Canadian No-Fee, No-Minimum Bank Account Comparison
If you like to do most of your banking online, there's no reason to pay fees for everyday banking, maintain minimum balances, or be limited to a certain number of transactions per month. Here's a comparison of three selected Canadian financial institutions offering bank accounts with no monthly fee and no fee for typical banking transactions, and requiring no minimum balance:
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Cheques | First book of 50 free, then $0.25 each. | First book of 25 free, then $0.20 each. | Free |
Canadian ATMs | >2300 | >2500 | >3400 |
Savings Account | Yes | No | No |
Chequing account pays interest | Yes | No | Yes |
Branches | Five cafés across Canada, no teller-assisted transactions. | Teller-assisted deposits at over 900 branches free; other transactions $1.00 each. | >200 Pavilions across Canada, no teller-assisted transactions. |
Free email money transfer | Yes | No | No |
Link your other bank accounts and transfer funds back and forth | Yes | No | Yes |
Overdrafts | Free, up to $250 for 30 days. | $2.50 per month plus interest or minimum $5 per transaction for a transfer from another account. | $4.97 per month in which it is used, plus interest. |
J.D. Power rating | Five stars | Three stars | Four stars |
Notes:
- BMO IGA/Sobeys does offer a savings account. However, a fee is charged for withdrawls and the minimum balance is $5000. Since this is the No-Fee, No-Minimum Bank Account Comparison, it is not considered in the above table.
- PC Financial offers a savings account; a minimum balance of $1000 is required to earn interest.
- In the event of a discrepancy between this comparison and the official terms of service of the financial institution in question, the later shall prevail. (Please notify us if this is the case!)