Top 8 Best Business Bank Accounts In Canada For 2023: Reviews & Picks
Reviewed by Randolph Vialva, MBA
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Effective management of finance and business transactions helps a business to stay afloat and be successful. A bank account designed for businesses can help you manage your finances more efficiently and effectively.
You will find many business bank accounts in Canada that offer great features and benefits. To help you pick the best business bank account Canada offers, we have reviewed and compared the top 8 business bank accounts in Canada based on their features, fees, and other factors.
Top 8 Best Business Bank Account 2023
We have extensively researched several available business bank accounts in Canada and compared their features, ease of use, financial strengths, and fees. Here are our picks for the top 8 best business bank accounts in Canada:
- Wise Business Account: Best Overall
- Alterna Small Business eChequing Account: Best for Online Transactions
- Wealthsimple Save For Business Account: Best for Small Investments
- Tangerine Business Accounts: Best for Earning on Idle Money
- TD Basic Business Plan Account: Best for Small Number of Transactions
- Scotiabank Basic Business Account: Best for keeping a Good Cash Balance
- CIBC Unlimited Business Operating Account: Best for Unlimited Transactions
- BMO Business Builder Account: Best for Balanced Banking
Factors To Pick A Suitable Business Bank Account
As a business manager and owner, you need to be very careful while picking a personal bank account and a separate bank account for business requirements. Here are some key factors you should consider before picking the best business bank account in Canada:
- Transaction management: You need to pick a business bank account in Canada that offers easy and efficient transaction management. The account should allow you to deposit, withdraw and transfer money quickly.
- Online features: In the current digital era, businesses must have an online presence. Therefore, you need to pick a business bank account with robust online features, such as online business banking, mobile business banking, and bill payment.
- Customer support: As a business owner, you need to have access to quality customer support to get your queries resolved in a timely and efficient manner.
- Availability of physical branches: Even though online business banking is the norm, you might still need to visit a physical bank branch from time to time. Therefore, you need to pick a business bank account from a bank that has a large network of physical branches.
- Fees: You need to pick a business bank account with low fees and charges to save on your transactions.
- Ease of use: The business bank account should be easy to use and navigate so that you can manage your finances more efficiently.
- Financial strength: You should carefully consider the bank’s financial strength so that you can remain assured of the safety of your money.
- Security: The business bank account should offer robust security features, especially related to card services and online banking so that your money is safe from fraudsters and hackers.
- Interest rate: Ideally, business owners also look for competitive interest rates so that the business can earn more on its idle cash.
Top 8 Best Business Bank Account June 2023
Wise Business Account
Founded in 2010, TransferWise, a financial technology company based in London, made quite a buzz in the online banking and global money transfer industry throughout the last decade. The company later rebranded itself as Wise, now a leading global provider of online business banking and one of the best small business bank accounts in the market.
- Use of mid-market exchange rates
- One of the lowest international transfer fees
- Excellent dashboard for business account management
- Supports over 60 currencies
- Unavailability of some traditional banking services like overdraft, direct cash deposit, and credit lines
- No physical branch
- No in-person customer support for the small business bank account
Wise offers some of the best rates and flexibilities related to global money transfers. Here are some more features:
- Invoice payments: Wise lets you easily create invoices to bill your clients, which they can easily pay online.
- Batch payroll: You can pre-schedule your payroll transfers and make payments to up to 1,000 people in a batch, saving time and fees.
- Integration with external platforms: You can quickly receive payment from several external platforms like Amazon or Stripe in different currencies.
Almost all businesses may need frequent international transactions to maintain a global network of suppliers, mediators, and customers. You can easily rely on Wise for opening your small business bank account or personal bank account.
Alterna Small Business eChequing Account
Alterna Bank is one of the best small business banks in Canada and has recently gained excellent popularity for offering traditional banking services over a digitized online banking platform. It is one of the top choices if you need a business chequing account.
