2026 comparison of Canadian business bank accounts for sole proprietors: $0-fee options, online opening, monthly fees and e-Transfer allowances.
Applies in: across Canada
A new Canadian business can open a business account for $0 to $7 a month. The Big Five entry plans cluster at $5 to $7 a month, most with unlimited electronic transactions and 0 to 12 included e-Transfers; the digital accounts (Venn, EQ Bank, Wealthsimple) charge nothing monthly. The fee row is rarely the deciding factor. The rows that separate accounts are e-Transfer allowances, cash-deposit access, foreign-exchange markup, and whether the bank will lend to you later.
Sole proprietors. Your business is not a separate legal entity, so no law forces you to open a business account — and at typical sole-proprietor volumes the monthly-fee row can mislead: a $6 pay-per-transaction plan can cost less than a $5 flat fee whose bundled transactions you never use. The two decisions that matter are the payee-name match (if clients pay your registered business name, you need a business account in that name) and how you get paid (all-electronic income can live on a $0 plan; cash or cheques need branches and per-item pricing). Our sole-proprietor guide walks the SIN-vs-BN question and the document pack; the fee table below has the numbers to compare.
Chasing $0 fees. Four genuinely $0 options exist: Venn, EQ Bank, Wealthsimple, and Wise (with a ~$55 one-time setup). They are the right pick when your money arrives electronically and you never deposit cash — freelancers, agencies, and consultants paid by e-Transfer or direct deposit. The trade-offs are fixed: no cash deposits, no branch visits, and limits on the exact row that matters to you (Venn charges $2 per outgoing EFT on Essentials; EQ's e-Transfer bundle has caps; Wise has no free e-Transfers). Several founders run a $0 account for daily operations alongside a $5–$6 bank account kept for the lending relationship.
Opening without a branch visit. BMO's Essential account opens online for sole proprietors and single-owner corporations; RBC Digital Choice opens online in under 15 minutes; EQ Bank and Venn are fully digital. National Bank Digital starts online but finishes by phone with a branch card pickup. Multi-director corporations and some account types cannot open online at all. Our online-opening guide covers which accounts allow it and how the identity check works.
| Account | Monthly fee | Included transactions | e-Transfers included | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BMO Essential Business Account | $5 | Unlimited self-serve electronic | 6 ($1.50 beyond) | Cheapest Big Five entry with branch access |
| RBC Digital Choice Business Account | $6 | Unlimited electronic + mobile cheque deposits | 10 ($1.50 beyond) | Digital-first founders who want a major bank |
| TD Business Basic / TD Business Digital | $7 / $6 | 7 included (Basic); unlimited electronic (Digital) | 0 (Basic); 10 (Digital) | Low-volume starters who want TD branches |
| CIBC entry business account | $6 | Pay per use (~$0.65–$1.25 each) | pay per use (~$1.50) | Very low transaction volume |
| Scotiabank entry business account | ~$6 floor | Pay per transaction | pay per use (~$1.00) | Branch access at low volume |
| National Bank Digital | $7 | Unlimited electronic | 12 | Quebec-leaning businesses (starts online, finishes by phone) |
| EQ Bank business account | $0 | Unlimited electronic | included bundle | Interest on idle cash, fully digital |
| Venn Essentials | $0 | Unlimited local + e-Transfer | free | Startups wanting $0 fees plus multi-currency |
| Wise Business | $0 + ~$55 one-time | Pay as you go | n/a | Businesses paid in foreign currencies |
All figures from 2026 published comparisons, verified October 2026. Confirm each bank's current schedule before you open: banks change these plans every year.
BMO Essential Business Account ($5). The cheapest way into a Big Five relationship. Unlimited self-serve electronic transactions, full branch and ATM access, six e-Transfers a month ($1.50 each beyond that), and cheque deposits at $0.25 an item. One catch: the $5 fee applies to accounts opened on or after March 9, 2026. BMO has also run promotions waiving fees for online openings, so check the small-business page before you apply. Best for: new businesses that want a bank branch available but expect to bank on a phone.
RBC Digital Choice Business Account ($6). Unlimited electronic debit and credit transactions, unlimited mobile cheque deposits, ten free Interac e-Transfers a month ($1.50 beyond), and unlimited Moneris deposits, which matters if you take card payments through Moneris. Opens online in under 15 minutes. Best for: freelancers, startups, and digital-first founders who want a major bank and may borrow later; RBC participates actively in the CSBFP loan program.
