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Articles
No Fee Chequing Accounts Comparison
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First Posted: September 26, 2007
Last Updated: January 2, 2008
By Denis Agar
Chequing Accounts
Citizens Bank Chequing/Savings
Despite being one of the worst offerings on this list, this account started the virtual banking revolution in Canada and it's still far and away better than what you would find at conventional banks. It offers more or less the same feature set as PC Financial's No-fee account, but with a minimum balance. You might choose this instead of PC if you value online cheque imaging, if you're looking for a bank with more active corporate citizenship, or if you live quite close to an Exchange ATM.
Citizens Bank Investment Account
If you don't use your bank card much, this account just might be the one for you. Citizens will pay 2.40% on your balance and let you conduct most of your daily business for free. They limit you to four bank card transactions, but the interesting thing is that those four include international ATMs. So if you need to withdraw from this account at an ATM in Guam four times in a month, you wouldn't have to pay a cent in fees. Another thing to keep in mind is that Citizens Bank's Ultimate Savings Account is free and offers four free bank card transactions per month (but no Interac Direct Payments). If you have both, transfers between the two are instant. So that could mean eight ATM transactions per month. Note that the Ultimate Savings account currently offers 3.8% interest, so it may be wise to keep the bulk of your cash there, transferring it when you need it.
President's Choice No-Fee Bank Account
This is the standard upon which all other accounts are judged. Simply put, everything is free. Their online banking is simple and efficient. CIBC ATMs, which you can use for free with PCF, are everywhere. You can transfer funds between your no-fee account and an Interest Plus account easily, earning 4% or more. They'll even print cheques for you for free. An important point is that PC has "pavilions" where you can go and sign up in person. Many of the other offerings here require you to send in a cheque from another bank which can be difficult when you don't have a bank account yet.
Ubiquity Bank Personal Client Account Bank West Demand Deposit Accounts
Very soon after this article was written, Ubiquity Bank was sold to Bank West of Alberta. They promptly removed the free Platinum credit card that made this account a fantastic deal. Despite this, the account can be a good deal for those that want the convenience of an online chequing account with the returns of a high-interest savings account. The rate isn't competitive with savings accounts like PC Financial Interest Plus or ICICI, so this account probably isn't the best choice for everyone. If you'd rather not be bothered with transferring money between two accounts, Bank West might be worth it. Also, if you write a lot of cheques, this account would allow you to continue collecting interest on their value while waiting for the recipients to cash them.
Coast Capital Savings Free Chequing, Free Debit and More Account
Being in Southern Ontario, I'm used to getting deals that might not be available to the rest of the country. It is with great pain that I relay to you the awesomeness of these next two accounts, which are only available in British Columbia. Coast Capital's obnoxiously named free account is similar to PC Financial's, but is administered under a completely different philosophy. Instead of banking with a large, faceless, corporation which is responsible to its stockholders, Coast Capital is a credit union, which means that it is responsible to you. To sign up, you spend $5 on a share, giving you a say in the credit union's operations. If you decide to leave, the $5 is refunded.
Vancity Shared Growth Chequing Account
Everything I said about credit unions in the last blurb holds true for Vancity as well, but this account has a very interesting difference: your entire balance at the bank will be put towards projects in BC that return "meaningful social, environmental and economic benefits to local communities". I hope to see more banks and credit unions offer accounts like this in the future, but for now, if you're in BC, this is hard to beat.
A Word about using a line of credit as a chequing account
A number of people have seen the value in replacing their primary chequing account with a line of credit. In most cases, lines of credit have fewer fees than regular accounts, and certainly allow you more flexibility to borrow if necessary. LOCs are usually the only accounts offered by the big 5 banks that have free unlimited transactions. As discussed in this thread, some banks frown upon the practice, but Royal Bank is the only one to forbid you from having a balance above $0.
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