The costs that never make the headline
Most owners compare the monthly fee and stop there. The real bill sits in three other places. Minimum daily balances are the first: published rate cards from the large chartered banks tie fee waivers to balances running from roughly C$15,000 to C$80,000, and that money typically earns nothing while it sits there. Run the arithmetic before you park cash to avoid a fee, because the interest you give up can exceed the fee you remove.
Transaction allowances are the second. Interac e-Transfer overage tends to land around C$1.50 per transfer once the included count runs out, and cheque or paper items often carry a per-item charge. International wires sit somewhere between C$30 and C$80 depending on direction and provider. If you invoice in US dollars, currency conversion is the third and largest line. A markup in the low single digits on half a million dollars of foreign revenue adds up to five figures annually, which dwarfs every domestic charge combined.
Where you operate changes the picture. Businesses incorporated in Quebec are excluded from at least two of the strongest no-monthly-fee digital accounts, so the realistic comparison there runs between the large banks and Desjardins rather than the newer platforms. Prairie and rural operators still handle cash and coin, which most digital options cannot accept. British Columbia and Ontario sellers billing US marketplaces care most about currency spread and USD account details.
Three families of accounts, priced side by side
The table below reflects published rate cards and account terms. Fees change, so confirm current numbers with the provider before applying.
| Option | Monthly fee | What is included | Suits | Watch for |
|---|
| BMO Essential Business Account | C$5 | Unlimited self-serve electronic transactions, branch access, six e-Transfers then C$1.50 each | Owners who want a big-bank name at a low entry price | C$0.25 per cheque item, no interest paid |
| RBC Ultimate Business Account | C$100 | Unlimited electronic debits and credits, 500 e-Transfers, unlimited deposits, 100 paper items | Medium to high volume businesses needing cash and payroll | Paper items C$1.25 after 100; fee needs volume to justify |
| EQ Bank Business Account | None | 2.25% interest on CAD, 50 e-Transfers, no minimum balance | Consultants and freelancers holding a cash cushion | No branches, limited cash and cheque handling |
| Venn Business Account | None on Essentials, C$100 on Pro | 2% interest on CAD and USD, FX markup from 0.45% down to 0.25% on Pro | Companies keeping CAD and USD reserves | Not open to Quebec-incorporated businesses, local details in four currencies only |
| National Bank business package | C$100, C$80 with a business Mastercard | Full bilingual service, French-language support | Quebec businesses wanting a domestic bank | Fee reaches zero only at a C$80,000 daily balance |
| Multi-currency fintechs (Airwallex, Loop, Wise) | None to C$299 depending on plan | Local account details in multiple countries, interbank-style FX, accounting feeds | Exporters, marketplace sellers and importers | No cash or cheque deposits, no credit lines; most are not banks |
A distinction worth keeping straight: Wise gives you Canadian dollar account details for receiving EFT credits and Interac Autodeposit, but those details sit inside a wider account rather than forming a bank account of their own. Airwallex and similar platforms operate as fintechs, not banks, and hold client funds in segregated trust accounts under the Retail Payment Activities Act. That protection is real, but it works differently from CDIC coverage on a deposit at a chartered bank.
Opening an account without wasting a week
Applications are quicker than most owners expect, though verification still takes time. RBC, for example, lets you open several business accounts online in under fifteen minutes and issues the account number immediately, then asks you to visit a branch to confirm documents. Budget for that second step.
Gather these items first, because a missing document restarts the clock: your business number and CRA program account details, articles of incorporation or a provincial business registration for sole proprietors, government photo ID for every signer, and ownership information for anyone holding a significant stake. Corporations should also have the directors' resolution naming who can operate the account.
Then work through four practical moves:
- Count three months of real activity. Add up e-Transfers sent, cheques deposited, cash handled and wires received. Compare that against included allowances rather than against the monthly fee alone.
- Decide how many signers and cards you need. Some low-cost accounts restrict extra cards or charge for them.
- Test the plumbing before you commit payroll. Send a small e-Transfer, receive one, and confirm the accounting feed reaches QuickBooks, Xero or Wave without manual entry.
- Ask about hold periods on large deposits. A new account with no history often sees funds held longer, which matters if you pay suppliers weekly.
Match the account to how your money arrives
A freelance designer in Kitchener-Waterloo billing four or five clients by e-Transfer each month does not need unlimited paper items or a branch network. A no-monthly-fee account with a generous e-Transfer allowance and interest on the balance usually beats a C$100 package, and the owner keeps the difference.
An online seller moving goods into the United States has the opposite problem. Most of the cost sits in conversion, so an account with USD details and a sub-1% spread pays for itself quickly. Pairing that with a domestic account for CRA payments and payroll keeps the two flows separate and the bookkeeping clean.
A incorporated contractor in Mississauga depositing cheques, paying three staff and handling the occasional cash job will find the digital platforms thin. The C$100 tier at a large bank looks expensive until you price the alternatives: driving to a branch, paying per-item cheque fees elsewhere, or running payroll from an account without proper support.
What to confirm before you sign
Read the fee schedule for the items you actually use, not the summary page. Confirm whether the monthly fee waiver requires a daily or average balance, since the two behave very differently across a month. Check that Interac e-Transfer sending limits cover your busiest invoice week. Confirm the deposit protection that applies and who holds the funds. And check whether the account supports pre-authorized debit for tax payments, because rebuilding that later is tedious.
Start with your inflow pattern, price three months of transactions against two or three candidates, and open the one whose worst-case month still looks affordable. Review it after a quarter, once real statements replace estimates. Most owners find the right account within one switch, and the money saved goes back into the business rather than into balance requirements.
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