Chequing accounts can be pretty expensive, with fees in Canada ranging from 5 to 15 dollars per month, depending on how many transactions you intend on making. However, in exchange for a few sacrifices, you can open a chequing account without having to pay a penny. In fact, all of the banks listed below even pay you a modest interest rate as opposed to any fee, and you’ll still enjoy unlimited transactions and many other features a premium account would get you.
Are No-Fee Chequing Accounts Worth It?
If you’re not paying any fees, sacrifices have to be made. With no-fee chequing accounts, this sacrifice is always service. None of the banks listed below have any physical branches. If you need help, you’ll have to do it over the phone.
While these accounts are great for day-to-day banking, such as debit payments and Interac eTransfers, you’ll find that without branches, it makes more advanced banking needs a lot more difficult. You won’t be able to talk to a professional financial advisor and ask questions. You also won’t be able to purchase many physical products, such as a pre-authorized cheque.
Whether or not it’s worth it hinges on whether or not you expect to need services that are available in a branch.
Simplii Financial
- No monthly fees
- Free, unlimited personalized cheques
- Owned by CIBC
- Free, unlimited access to all CIBC ATMs
- Very low interest rate on savings account
- Not available in Quebec
I’m quite a fan of CIBC, so there may be some bias on my side, but in my opinion, Simplii Financial has the best no-fee chequing account in Canada. With Simplii, you’ll get access to an app and website that’s nearly identical to CIBC’s, which I am also a big fan of. You even get a vertical debit card.
Your chequing account will earn you between 0.01% and 0.05% interest depending on your balance. If you want that 0.05% interest rate, you’ll have to hold a minimum $25,000.01 in your chequing account. It’s a rather pitiful rate, but it’s better than nothing and certainly better than paying fees. You get also get free unlimited personalized cheques, a rarity amongst banks in Canada. And speaking of free stuff, you also get free access to CIBC’s over 3000 ATMs across Canada.
Support is available 24/7 by phone or alternatively, by email.
Tangerine
- No monthly fees
- Owned by Scotiabank
- Free, unlimited access to all ScotiaBank ATMs, plus over 44,000 ATMs in the Scotiabank Global ATM Alliance
- Support is available in-person at a Tangerine Café
- Once again, a very low interest rate on chequing account
Tangerine is owned by Scotiabank, and in my opinion, it’s a close second to Simplii. In fact, the two are rather similar. They’re both owned by one of Canada’s Big 5 banks, they both have similar interest rates, and they even both offer vertical debit cards (a trend among online banks). Alongside chequing accounts, the rest of their product lineup is fairly similar too.
The money in your chequing account will earn between 0.01% and 0.10% interest, a notch higher than Simplii, but not much by any standards. You also get free access to over 3,500 ATMs across Canada, plus over 44,000 ATMs abroad, through Scotiabank’s Global ATM Alliance.
Support be reached 24/7 by phone or by email. You can also show up at one of Tangerine’s Tangerine Cafés if you need to talk to someone face to face.
motusbank
- No monthly fees
- Owned by Meridian Credit Union
- Free, unlimited access to all ATMs in THE EXCHANGE Network
- Possible to link a debit card to a high interest savings account for 1.85% interest on what is equivalent to a spending account
- Customer support not as good as some other online-only banks
- Not owned by one of the Big 5 banks
motusbank (spelt in all lower-case) is a newer bank, not owned by one of the Big 5, but rather by Meridian Credit Union, one of Canada’s largest credit unions.
With motusbank, you can withdraw or deposit money at the over 40,000 ATMs in THE EXCHANGE (spelt in all capitals) Network. You also get a cool vertical debit card, as opposed to the traditional horizontal ones. Alongside that, you’ll get 0.15% on your chequing account balance, the highest out of any bank I’ve seen.
If that’s not enough interest for you, apparently, you can connect your motusbank debit card to your high-interest savings account. I contacted customer support, who confirmed this, although I haven’t tried it out myself. If you can though, and it is, as far as I know, the only savings account that allows you to do so, then 1.85% is probably the highest interest rate you can get anywhere on an everyday spending account.
Customer support isn’t that bad either. You can contact them any time through email, and I found that it took a few hours to get a response, which isn’t that bad. You can also reach them by phone from 8 am to 12 am. It’s not 24/7, but it’s close enough.
EQ Bank
- No monthly fees
- Free, unlimited Interac eTransfers
- High interest rate on chequing account
- Chequing account doubles as savings account
- Support is available via phone, email and live chat
- No ATM access
- No debit card
- Not affiliated with any major bank or credit union
Unlike the other banks I’ve mentioned, EQ Bank’s Savings Plus Account also doubles as a savings account. You’ll earn 1.65% interest on your balance, with no monthly fee. However, unlike the other bank accounts I’ve mentioned, you won’t get a debit card. You can still make Interac eTransfers and Electronic Funds Transfers, or deposit cheques through the apps. But, if you want to spend money in-store, you’ll have to open a separate chequing account and send money there.
Like most online banks, there are no physical branch locations. Unfortunately, with EQ Bank, there aren’t any physical ATMs either, which means that you can’t withdraw or deposit any physical cash. If you want to do so, you’ll have to send it to another chequing account.
Support is available through phone from 8 am to 12 am, just like motusbank. You can also send an email, or talk to a human through live chat. There’s also a pretty good chat bot if you need basic information.
Alterna Bank
- No monthly fees
- Owned by Alterna Savings
- A member of THE EXCHANGE Network and the Allpoint Network
- Not affiliated with one of the Big 5 banks
- Low interest rates on chequing account
Alterna Bank is another credit-union owned online bank, owned by Alterna Savings, one of the biggest credit unions in Ontario. Out of all of the banks on this list, it’s probably the smallest.
Their No-Fee eChequing Account gives you unlimited Interac eTransfers and debit purchases at no monthly fee. You’ll also earn 0.05% interest on your balance. You’ll also get access not only to over 3,300 ATMs in THE EXCHANGE Network plus over 55,000 ATMs in the Allpoint Network, the American equivalent.
Support is available only by phone or by email. Unfortunately, once again, you can’t visit a branch.