Small Business Bank Account
Looking to change your business bank account or opening a new business bank account.
A question I get asked a lot is, what is the cheapest and best small business bank account to use? While I can’t make a recommendation because each business is different with different factors that need to be considered.
The size of the business, the minimum balance you are able to keep in the account, the number of transactions you have a month, if you a banking relationship which provides you with other benefits, where you have your other banking needs, etc. I can help by putting together a comparison chart to help make the decision easier.
Below are three tables. The Pay-as-you-go option, accounts in the mid range and unlimited/high volume accounts.
Pay-as-you-go
Business Bank Comparison - Pay-as-you go
| Pay-as-you go | BMO Biz Basic | CIBC Basic | RBC | Scotia | TD Basic |
| Monthly fee | $6.00 | $6.00 | $6.00 | $6.00 | $5.00 |
| Transactions included | 7 | None | None | 5 | 5 |
| Additional Deposits (cheque) | $0.20 | $0.22 | $0.20 | $1.20 - $0.85 | $0.22 |
| Additional Transactions | $1.25 | $1.00 | $0.22 | $1.20 - $0.85 | $1.25 |
| Cash deposits | $2.50 per $1,000 | $2.50 per $1,000 | $2.50 per $1,000 | $2.50 per $1,000 | $2.50 per $1,000 |
| Total monthly for comparison purposes. Assuming $5,000 cash deposit, transactions at the highest cost option. | |||||
| Assuming 10 transactions | $22.25 | $28.50 | $20.70 | $30.50 | $30.00 |
| Assuming 20 transactions | $35.75 | $38.50 | $22.90 | $42.50 | $42.50 |
| Assuming 35 transactions | $54.50 | $53.50 | $26.20 | $60.50 | $61.25 |
Accounts in the mid-range
Business Bank Comparison- Select accounts in the $20-$40 range
| Select accounts in the $20-$40 range | TD | BMO | CIBC | RBC |
| Monthly fee | $37.00 | $24.00 | $25.00 | $20.00 |
| Transactions included | 60 | 35 | 30 | 35 |
| Deposits | 50 | 20 | 25 | 40 |
| Additional Deposits | $0.22 | $0.20 | $1.00 | $0.22 |
| Additional Transactions | $1.25 | $1.25 | $1.00 | $1.12-$0.75 |
| Cash deposit limit | $5,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 | $3,500 |
| Cash deposits | $2.50 per $1,000 | $2.50 per $1,000 | $2.25 per $1,000 | $2.50 per $1,000 |
| Total monthly for comparison purposes. Assuming $5,000 cash deposit, transactions at the highest cost option. | ||||
| Assuming 60 transactions | $37.00 | $60.25 | $59.50 | $53.00 |
| Assuming 200 transactions | $212.00 | $235.25 | $199.50 | $209.80 |
Unlimited/High volume
Business Bank Comparison - Unlimited & High volume
| Unlimited | Unlimited | High volume option | High volume option | High volume option | |
| Unlimited/High volume options | CIBC | TD | BMO | RBC | Scotia |
| Monthly fee | $50.00 | $125.00 | $135.00 | $75.00 | $119.95 |
| Cash deposit limit | $15,000 | $20,000 | $15,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Transactions | Unlimited | Unlimited | 200 | 150 | 150 |
| Deposits | 100 | Unlimited | 25 in branch, 100 | 85 | 75 |
| Additional Transactions | $1.25 | $1.12-$0.75 | $1.20 - $0.85 | ||
| Additional Deposits | $0.22 | n/a | $0.20 | $0.22 | $0.20 |
| Cash deposits | $2.25 per $1,000 | $1.75 per $1,000 | $2.25 per $1,000 | $2.25 per $1,000 | $2.25 per $2,500 |
| Min Balance to waive Monthly fee | n/a | $65,000 | $55,000 | $65,000 | n/a |
| Total monthly for comparison purposes. Assuming $5,000 cash deposit, transactions at the highest cost option. | |||||
| Assuming 200 transactions | $83.25 | $133.75 | $146.25 | $142.25 | $191.20 |
| Assuming 250 transactions | $105.25 | $133.75 | $208.75 | $211.25 | $256.20 |
| Assuming 400 transactions | $138.25 | $133.75 | $396.25 | $458.75 | $443.70 |
NOTE:
This is not a comprehensive list of all available accounts. Pay-as-you-go-Accounts were selected based on the lowest priced accounts offered by each of the financial institutions. The accounts in the middle range between $20 to $40 were chosen based on the average transaction included that were similar. Certain banks had various accounts ranging from $9.50 to $125.00 with transactions of 20-200. The unlimited/highest volume option were chosen by finding the package with the largest number of transactions included.
Information was based on each financial bank website as on Feb 25, 2016 and could be subject to change.
Other fees for miscellaneous financial services may apply to all these accounts.
Assumptions included cash deposit of $5,000 with no coins, transactions fees was based on the highest value fee and assumed that the monthly fee is not waived.
I hope this helps to make the decision easier for business owners. I know that it did for me.