★ BUSINESS BANKING · BIG-5 PLANS COMPARED

$0-$75/month. Depends on volume.

Every Big-5 has 3-4 business chequing tiers. Pick one based on monthly transaction volume, not branding. Slide your transaction count below to find your cheapest option — including monthly fee waivers for minimum balances.

★ YOUR USAGE ★

Adjust to your volume

★ MONTHLY COST · RANKED ★

Cheapest for your volume

RBC · Lock-It-In Business100 included · $1.1/extra
$22/mo$264/yr
#2
Scotia · Right Size Account 260 included · $1.15/extra
$36/mo$432/yr
#3
RBC · Digital Choice Business20 included · $1.25/extra
$44/mo$522/yr
#4
CIBC · Smart Business 120 included · $1.25/extra
$44/mo$522/yr
#5
Scotia · Right Size Account 125 included · $1.25/extra
$45/mo$543/yr
#6
BMO · Business Start17 included · $1.25/extra
$50/mo$603/yr
#7
BMO · Business Builder 125 included · $1.25/extra
$54/mo$645/yr
#8
TD · Business Plus Plan20 included · $1.25/extra
$57/mo$678/yr
#9
TD · Basic Business Plan5 included · $1.25/extra
$61/mo$735/yr
#10
CIBC · Unlimited BusinessUnlimited transactions
$65/mo$780/yr
#11
TD · Unlimited Business PlanUnlimited transactions
$75/mo$900/yr
#12
BMO · Business Builder 390 included · $1.05/extra
$75/mo$900/yr
★ YOUR CHEAPEST OPTION

RBC Lock-It-In Business

At 50 transactions/month + $2,500 balance: $22/mo = $264/year.

★ FINTECH ALTERNATIVES ★

Skip the Big-5 entirely

Float

Modern · cards + reimbursements + Slack integration · free tier

Vault

CCB · no monthly fee · interest-bearing chequing

Loop

Multi-currency · best for cross-border e-commerce

Wave Banking

Built into Wave Accounting · free · USD account

★ CHECKLIST ★

What matters for SMBs

  • ✓ Monthly fee Watch for waivers above $5-10k balance
  • ✓ Included transactions Includes debit, cheque, e-Transfer, online bill pay
  • ✓ Per-extra-transaction cost Usually $1.05-$1.25 over included
  • ✓ Free e-Transfer included Some plans charge extra after 5/mo
  • ✓ Integration with bookkeeping QuickBooks, Xero, Wave direct feeds
  • ✓ Cheque deposit limits Mobile cheque deposit limits vary $10k-$25k
  • ✓ Wire transfer fees $25-$100 per international wire
  • ✓ Cash handling Some plans charge per $1k cash deposited