Question on business accounts: BMO, Scotia, RBC?

[aznboi9]

I’m looking into opening a business account and, after asking around, have narrowed my choices down to Bank of Montreal, Scotia Bank, and Royal Bank. I was wondering if any of you had any feed back to share on the three.

BMO seems to offer a lot of services; I really like the ability to collect airmiles on my mastercard transactions. But they seem to have the most expensive service charges out of the three.

Royal Bank services seem to be on par with or maybe slightly better than BMO; a friend who has a business account with them says that their online transaction services are superb.

Scotia bank seems to offer fewer services (eg. cheques are not returned with your account statement). But it’s the most convenient, location wise. Plus, one of my clients works there and she hinted that I could get a VISA without the annual fee.

I guess I don’t really know what I’m asking for. I was just wondering if any of you had dealings with them and/or would recommend or not recommend either of them.

Thanks

 

[vancouverman]

I'm with BMO for over 10 years ... online access has all I need. Enough ATM machines near me to deposit client's cheques. I have no needs to see the telers. Expensive service ... maybe a bit, but did you look at the "plans"?

 

[Randy Whorewald]

If the services, fees etc. are all in the same ballpark, I would go with the one where you feel the most comfortable. If you are treated best, and already know the gal at Scotia, why not give that a try?

 

[aznboi9]

I'm with BMO for over 10 years ... online access has all I need. Enough ATM machines near me to deposit client's cheques. I have no needs to see the telers. Expensive service ... maybe a bit, but did you look at the "plans"?

Yeah, I read through their brochures and spoke with the representatives at the banks there.

For BMO, I'd be looking at their Value Assist Plan 1 (20 transactions for $22); my business is quite young, so I really don't have too many monthly transactions.

Royal bank has a pay as you go plan, with a base fee of $5. The nice thing about their plan is that the fees go down as the number of transactions go up; you get a volume discount. It seems like it'd work out to be a few bucks cheaper per month (around $16).

Scotia is 25 transactions for $22; and they don't seem to limit the in-bank transactions like BMO does. If I went completely self-serve, it'd only be $16/mo. I guess I could do that if I really needed to for any of the above to cut down on fees.

If the services, fees etc. are all in the same ballpark, I would go with the one where you feel the most comfortable. If you are treated best, and already know the gal at Scotia, why not give that a try?

Good point. Plus, the lady is a really hot MILF with really big tits. LOL

 

[maverick73]

My 3 cents

It depends on where u live, but where I am, there is a RBC, BOM, Scotia, and TD all within a stones throw of each other... I used to have accounts at 3 out of the 4... but recently simplified and just went with RBC because of their superior customer service (both from a friendliness and efficiency point of view)... I found BOM to be very slow and unfriendly... TD is generally friendly but slow... at RBC, I find that even on a busy day with a seemingly long line up, it just blows right by because the tellers know what they're doing... they also have a good system in place to get more or less tellers on depending on the lineup... kinda like small Safeways where "everybody is a cashier" if necessary hehe...

but that's just my area... it could be diff. elsewhere.

PS... the real reason I went with RBC... the tellers were the hottest... I kid u not... it was a multicultural hottie explosion in there... they had a hot east indian, asian, caucasian... and many of them dressed sexy and provocative... done deal!

 

[sterling_stan]

TD is generally friendly but slow.

Whether service is fast or slow depends on the branch you go to. TD Canada Trust is very slow in some branches and pleasingly quick in others. Number of tellers, time of day, and day of week are influences. I like the hours that many TD branches have, from 8 to 8 M-F and 9 to 3 on Sat. Many times I have been banking before 9 a.m. and after 7 p.m., very convenient when the days are busy.

 

[beavereric]

Small bus bank accounts

When BMO came out with 'Mbanq' I signed up and have been a member since.
The dealis I keep a couple of grand in my account, not too many transactions per month and I pay no service charges at all.
Just ask for a small bus. account.
Good luck.

 

[logsplitter]

I have been with all 3 over the last 15 years. I have a small to medium sized business.

Aside from services and convienience (which are secondary to me) I would rate them in this order for doing business with if you are starting out.

First and best choice - BOM
Second - Scotia Bank
Third - Royal Bank

BOM is a business friendly bank and it is obvious after you have experienced the rest.

 

[bigwoodsman]

none of the above

I have tried the big banks, and last year switched to a community savings bank, they are awsome....best banking experience I have ever had. Easy to deal with, and they pay a divedend. I recieved just short of 2,000.00 for just using the bank. How may of the big banks give you that. In a dozen years with scotia, I never got a cent from them.

Bigwood

 

[tankedjasper]

run away from Scotia

In my experience I would suggest running away from Scotiabank as fast as you can. My personal banking experience was OK with them, and they still have my mortgage, but my business experience was laughable.

They have a system called cashback, which if you don't have it, they will hold all deposited cheques for six business days to clear them. I had $2000.00 cashback which meant they would clear $2000.00 of a cheque immediatly and hold the balance for six days. It is unbelievably frusterating system to work within. In 8 years with TD, and a business that was far less succesful that the one I ran through Scotia, I never had as much trouble.

Seriously, run, don't walk, away! I've heard really good things about vanCity.

 

[pooner144]

As I've worked with BMO, RBC, Scotia, and others, I truly find TD to be the bext. The hours are great and the service is the best. Here's an experience with TD I had.

I was working for a small company downtown and used my money to buy a new computer (re-imbursed after) I went to TD downtown to withdraw a bunch of cash (too much for the bankcard) My main branch was in metrotown, so they of course normally wouldn't do it. The teller simply said, have a seat for a few minutes I'll call your main branch and ask them to fax your signiture card over. They did and I got my cash no problem. I like TD because I can do business banking (I do have a business as well) at any branch, and never get hassled about things. through places I've worked I seem to run into issues with BMO, Scotia, and RBC. plus.... I've used online banking for all the major banks, and I haven't found anything close to TD. One of the big points is that they show you your balance after every transaction where others, if they show it at all, will only show it at the end of a business day.

Go with TD, you'll be glad you did.

 

[JustAGuy]

Scotia bank seems to offer fewer services (eg. cheques are not returned with your account statement).

Cheques not being returned shouldn't count against Scotiabank when you're weighing the pluses and minuses of where to take your business. By the end of 2006, none of the major banks will be returning cheques. They're all opting for the small copy of the front of the cheque, like credit unions have been doing for a few years now. It's a pain in the butt when some witless client forgets to write a name in the "Pay To" section and you no longer have the cheque in your hands and can flip it over to see an endorsement. In the old days, banks would never clear a cheque that wasn't made payable to someone but nowadays, anything goes. Forget to date it, post-date it, forget to sign it, doesn't matter, it'll clear.

 

[FiftyTwo]

its the personal service that counts

I have used BMO, RBC, TD and Scotia at various times. The on line systems all seem about the same right now.

I believe the most important aspect is the service you get when you need it. I was at BMO for years because I had a very strong CSR. He moved on and after struggling with bad service I moved to TD and specifically requested an account manager that I heard was good. She has taken good care of me and I will stay there as long as she does.

If you build a good relationship with them, they can do all sorts of favors for you that will more than compensate any extra you may pay in fees. I have a large mortgage and my TD account manager was able to shave .5% off my mortgage rate last year. Saved $1500 right there.

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