $100 to $125 a month, which only makes sense if your balance waives the fee or your transaction count is high enough that per-item pricing would cost more.
The second thing to understand is that online-only doesn't mean identical. EQ Bank's business account charges no monthly fee and pays interest, and it isn't available to businesses in Quebec at all. Wealthsimple's business chequing also charges nothing and pays tiered interest up to about 2.25%, but it's built around Canadian-controlled private corporations and registered charities, so a sole proprietor should check eligibility before assuming a yes. Wise Business is excellent for a company invoicing clients in USD or EUR, yet it isn't a Canadian chequing account in the traditional sense, and a one-time $55 setup fee unlocks the full feature set.
Cash is the third dividing line. Online accounts generally don't accept cash deposits, and some don't take paper cheques at a teller either. If you run a café in Hamilton or a landscaping crew in Surrey, that single limitation can decide the whole question.
Comparing the accounts side by side
| Institution | Monthly fee | What's included | Best suited to | Trade-offs |
|---|
| Wealthsimple Business Chequing | $0 | Unlimited transactions and e-Transfers, CRA payments without a fee, interest up to about 2.25% | Incorporated firms and charities with digital revenue | Eligibility is narrow, no branch or cash deposits |
| EQ Bank Business | $0 | Interest around 2.25%, dozens of outgoing e-Transfers included monthly, no CRA fee | Solo operators and consultants outside Quebec | Not a full chequing replacement, unavailable in Quebec, limited cash handling |
| RBC Digital Choice | $6 | Unlimited electronic transactions, 10 e-Transfers, unlimited mobile cheque deposits | Ontario and Prairie businesses that want a branch nearby | Extras billed per item, higher tiers cost far more |
| TD Business Digital | $6 | Unlimited electronic transactions and deposit items, 10 e-Transfers | Businesses that deposit cheques regularly | CRA payments billed separately, branch visits rarely needed |
| BMO Essential Business | $5 | Unlimited electronic and ATM transactions, 6 e-Transfers | Startups watching fixed costs | Fewer included e-Transfers than rivals |
| Desjardins Digital Plan | $5.95 | Unlimited digital transactions | Quebec-based businesses wanting French-language service | Deposit items charged individually |
| Wise Business | $0 monthly, one-time $55 setup | Multi-currency local details, business card, invoice tools | Exporters, agencies and freelancers paid from abroad | Not a Canadian chequing account, no branches |
Three business profiles, three different answers
Picture a Mississauga graphic designer who incorporated last spring and bills two American clients through Stripe. Her problem wasn't finding an account, it was finding one that wouldn't eat 3% on every conversion. A Canadian chequing account at $6 handles the local side: payroll to herself, HST remittance, software subscriptions. Wise Business or Float handles the dollar revenue, and Float's conversion spread of roughly 0.25% for CAD to USD is the kind of number worth knowing about. Keeping both costs less than routing everything through one institution with a hidden exchange markup.
Now consider a Shopify seller in Kelowna shipping to the United States. Her pain is volume, not branches. Thousands of small payouts, advertising charges in USD, and a bookkeeper who wants clean exports. An online business bank account Canada options like EQ Bank or Wealthsimple, paired with accounting software integration, keeps her monthly cost near zero while the interest on idle cash offsets the card processing she pays elsewhere.
Then there is the Edmonton café with daily cash and a part-time bookkeeper. No online-only account will work here, and pretending otherwise wastes weeks. A credit union or a full-service package at ATB or a Big Five bank makes more sense, especially once the minimum daily balance is high enough to waive the fee. The $100-plus packages look expensive until you realize the balance requirement converts them into a no-cost account.
A pattern repeats across all three: the wrong account is usually the one chosen for its headline fee rather than its transaction mix.
A practical sequence before you apply
Count your month first. Add up electronic bill payments, pre-authorized debits, outgoing e-Transfers, CRA remittances and any cash or cheque deposits. That number, not the marketing page, tells you which tier you belong in.
Gather the paperwork early, because verification is where most applications stall. For an incorporated business you'll need the articles of incorporation, your CRA business number, government-issued ID for each signer, and often a board resolution naming the account signatories. Sole proprietors usually need ID plus proof of the business, such as a municipal business licence or GST/HST registration. Expect a callback or a short video verification at the big banks, and a faster digital process at Wealthsimple, EQ Bank or Wise.
Ask three questions on the phone, and ask them plainly. What does an outgoing e-Transfer cost after the included ones run out? Is there a minimum balance that waives the monthly fee, and is it measured daily or monthly? Can I deposit cash, and at what price?
Keep a second account for taxes. A savings sub-account at the same institution, funded automatically, keeps HST and corporate tax out of your operating float. CRA My Business Account then becomes the place to confirm what you owe rather than the account you pay from at $2 a click.
Regional details worth knowing
Quebec businesses deal with a different landscape: Desjardins dominates, EQ Bank doesn't operate there, and French-language service at the branch level is a real factor when you're explaining a discrepancy. Alberta operators have ATB as a genuine alternative to the national banks, with branch coverage in smaller centres that online-only accounts can't match. In British Columbia and Ontario, credit unions like Vancity and Alterna are worth a look if you want local decision-making plus digital tools.
Rural and remote businesses should also check courier and cheque-clearing timelines, since mobile deposit limits vary and a mailed cheque can add days to your cash cycle.
Open the account that matches how money actually moves through your business, then revisit it once a year. Fees and interest rates shift, and the plan you chose for a five-person team rarely fits the same company twelve months later.
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