Where is the no-fee business bank account?!

I can’t find one in Canada unfortunately. Here is my journey to open my first business bank account. I didn’t expect the twist and turn.

Experts advise that we should separate business finance from personal finance to avoid confusion. Therefore, I need to open a business bank account and a business credit card. This way, I can develop the credit history for my business.

I was surprised to find business banking service is even less friendly than personal banking. There are plenty of choices of no-fee bank accounts for consumers, but none is available to business customers.  I have been using Simplii Financial which was PC Financial before for more than 15 years and never paid for any monthly fee.  I take it for granted that monthly banking fee is a thing of the past because transactions are all digital anyway. I hardly need to to talk to anyone from the bank. I don’t intend to change for business banking.

I recalled a conversation I had with a bank teller in a TD branch a while ago. I only went there to exchange for some US dollars. When the bank teller found that I didn’t have a bank account with them, they asked why. I said I am using an online bank because it doesn’t charge a monthly fee. The teller was very surprised and asked what if I need to talk to someone in the bank. I can feel that I touched a nerve because the trend was threatening the very existence of his profession. Being a bit antisocial 😊, I said I rarely need to talk to the bank and prefer not to do so because I don’t want to wait in line in person or on the phone.

After some research, I found Alterna Bank offers a business chequing account with the lowest fee – $5 per month. The application process looks quite easy. I just need to upload all my documents online. No need to visit the bank in person at all. Love that.

After a few days, I was shocked to receive an email saying that my application was rejected. I felt really bad and the worst is that no reason was given, of course.  I turned that strong emotion of disappointment and a bit anger into motivation and called Alterna bank. They said I didn’t pass the credit check. My emotion was elevated to a new level. I said I had the perfect credit score! $834 to be specific! All the banks love me and can’t wait to lend me money! LOL, I actually laughed. The Rep asked me to call the credit bureau. The credit bureau said there was no issue with my credit score at all and they didn’t even see a credit check from Alterna bank on my credit file. I guessed the bank might have searched the wrong name. That doesn’t sound very surprising to me. Worse mistakes happened before. I called Alterna bank again. The same Rep answered. She had no idea what the credit check team had done and there was no way she can find out. We doubled check and triple checked. All the information of my identify was correct in my application. She suggested me to submit a new application. I did so. After a day, my application was passed, and I finally have a business bank account.

If there was another choice with the same fee, I would have switched. The lady working in the Alterna bank call centre is very nice and helpful. Most people are. It is usually the issue of policy, process, and system.

Why can’t no-monthly-fee account be offered to business customers? Just not enough competition?  We need some disruptors in Canada business banking industry.