RBC Business Banking Review 2024: Financial Products For Businesses Of All Sizes

RBC has a variety of chequing and savings accounts for businesses.

• RBC Digital Choice Business Account Package: This account has a $6 monthly fee and is designed for those who primarily use online banking. It includes unlimited electronic debits and credits, unlimited electronic cheque deposits, unlimited Moneris deposits, 10 free outgoing Interac e-Transfers and no minimum balance requirements.
• RBC Flex Choice Business Account Package: This account has a monthly fee of $7 and is made for those who want both digital and in-branch banking. You can save 40% on transactions made through online banking, the mobile app and ATMs. There’s also preferred pricing on cash deposits and no minimum balance requirement. The account allows you to only pay for the transactions you make and there are unlimited Moneris deposits.
•  RBC Ultimate Business Account Package: This account has a $100 monthly fee (waived if you have a minimum $75,000 daily balance) and is designed for businesses with numerous transactions. It comes with unlimited electronic debit and credit transactions, plus 500 outgoing Interac e-Transfers and 100 paper transactions a month. There are also unlimited electronic cheque and Moneris deposits, plus up to $25,000 free cash deposits. There’s also a $50 fee waiver on the RBC Express set up fee.
• Royal Business Community Account: is designed for non-profits and has a monthly fee of $3.75 (waived for the first three months). You get 25 free cheques when you open the account and 15 free transactions per month.
• U.S. Dollar Business Account: This account, designed for businesses making transactions in U.S. dollars, has a fee of USD$9, which is waived if the monthly transaction fees exceed that amount or the balance is USD$2,500 or more. The benefit of having this account is not paying foreign transaction fees by holding your balance in U.S. funds. However, there are no free transactions and the costs vary by each type.
• Online Foreign Currency Account: This account is for businesses that make and receive payments that aren’t in Canadian or U.S. dollars. Funds only need to be converted when you need to do so. It has a monthly fee of $25 and no minimum balance requirement. Having this account allows you to save on foreign exchange costs by not having to pay a fee for every transaction. Additional fees vary based on the type of transaction.
• International Business Banking: This option can be applied to U.S. Dollar Business Accounts and has a custom monthly fee and is designed for businesses that want to expand globally. It allows you to open an account in various regions of the world to pay suppliers and employees in more than 30 countries. As your needs become more complex, there are additional services and features that are available.
• RBC Business Essentials Savings Account: This savings account has no monthly fee or minimum balance and is designed for businesses that want to earn interest on any unused funds. The account has 999 free deposits per month, two free debits per month and tiered interest rates on balances. However, you won’t earn any interest on balances of $2 million or more.
• Royal Business Premium Investment Account: This account also doesn’t have a monthly fee, but requires a minimum balance of $100,000 in order to earn interest. The account has unlimited deposits, two free debits per month and tiered interest rates. Interest is paid on every dollar as long as the balance is $100,000 or more.
• AgriInvest Account: This account is available only to farmers that participate in the Government of Canada’s AgriInvest program. The savings account has no monthly fee, unlimited transactions and no minimum balance requirements. The interest rate is the same on all balances.
• Business Trust Account: This account is handy when you need to hold money on behalf of your clients. The monthly fee varies based on your operating account and there are no minimum balance requirements.

RBC offers a variety of products for businesses, including:

• Credit cards
• GICs
• Loan insurance
• Payment solutions
• Overdraft protection
• Lines of credit
• Asset-based lending facilities
• Equipment leasing loans
• Business and commercial mortgages
• Registered pension and group retirement savings plans

With RBC, you can bank on your computer, on an app, on the phone, at a branch, or at an ATM.

RBC’s regular mobile app has these features:

• View account balances and transactions for accounts, loans and credit cards
• Mobile cheque deposits
• Request Money feature to remind clients about outstanding invoices and provides real-time notifications on outstanding payments
• Branch and ATM finder
• NOMI financial insights
• Lock misplaced credit or client cards directly from your phone

The RBC Express business banking app has these additional features:

• Approve other users’ transactions
• Release fully approved transactions from your mobile device
• View balances/transactions made on your business deposit accounts
• Transfer funds between accounts

RBC Business Banking vs. CIBC Business Banking

CIBC and RBC both have similar account offerings, but RBC offers more.

While CIBC offers one more regular chequing account than RBC, it only has one foreign currency account (only in U.S. dollars) compared to three at RBC and CIBC only has one regular business savings account while RBC has two. Both offer a non-profit account and an AgriInvest account.

However, CIBC does offer the ability for fees to be waived on most of its operating accounts if a minimum balance is held while RBC does not offer this as readily. Despite this, RBC has an advantage because it does offer more account options.

RBC Business Banking vs. TD Business Banking

TD has many more business accounts than what RBC offers, likely because it has a large presence in the United States.

TD has five regular business chequing accounts compared to just three at RBC. They both offer accounts for non-profits. TD also has five U.S. dollar chequing accounts and one non-profit account. RBC has just one U.S. dollar account, but also has other foreign currency accounts that TD doesn’t offer. RBC and TD both have regular and premium savings accounts, an AgriInvest account, and a trust account.

In terms of savings accounts, TD’s regular business savings account offers better rates for balances $500,000 or higher. TD’s premium savings account provides the same rate for all balances while RBC offers a tiered rate. RBC’s rate is only higher than TD if the balance is $25 million or more. TD also offers a premium U.S. dollar savings account, while RBC does not.

Although TD doesn’t offer non-Canadian or U.S. dollar accounts, it does have a better overall selection than RBC.

RBC Business Banking vs. HSBC Business Banking

HSBC has very few account options for businesses. It has a business chequing account, which is available in Canadian or U.S. dollars. And it has three types of accounts for savings, one of which is available in both U.S. and Canadian dollars.

RBC has HSBC beat in terms of account offerings. Also, RBC has agreed to acquire HSBC and these accounts may no longer be available if the transaction closes. The deal was approved by the Competition Bureau and is waiting for approval from the federal finance minister.

Forbes Advisor compared 41 banks, 20 of which are nationally available —both traditional brick-and-mortar institutions and online-only banks—to find the best options available. To make this list, the bank had to be available to Canadians nationwide. They were rated out of five stars according to the following data points and formula out of 100%:

• Product Offerings – 11%
• APY – 25%
• Fees – 20%
• Minimum Deposit – 5%
• Minimum Balance – 5%
• Availability – 5%
• 3P Ratings – 5%
• Customer Reviews – 2%
• Live Chat – 2%
• Digital Experience – 10%
• ATM Network – 10%

RBC offers a comprehensive selection of accounts for businesses of all sizes. However, you should shop around to see what other banks offer as there might be an account that’s better suited to your needs.