- Zero monthly fees if you maintain the minimum monthly balance
- Zero fees for incoming Interac e-Transfer
- ATM network without any surcharges
- Protection from Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC)
- Unavailable for Quebec residents
- No business credit cards
- Monthly fees for eChequing business bank accounts
Alterna is one of the best small business banks in the market that offers eChequing accounts to help you manage your everyday business transactions 24/7 without having to worry about business hours and holidays. In addition to the highly competitive fee structures, here are some key features:
- Free transfer request: You can send up to six free money transfer requests to your clients monthly.
- No transaction charges: Alterna bank does not charge you for any electronic transfers, including debit and credit transactions.
- The EXCHANGE network: Alterna Bank lets you access Canada’s largest ATM network, known as the EXCHANGE, which comprises over 3,300 ATM booths.
When you need traditional banking services for a business chequing account, along with the easy accessibility and convenience of online banking, you can consider an Alterna Small Business eChequing account.
Wealthsimple Save for Business Account
Wealthsimple is a direct banking platform that offers a good range of traditional banking functionalities for mobile banking app users. Wealthsimple has physical offices in Toronto and New York.
- High-interest rate
- Transparent fee and rate structure
- Fully online service
- One-to-one call support when you sign up
- Spending not supported by the savings account
- No reward system
Wealtsimple is an excellent option when your business has some spare cash balance, and you want to earn a good interest rate from your cash balance. Let’s run through their main features:
- Account minimum: Wealthsimple does not require you to maintain a minimum monthly balance on your account.
- Great interest rate: Wealthsimple provides a competitive interest rate on your deposit amount, which is now 1.1%.
- Quick withdrawal: Although it’s a savings account and you cannot spend directly from here, it allows you to quickly transfer funds to your corporate or main account for business spending. The funds become available within a day.
- Zero fees: The Wealthsimple Save for Business account is free to maintain.
- Quick signup: The account does not require any complicated paperwork. You can answer a few questions and provide your business details to start.
Overall, Wealthsimple Save for Business bank accounts lets you earn a good profit from idle funds while making them always available for withdrawal.
Tangerine Business Accounts
Tangerine provides a range of direct banking services as a subsidiary of Scotiabank, one of Canada’s leading financial institutions.
- Saving and investment options
- Excellent interest rates
- No requirement for a minimum monthly balance
- Zero monthly fees
- No instant account opening process
- Slow customer support
Tangerine Business bank accounts allow you to put your business funds in some safe place. They offer:
- Saving and investment options: Tangerine offers four different types of business bank accounts, which you can use for savings and investment in CAD and USD.
- Good interest rates: Tangerine offers 1.50%-1.60% interest rates on the savings accounts and from 4.75% to 5.20% interest rates for the investment bank accounts.
- USD accounts: Tangerine USD savings and investment bank accounts give you the freedom to put your money available in USD to support your global business growth.
- GIC accounts: You can open a wide range of GIC or guaranteed investment bank accounts with Tangerine, ranging from 90 days to five years. The current interest rate applies to all business bank accounts.
Tangerine Business Savings accounts make it easy for Canadian businesses to securely safeguard their extra cash and earn from it.
TD Basic Business Plan Account
If your business requires standard banking features like easy deposits and support for Point-of-Sales (PoS) transactions, you may find TD Bank’s basic business account highly beneficial.
- Small monthly fee
- Mobile deposits
- Free chequing archive for seven years
- Support for PoS deposits, debit and credit transactions
- Several fees (transactions, cash deposits)
- Only five transactions per month without incurring additional fees
- Time-consuming business account opening process
TD bank takes its great reputation forward with the basic business account for small businesses. TD Bank also offers
- Deposit insurance: In addition to TD bank’s strong financials, you will also get peace of mind knowing that CDIC insures your deposit.
- Small business advice centers: If you find the typical online banking systems lacking the personalizations, TD bank has you covered with their trained small business specialists and small business advice centers around Canada.
- Payment solutions: You can quickly integrate several merchant payment solutions within your TD business account to facilitate business transactions.
TD Bank small business account also provides you with various free electronic services, so you can fully take advantage of online banking features within this traditional bank.
Scotiabank Basic Business Account
Scotiabank is one of Canada’s leading financial institutions, offering some great facilities with its basic business account.