TD entry plans ($6–$7). TD renamed its entry plans in March 2026: the TD Business Basic account is $7 a month with seven included transactions and no included e-Transfers ($1.50 each beyond that); the TD Business Digital account is $6 with unlimited electronic transactions and 10 e-Transfers. Best for: founders who already bank with TD personally and want everything under one login.
CIBC entry account ($6). Pay-per-use pricing: roughly $0.65 to $1.25 per transaction and about $1.50 per e-Transfer sent. Best for: genuinely tiny volumes, where paying per item beats a flat fee. The unlimited operating plan jumps to $65 a month, which is a plan for later.
Scotiabank entry account (~$6 floor). Charges per transaction with roughly a $6 monthly minimum. Best for: branch access at low volume, especially if Scotiabank is the convenient branch.
National Bank Digital ($7). Unlimited electronic transactions and 12 included e-Transfers. The application starts online and finishes by phone with an identity-confirmation call; the debit card is picked up at a branch. Best for: Quebec-based founders who want a national bank with a digital onboarding flow.
Venn (Essentials, $0). Unlimited local transactions and e-Transfers, native CAD and USD accounts (plus GBP and EUR), 2% interest on CAD and USD balances, 1% cashback on card spend, FX conversions at 0.25% to 0.45%, and outgoing EFTs at $2 on the Essentials tier. Funds are held at BMO. Best for: startups, agencies, and ecommerce businesses that transact digitally and want fees near zero. Upgrades to paid tiers exist for larger teams.
EQ Bank ($0). Unlimited electronic transactions and around 2.25% interest on CAD balances. Best for: holding tax reserves and operating cash that would otherwise sit in a chequing account earning nothing. Less of a full operating account for businesses with complex needs.
Wealthsimple ($0). Unlimited transactions and up to 2.25% interest, with CAD and USD support. Best for: founders already in the Wealthsimple ecosystem.
Wise Business ($0 monthly, ~$55 one-time setup). Pay-as-you-go pricing, conversions from about 0.4%, balances in 40+ currencies, and funds held in trust at partner banks. Best for: businesses paid by US or overseas clients, where the FX savings dwarf any monthly fee. It is a payments account, not a branch bank: no cash deposits, no lending.
1. Your transaction volume. Under 30 transactions a month, any unlimited-electronic plan covers you and the transaction row is irrelevant. If you are on a pay-per-use plan (CIBC, Scotiabank entry), count honestly: 20 transactions at $1.25 each is $25 a month, four times the BMO flat fee.
2. Cash. If money enters your business as cash, you need a bank with branches, which rules out Venn, EQ, Wise, and Wealthsimple as your primary account. This single question eliminates most of the table for retail, food, and trades businesses.
3. e-Transfers. The most underestimated row. Plans include 6 to 12 free transfers; overage runs $1.00 to $1.50 each. A business sending 50 e-Transfers a month pays $6 plus $60 in overages on RBC's plan, or $0 plus $0 on Venn's. Count your transfers before you compare fees.
4. Foreign currency. If you bill or pay in USD, the FX markup is the largest fee you will pay, full stop. Big Six banks take 2.5% to 3% on conversions; Wise and Venn charge 0.25% to 0.6%. On $50,000 USD a year, the bank markup costs $1,250 to $1,500 against about $200 to $300 at a fintech. Businesses with US clients keep a multi-currency account for this row regardless of where their main account sits.
5. The lending relationship. If you plan to borrow within a year, through the CSBFP, Futurpreneur, or a bank line of credit, having your operating account at the lending bank gives the loan officer direct visibility into your cash flow. Several founders keep both: a $0 digital account for daily operations and a $5 to $6 bank account for the lending relationship.
Three signals to upgrade: your monthly overage charges exceed the next plan's fee for two months running; you start depositing cash or cheques in volume (per-item fees add up fast); or you need wires, USD accounts, or merchant settlement the starter plan does not include. Do not jump to a $65 unlimited plan because it feels safer: match the plan to the actual statement.
