Business banking services provide the products and tools you need to manage your business finances. Whether you’re paying your staff or your bills, borrowing money to launch or expand your business, or sending and receiving international payments, a reliable business banking provider makes it easy to stay on top of all money matters.
In this guide, we’ll explore the many business banking services provided by banks and alternative financial institutions, helping you find the right accounts, loans, advice and much more for your business.
Business banking services are the products and services banks offer to Canadian business owners to help them manage their finances. These include:
For many businesses, the Big Five banks are the first port of call for business banking services. But you can also find business solutions from a wide range of smaller banks and credit unions across the country.
In recent years, fintechs targeting specific pain points for businesses — like poor exchange rates when sending international transfers or the ability to do business in multiple currencies — have also emerged to provide more choice for business owners.
| Traditional banks | Fintech platforms | |
|---|---|---|
| Chequing and transaction accounts | ✓ | ✓ |
| Savings and interest-earning accounts | ✓ | ✓ |
| Virtual cards | ✓ | ✓ |
| Business loans and financing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Business credit cards | ✓ | ✓ |
| Merchant services | ✓ | ✓ |
| Accounting software integration | ✓ | ✓ |
| Expense management multi-user access | ✓ | ✓ |
| Global money transfers | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multicurrency accounts and international account details | ✗ | ✓ |
| Investment business banking | ✓ | ✓ |
| Access to advisors | ✓ | ✗ |
| Access to online and mobile business banking | ✓ | ✓ |
A business chequing account is the most basic business banking service, and also the most crucial. A chequing account is used for all your day-to-day business transactions — paying bills, accepting payments from customers and tracking all your business expenses.
Small business bank accounts are widely available from major banks and credit unions, including the Big Five. Accounts vary in two main ways: the number and type of transactions they support each month, and the size of the monthly account fee.
While there are some no-fee business bank accounts available, most come with a monthly fee. The higher the fee, the more monthly transactions the account supports — but the monthly fee may be waived if you meet a minimum balance requirement.
The best business chequing account for your business will allow you to perform all your usual monthly transactions for a low (or no) monthly fee. You’ll also need to consider how you bank, as there may be limits on specific transaction types, such as cash and cheque deposits.
If you’re ready to get started, find out more about the documents you need to open a business bank account.
Most major banks and credit unions will offer a choice of a range of business bank accounts based on your transaction needs. For example, Scotiabank offers a choice of four main small business bank accounts that support different numbers and types of transactions for varying monthly fees.
| Account | Monthly transactions | Monthly deposit items | Monthly fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotiabank Select Account for Business Plan A | 25 | 50 | $20 (or $0 when you hold a minimum daily balance of $20,000) |
| Scotiabank Select Account for Business Plan B | 70 | 60 | $40 (or $0 when you hold a minimum daily balance of $35,000) |
| Scotiabank Select Account for Business Plan C | 125 | 85 | $75 (or $0 when you hold a minimum daily balance of $45,000) |
| Scotiabank Select Account for Business Unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | $120 (or $0 when you hold a minimum daily balance of $75,000) |
Business savings accounts allow you to put your spare cash to work. Rather than just leaving your money in a chequing account doing nothing, you can deposit it in a savings account where it will earn interest.
Not only will this help your bank balance grow, but you don’t have to worry about your funds being tied up. If you need to access your money, you can make a withdrawal at any time.
Business savings accounts are available from a wide range of traditional banks and credit unions, digital banks and fintechs. The key to finding the best business savings account is to find the account with:
But it’s also worth pointing out that some accounts offer tiered interest rates — the larger your balance, the higher the rate you get — so you may not automatically get the maximum advertised interest rate.
Float is offering 4% interest on CAD and USD balances of $25,000 or more in its High Yield Account. Among the Big Five, the RBC Business Essentials Savings Account is a popular option, with interest ranging from 2.15% to 2.6% depending on your balance.
A virtual credit, debit or prepaid card is a digital version of a physical card. A virtual corporate card offers a secure online payment method and a few key benefits compared to a traditional physical card.
Virtual cards can be issued instantly, and you can create multiple cards to make purchases using your account. This allows you to pay for purchases without providing your credit card number to the merchant.
You also have the flexibility to create a single-use card that expires once a payment has been made, and you can set transaction limits for added security and to prevent excess spending.
Virtual cards are offered by a variety of fintechs, with many offering spending in multiple currencies so you can avoid FX fees. Popular options include Loop, Venn, Airwallex and Float. But traditional banks are also on board, with RBC now offering virtual credit cards.
If you need funds to expand your business, buy essential equipment or manage cash flow, you might need a business loan.
The most basic form of business financing is a term loan. This provides a lump sum upfront, which you then repay along with interest over a set period of time.
Small business loans are available from a wide range of banks, credit unions and online lenders. You’ll generally get the lowest interest rates from banks and credit unions, but online lenders tend to have more lenient eligibility requirements.
And there are several other types of business financing available:
A business credit card provides you with the credit you need to help manage your business cash flow and pay for essential purchases. At the same time, using a business rather than a personal card makes bookkeeping easier by separating your business transactions from your personal expenses
The best business credit card depends on your needs. For some businesses, a card with no annual fee and a competitive interest rate on purchases fits the bill perfectly. For others, a card with cash back or rewards may be a better fit, while a credit card with no foreign transaction fees might be just what you need if you regularly travel internationally for business.
