One of the most basic financial products you can have is a chequing account. You probably had one from childhood, opened by your parents with their bank. Or perhaps you opened your own youth account upon getting your first part-time job. But an easy mistake most Canadians make is sticking with their first account at a certain institution because they feel no need to branch out (pun intended).
Outside of the five big banks (Scotiabank, CIBC, TD Canada Trust, BMO and RBC), there are many financial institutions that offer these types of accounts. A good chequing account provides a secure, safe place to store your money, gives you the flexibility to withdraw, transfer or deposit your cash whenever you want, and features low or no administration fees for daily transactions (did you know the average Canadian spends up to $200 per year in bank fees?*).
Also, most chequing accounts do not pay out any interest on your account balance, but they do exist. So how does one go about choosing a good chequing account when there are so many available? We used our Best of Finance methodology here to find the accounts that provide the consumer the most in savings and beneficial features. So without further ado, here are the top three chequing accounts for your consideration.
2019 Best of Finance Best Chequing Account category winner
Scotiabank Scotia OneTM
Why it’s an awesome account?
Scotiabank’s most popular chequing account comes with unlimited day-to-day transactions and comes with a cool added benefit – rewards on debit transactions. You may not earn interest on your balance, but with the Scotiabank Scotia OneTM account, you can choose to earn SCENE Rewards or Scotia Rewards on your purchases.
The account has a monthly fee of $13.95, but that fee is waived if you have a daily closing balance of $4,000 for the entire month. Moreover, you only get two free Interac® e-Transfers per month, but for a limited time, Scotiabank is also offering a $300 cash incentive when you open up an account.
To be eligible for the incentive, you need to set up at least one online bill payment, a recurring direct deposit, or two recurring pre-authorized transactions. All-in-all, this chequing account puts a fun, rewarding twist on everyday banking.
2019 Best of Finance Best Chequing Account runners up
Alterna Bank No Fee eChequing Account
Why it’s an awesome account?
This account offers all the typical features you’d expect from a chequing account, but without the fees that come with an institution that has thousands of physical locations.
The Alterna Bank No Fee eChequing Account comes with free, unlimited day-to-day transactions, bill payments, and Interac® e-Transfers, and has no monthly fee or minimum balance required to open, giving you the ability to bank freely no matter how much you have in your account. And the best part? Even though this is a chequing account, it does reward you with a small return on your balance – 0.05% interest.
As this is an online account, you get easy access to your funds online, on your mobile device, or over-the-phone. You can also deposit cheques through the app. But if you need actual cold-hard cash, you also get surcharge-free access to over 3,300 ATMs in THE EXCHANGE® Network – Canada's second largest ATM network.
Tangerine Chequing Account
Why it’s an awesome account?
Simply put, the Tangerine Chequing Account is one of our favourites. This account comes with no fees on day-to-day transactions, free unlimited Tangerine Email Money Transfers, and free access to over 3,000 ABMs on the Scotiabank network.
Plus, you can get up to $200 in cash bonuses – $50 once you open the account with at least a $100 deposit, and another $150 bonus once you set up a direct deposit or two pre-authorized payments within the first 90 days of opening the account.
Tangerine also touts various online tools to help keep your personal spending in check.
Notes
To determine the top performing savings accounts, chequing accounts, TFSAs and GICs, we calculated the total interest earned, based on the following:
- Balance: $100
- Savings Term: Five years
- Monthly Fees: $0
*Source: Statistics Canada Table 203-0021 – Survey of household spending (SHS), household spending, Canada, regions and provinces, annual (dollars).
