How to Open a Tide Business Account
Discover how to open a Tide Business Account in the UK. We'll cover requirements, step-by-step and account features.
In a time when Google searches for “how to move to Canada” are continually increasing and the northern nation’s immigration website has been continuously crashing, it appears that many are examining the possibilities for establishing a more permanent presence in Canada.
Canadian banks are world-renowned for their stability, remaining mostly untouched by the credit crunch and with stock prices recovering quickly. The Canadian government makes it relatively difficult for foreign banks to enter the Canadian retail banking market. At this point, many large foreign banks are only authorized to operate in the country as online-only, high interest savings accounts without normal personal chequing account privileges. These types of bank accounts, however, are mostly unavailable to foreign companies.
American companies looking to open business bank accounts in their neighboring country are lucky as they will find a system much like their own, including a lot of crossover policies. For all the rest, read on to learn more about the process of and requirements for opening a business bank account in Canada.
Canada supports several types of businesses, including sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, and co-operatives.
Yes - you don’t have to be a Canadian resident or citizen to open a Canadian bank account. You also do not necessarily need to intend to immigrate to Canada.
The banking industry in Canada is significantly more centralized than its cousin in the U.S. Five banks control 90% of the retail banking industry in the country. Those banks include:
Opening a bank account in Canada is fairly simple, and lacks much of a formal process. As long as your company meets the requirements set out in the Access to Basic Banking Services Regulations under the Bank Act, all you’ll need to do is submit your paperwork.
The required documents will vary depending on the company type. All company types will require the following personal documents:
Each business type will require at least the following business documents:
Yes - there are no residency requirements for opening a business bank account in Canada.
While some banks require your presence to open a business account, others may allow you to complete the process without ever visiting Canada, though this often comes with much greater requirements and account restrictions. Because this varies bank to bank, it makes the most sense to either call the bank directly or visit one of their branches that is local to you, if applicable.
Many international banks have operations in Canada, and with those institutions you may be able to open an account in your home country that can be transferred to Canada. Some of these international banks, however, will have more expensive fees for holding the account internationally, and may require a high minimum balance.
Old-world bank accounts only work properly in one country. They hold money only in one currency. And it gets expensive when you try to use them across borders. Wise's new Borderless accounts solve all of this.
Now you can send, receive and organise your money internationally, without crazy fees or even-crazier exchange rates – just a small, fair charge when your money moves between currencies.
Canada is home to five major banks, and each individual institution has its own set of features. The five banks include:
The banks’ offers are broken down as follows:
Business bank accounts at RBC include monthly fees between $25 and $75 per month, however that fee can be waived if the minimum balance requirements are made.
RBC also extends their new business account owners the Newcomers to Canada package, including a $50 credit for your business.
TD Bank offers a range of options, from the simplest business account carrying an $8 fee and no minimum balance, to the most comprehensive which allows you to combine your business deposit and personal balances to meet minimum balance requirements.
Customers using the most comprehensive business package can have their monthly fees waived if they’re using any of TD Bank’s financial services, including Merchant Solutions, TD Digital Express, or TD Small Business Lending.
Anywhere you open a bank account, you can expect it to come with a long list of fees. Canada is no exception; in fact, the northern country’s banks have raised fees in previous years across a huge range of account types.
Typically, fees are pretty standard; monthly or annual maintenance fees, debit fees, ATM fees, and deposit fees. If you’re planning to transfer money abroad from Canada, you may also want to look out for foreign transfer fees. Sometimes these are nominal, like RBS’s $13.50 per transaction. Other times the fees can be quite large-- TD Bank charges between $30-80 depending on the amount of your transfer.
Unfortunately, these fees also go the other way, and you will likely be charged for incoming international SWIFT transfers into your Canadian bank account, as well. TD Bank, for example, charges $17.50 for incoming international transfers. Generally if you’re receiving international transfers, there are also additional fees deducted by the sending bank and 1-3 additional intermediary banks, as well.
If you’re frequently transferring money internationally, using Wise is likely the easiest and most cost-effective solution to avoid some of those painful international fees. By splitting your payments into a series of local transactions instead of a single international transfer, you’ll save on fees-- and Wise always exchanges your money using the real mid-market exchange rates (meaning that, unlike with regular bank transfers, there’s no hidden markup on the currency conversion rate).
All in all, opening a Canadian business banking account should be a painless process with plenty of options for choosing the right account for your business. With the correct documents in place, you can likely open an account in less than a day.
*Please see terms of use and product availability for your region or visit Wise fees and pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.
This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from Wise Payments Limited or its subsidiaries and its affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining advice from a financial advisor or any other professional.
We make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether expressed or implied, that the content in the publication is accurate, complete or up to date.
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