Business credit cards are offered by a wide range of banks, credit unions and fintechs. The BMO Air Miles No-Fee Business Mastercard could be worth a look if you want to avoid annual fees, while the American Express Business Gold Rewards Card is designed for businesses seeking to maximize their rewards.
Ultimately, make sure you compare a range of business credit cards to find the right one for you.
It’s critical for your business to be able to accept credit card, debit card and digital wallet payments from customers in-store and online — which is where merchant services come to the fore.
Merchant services refers to the suite of products and services that help your business process payments, including:
If you’re searching for merchant services for your business, you could go through a Big Five Bank. For example, you might consider TD Merchant Solutions, or use Scotiabank’s merchant services partner Chase Payment Solutions. But there are plenty of other popular options to choose from too, including Square, Shopify Payments and Moneris.
Staying on top of your tax obligations is simply a must for all small business owners. The good news is that this time-consuming chore is made much easier by integrating your business bank account, payroll and accounts payable and receivable with accounting software platforms. This allows you to spend much less time on manual data entry, reconcile accounts quickly and track your expenses and financial data in real-time.
Accounting software integration is available from banks as well as fintechs. For example, CIBC SmartBanking for Business offers integration with QuickBooks Online and Xero, along with other providers like Venn and RBC.
If you’re a sole proprietor, you’ll only need account access for yourself. But if your business has multiple employees that need to use your business account, you’ll need the flexibility to set up multi-user access.
This allows you to control who can access the account and what tasks they can perform, such as making payments or using a corporate credit card. You can also issue virtual cards, set transaction limits for different people, and allow your staff to submit their expenses. Along with accounting software integration, this helps to streamline the expense management process.
Banks, credit unions and fintechs all offer business accounts with multi-user access. But some business bank accounts are designed for sole proprietors only, so you’ll need to shop around for an account with all the features and access you need.
In the modern, connected world, the ability to make international payments is increasingly important. Easy access to a quick, easy and low-cost way to pay international suppliers and staff is essential to streamline your global payments.
Traditionally, you’d need to rely on a major bank for your international business transfers. But recent years have seen the emergence of several fintechs that specialize in global transfers — and that offer much better exchange rates.
Providers like Wise, OFX, Loop and Airwallex offer:
So while it may be convenient to send an international transfer directly from your business chequing account, it’s worth shopping around to find out if you’ll get a better deal elsewhere.
Many fintechs that offer more affordable international business transfers also offer convenient multicurrency business accounts. These accounts let you send, receive and hold funds in Canadian dollars as well as foreign currencies like US dollars, euros and British pounds. You get local account details for the different currencies you hold, making it easy to get paid wherever your business operates.
The advantage is that you can save on currency conversion costs and foreign transaction fees. Let’s say your business operates across Canada and the US. When your US customers pay you US dollars, you don’t have to worry about exchange rate markups and fees when payments are automatically converted to Canadian dollars. Instead, you can hold those US dollars, use them to pay bills and send transfers in USD, and (if needed) convert them to CAD when a great exchange rate becomes available.
Most multicurrency accounts are offered by fintechs, with Airwallex, Wise, Loop and Venn popular options worth checking out.
A business investment account allows you to put unused cash to work and boost your bank balance. These accounts often pay tiered interest on the money you deposit, with many banks offering CAD and USD accounts.
Alternatively, many banks and credit unions allow you to invest in GICs. These allow you to enjoy a guaranteed rate of return when you agree to deposit your money for a fixed period, but cashable GICs are also available.
Another option is to consider opening a corporate account to invest in securities like stocks and ETFs. This service is offered by big bank trading platforms like Scotia iTrade and RBC Direct Investing, as well as online discount brokers like Wealthsimple.
Knowledge is power, and expert advice from business and industry experts can help you build a stronger and more successful business. Major banks and credit unions can provide access to banking advisors who can provide specialized guidance and financial advice.
Advisors can provide assistance with things like financial planning, suitable banking products, business expansion and even advice tailored to your specific industry.
If you have a business account with a bank that offers advisory services, it’s easy to book an appointment online or at your nearest branch.
Basically every business banking service provider in Canada allows you to manage your accounts online and via a mobile app. Depending on the financial institution you choose, this may be done through the bank’s regular online and mobile banking portals, or they may offer platforms specifically for business use.
You can use online and mobile business banking platforms to:
Read user reviews for mobile banking apps and check out how-to tutorials of online banking portals to find the most user-friendly platforms.
If you’re wondering, Do I need a business bank account?, check out the pros and cons before answering this question.
To make comparing even easier we came up with the Finder Score. Interest rates, account fees and features across 20+ business bank accounts and 15+ lenders are all weighted and scaled to produce a score out of 10. The higher the score the better the account - simple.
Business banking services are an essential part of doing business. They help you simplify your day-to-day operations, manage cash flow, make payments and get paid. They also offer access to the financing you need to pay for essential purchases, grow your business and help it thrive. Compare banks, credit unions, fintechs and online lenders to find business banking solutions that suit your needs.
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