Every option above asks for the same core documents: government photo ID, your SIN (sole proprietors) or BN and incorporation documents (corporations), and proof of the registered business name. Our general account guide walks the full process, our sole-proprietor guide has the per-structure document list, and our online-opening guide covers which of these accounts can be opened without visiting a branch.
| BMO Essential Business Account (cheapest Big Five entry) | $5/month |
|---|---|
| RBC Digital Choice Business Account | $6/month |
| TD Business Basic / TD Business Digital | $7 / $6 per month |
| CIBC entry business account (pay per use) | $6/month |
| Scotiabank entry business account (pay per transaction) | ~$6/month floor |
| National Bank Digital | $7/month |
| EQ Bank business account (digital-first) | $0/month |
| Venn Essentials (digital-first, multi-currency) | $0/month |
| Wise Business (multi-currency) | $0/month + ~$55 one-time setup |
Fees from 2026 published comparisons; confirm each bank's schedule before you open. BMO's $5 fee applies to accounts opened on or after March 9, 2026.
The cheapest Big Five entry plan is BMO's Essential Business Account at $5 a month, with unlimited self-serve electronic transactions. The cheapest options overall are the digital accounts: Venn, EQ Bank, and Wealthsimple all charge $0 a month. The right answer depends on how you get paid: a freelancer taking e-Transfers can live on a $0 plan, while a retailer depositing cash needs a bank with branches.
They are real accounts but structured differently. Venn and Wise are fintechs: client funds are held at partner institutions (Venn funds sit at BMO; Wise holds balances in trust at partner banks), and EQ Bank is a digital-first bank. They work for daily operations — e-Transfers, bill payments, direct deposit — but they cannot accept cash deposits, and in-person service does not exist. For most new service businesses that is a non-issue; for cash businesses it is a dealbreaker.
Most new service businesses run 10 to 30 transactions a month: a handful of customer payments in, rent, software, and supplier payments out. At that volume, any plan with unlimited electronic transactions covers you, and the transaction count is irrelevant. The volume that matters is e-Transfers: sending 40 or more a month can add $45 to $60 in overage fees on a plan that only includes 10, which is more than the monthly fee itself.
Open digital if your money arrives electronically and you want the lowest fees. Open at a Big Six bank if you handle cash, need USD or wire services regularly, or plan to borrow soon: a loan officer can see your cash flow when your account is in-house, and banks like RBC participate actively in the CSBFP loan program. Many new businesses end up with both: a $0 digital account for daily operations and a low-fee bank account for the lending relationship.
Big Six starter plans generally do not. The digital accounts do: EQ Bank pays around 2.25% on CAD balances and Venn pays 2% on CAD and USD balances as of October 2026, with 1% cashback on Venn card spend. For a new business holding a few thousand dollars between payments, the interest is real but small: $10,000 at 2% is about $16 a month, which roughly covers a Big Five monthly fee on its own.
Compare the included counts, not just the monthly fee. RBC Digital Choice includes 10 outgoing e-Transfers a month, BMO Essential includes 6, National Bank Digital includes 12, and overage runs $1.00 to $1.50 per transfer. A business sending 50 e-Transfers a month pays $6 plus $60 in overages on RBC's plan, or $0 plus $0 on Venn's Essentials plan. The e-Transfer-heavy founder should pick the account on this row of the table, not the fee row.
The one that matches how you get paid, not the one with the lowest headline fee. A sole proprietor is usually low-volume, so a $6 pay-per-transaction plan can cost less in practice than a $5 flat fee with bundled transactions you never use. The two rules: if clients pay your registered business name, you need a business account in that name (payee-name matching); if all your money arrives electronically, a $0 digital account like Venn or EQ Bank can work with no monthly fee at all. Our sole-proprietor guide walks the documents and the SIN-vs-BN question.
BMO's Essential Business Account opens online for sole proprietors and single-owner corporations; RBC Digital Choice opens online in under 15 minutes; EQ Bank and Venn are fully digital. National Bank Digital starts online but finishes by phone with a branch card pickup. Multi-director corporations and some account types cannot open online at all. Our online-opening guide covers each bank's eligibility and how the identity check works.
Big Six banks mark up foreign exchange by about 2.5% to 3% over the mid-market rate, plus wire fees of $30 to $80 for outbound international transfers. On a $50,000 USD conversion, the markup alone costs $1,250 to $1,500. Wise charges from about 0.4% and Venn 0.25% to 0.45% on conversions, which is why businesses with US clients or suppliers keep a separate multi-currency account even when their main account is at a bank.