- Customized account fees
- Support for CAD and USD
- Quick fund transfer
- Digital banking
- High monthly fee for low balance
- Charges for transactions
Scotiabank comprehensively covers most of the features you will need for your business fund management. You will get:
- Tailored account fees: Instead of charging a flat account fee, Scotiabank accounts have implemented a customized fee structure for your account depending on deposit volume and number of transactions.
- Monthly fee waiver: When you maintain a balance over $8,000, the bank waives you from any monthly fee.
- Overdraft protection: You can cover business expenses from $500 to $10,000 with Scotiabank’s overdraft protection at a 21% interest rate.
- Digital banking: Scotiabank is one of the pioneers in Canada to introduce advanced digital banking systems within its regular banking platform. You will get full access to its digital banking platform with your business account.
Scotiabank is a brand you can trust in Canada for a smooth business banking experience.
CIBC Unlimited Business Operating Account
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) has garnered a strong reputation in the Canadian banking industry since its establishment in 1961.
- Unlimited debit and credit transactions
- Cheques, cash, and coin deposits
- Option for zero monthly fee
- Easy global money transfer
- High monthly fee
- High minimum monthly balance requirement for zero monthly fee
CIBC business operating accounts are excellent at handling regular business transactions. You will find the following features:
- Deposit protection: CIBC safeguards your deposits as a member of the CDIC. They also maintain compliance with all regulatory and industry standards.
- Customized consultation: CBIC has branches and service centers at many locations in Canada where you can get any personalized support you need related to your business account.
- Unlimited transactions: You can perform unlimited transactions with your CIBC business operating account.
- Zero monthly fees: You won’t have to pay any monthly fee while maintaining a $45,000 daily balance.
While CIBC business accounts do not offer high-interest rates like competitors, you will get full-fledged support with business transaction handling.
BMO Business Builder Account
The Bank of Montreal (BMO) is one of the largest Canadian banks, with over 800 physical branches and over seven million customers. The Business Builder accounts are tailored to suit businesses of different sizes.
- Various account options
- Both savings and current accounts
- Investment options in the agricultural industry
- Personalized support
- Only seven transactions supported per month for the basic account
- No instant account opening
One of the best things about BMO is you can easily find an appropriate business account from their wide range of available options. BMO also offers:
- Low monthly fee: When you have a small business that does not require a lot of monthly transactions, you can easily open a business bank account under Business Builder 1 for $22.50 per month. You can gradually move toward higher-value plans with more supported transactions when your business grows.
- Zero fee options: All BMO Business builder accounts waive your entire monthly fee if you keep the required minimum monthly balance.
- AgriInvest account: BMO provides several options to invest in the Agri industry to make a good profit while serving social causes.
If you run a non-profit business, BMO also offers you a community account with substantially lower costs than regular business accounts.
Final Thoughts
A business bank account is one thing that is a must for businesses of all sizes. When picking a business bank account in Canada, you must consider several factors, such as transaction management, fees, interest rate, and security. We have reviewed and compared the top 8 business bank accounts in Canada based on their features, fees, and other factors. Our top pick for the best business bank account is Wise Business Account. Try exploring several options and check user feedback online before choosing one for your business in Canada.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
To open and operate a Canadian business bank account, you must have a business number from the Canadian Government and, in some cases, the provincial government. You will also need to provide your business’s name, address, contact information, and type of business. You may also have to mention your business’s website, business plan, and financial statements.
The type of bank most suitable for a business account depends on the size and type of business. A business bank account with a smaller bank or credit union may be more suitable for small businesses. A business bank account with a larger bank with many physical branches and extensive corporate banking services may be more suitable for larger businesses.
If you are not a resident of Canada, you can open a business bank account by providing a bank reference letter from your home country, a business introduction letter, and a copy of your passport. The bank may also ask for your business’s name, address, contact information, and type of business.
When choosing a bank for your business in Canada, you should consider the bank’s fees, interest rates, number of allowed transactions per month, and your business type. You should also consider the bank’s location, as some banks may have branches that are more convenient for you.
