Introduction

Small business owners and startup founders across Canada are exploring modern fintech banking alternatives to escape the frustrations of the Big 5 banks (BMO, Scotiabank, CIBC, RBC, and TD). New challenger banks like Loop, Venn (formerly known as Vault), and EQ Bank are offering digital-first business accounts with low fees and innovative features. In this article, we’ll compare the key differences between these three fintech banking options for Canadian businesses. We’ll also touch on why some other names (like Wealthsimple or Tangerine) aren’t included, and mention how an international option (Wise) fits into the picture.

Why Not Include Wealthsimple or Tangerine?

Two other popular financial brands often come up in conversations about fintech banking: Wealthsimple and Tangerine. However, neither currently provides a full-fledged business operating account for day-to-day transactions, so we haven’t included them in the main comparison:

Wealthsimple

Wealthsimple for Business is essentially a high-interest savings and investment account for corporations, not a business chequing/operating account. In fact, Wealthsimple explicitly states, “We don’t offer business banking at the moment”. Their “Save for Business” account is only for parking surplus cash (it even requires you to have a separate business chequing account elsewhere to use it) and is limited to incorporated businesses (not available for sole proprietors). In short, Wealthsimple can help your company invest or earn interest on idle funds, but you cannot run daily business payments through it.

Tangerine

Tangerine (the online bank backed by Scotiabank, previously ING Direct) only offers business savings accounts and GICs, not a transactional chequing account. The Tangerine Business Savings Account is designed to complement a business chequing at another institution, meaning you must already have a business account elsewhere to use it. It’s great for earning high interest on business cash, but you can’t write cheques, deposit client payments, or pay bills directly from a Tangerine business account. Tangerine’s focus is strictly on savings products for businesses, so it’s outside the scope of comparing operating accounts.

Now, let’s turn our attention to three fintech players that do offer operating business accounts: Loop, Venn, and EQ Bank.

Challenger Bank Comparison Overview

Below is a side-by-side comparison of features for Loop, Venn, and EQ Bank business accounts. We’ll dive into many of these features in the commentary that follows.

Table: Feature comparison of Loop vs Venn vs EQ Bank business accounts.

Below we discuss many of these items in detail.

Business Account Eligibility (Who Can Sign Up)

Busines Types

One fundamental difference is which types of businesses each platform will accept. Both Loop and Venn currently cater exclusively to registered corporations (incorporated companies). Venn’s help center makes it clear that they only support corporations, and Loop’s onboarding is similarly geared toward corporations (and potentially other formal business entities), rather than simple sole proprietorships. In contrast, EQ Bank is more inclusive; its business account is open to both corporations and sole proprietors (as long as the sole proprietorship is a registered business under your own name).

Geography

Notably, neither Venn nor EQ Bank’s business accounts are available to Quebec businesses at the time of writing. Venn explicitly does not support businesses in Quebec yet, and EQ Bank’s sign-up page likewise notes Quebec is excluded for now. Loop is based in Toronto and does not list the same regional restriction so Quebec companies should be able to use Loop, which could be a deciding factor if you operate there.

Deposit Insurance

When it comes to the safety of your deposits, EQ Bank has the clear edge by virtue of being a bank. EQ Bank is a trademark of Equitable Bank, which is a CDIC member institution. This means funds in an EQ Bank business account are eligible for CDIC deposit insurance, up to $100,000 per depositor (in the “business accounts” category). However, there’s an important nuance: EQ clarifies that sole proprietorship deposits are insured as part of your personal coverage (since a sole proprietorship isn’t a separate legal entity). Corporate accounts at EQ Bank may not receive separate CDIC coverage beyond that (corporate entities can be considered distinct depositors, but CDIC insurance for corporate deposits can depend on account structuring; EQ’s documentation emphasizes coverage for sole proprietors). In summary, EQ Bank offers the reassurance of CDIC insurance, particularly for sole proprietors’ funds.

Neither Loop nor Venn is a bank themselves, so deposits with Loop or Venn are not directly CDIC-insured (if either company were to fail, the funds aren’t guaranteed by the government). That said, both use partner financial institutions to hold client funds. Loop has indicated that its Canadian dollar accounts are held with a CDIC member bank (so effectively the funds are insured via that partner). Venn likewise holds funds with “Tier 1” partner banks, and while they offer CDIC-insured products like GICs through a partner, the operating balances in Venn are not themselves CDIC-insured as of now (Venn’s terms describe your balance as an “unsecured claim” against Venn, not covered by deposit insurance). In the future, both Loop and Venn may obtain their own CDIC membership or otherwise make insurance more explicit (“Planned”), but currently only EQ Bank provides clear CDIC protection for your business deposits.

Account Security

On security features, all three platforms use basic two-factor authentication (2FA) for logins, but Loop and Venn support more secure methods via authenticator apps. EQ Bank’s 2FA for business accounts relies on sending a code via email, which is considered less secure than app-based 2FA. Loop and Venn, being newer platforms, allow users to set up TOTP (time-based one-time password) authenticator apps. This is a plus for those concerned about account security. You might prefer Loop or Venn if you want the option to secure your login with something like Proton Authenticator (or any other password manager / authenticator that suppports TOTP). Regardless, all three take security seriously (encryption, fraud monitoring, etc.), but the extra 2FA methods on Loop and Venn give them a slight edge for the security-conscious.

Account Structure: Single vs Multiple Accounts

If your business likes to use multiple accounts for budgeting or fund separation, note the differences in how each platform handles this.

Loop

Loop provides one primary account in each supported currency (CAD by default, and USD/EUR/GBP if you activate global accounts). You cannot open additional “sub-accounts” in the same currency for free at this time; essentially, Loop gives you one account per currency. For example, you might have a CAD account and also a USD account with Loop, but you can’t have two separate CAD accounts under the same business profile. This may change in the future (Loop has hinted at adding multiple sub-accounts), but currently it’s one account per currency on the platform.

Venn

Venn allows multiple accounts through a “sub-accounts” feature, which is great for organizing funds (e.g., setting aside money for taxes, payroll, etc. in separate buckets). On Venn’s free Essentials plan, you can create up to 5 sub-accounts. If you upgrade to the paid Plus or Pro plans, that limit increases (10 sub-accounts on Plus, and unlimited on Pro). All these accounts can be in any of the supported currencies. This flexibility is a notable advantage of Venn for businesses that want envelope budgeting or just separate ledgers for different purposes without opening entirely new bank accounts.

EQ Bank

EQ Bank also supports multiple accounts; you can open up to 10 separate EQ Bank Business Accounts for one business. Each account earns interest individually and can be named for its purpose. Since EQ doesn’t offer sub-account “buckets” within one login, those 10 are essentially 10 distinct bank accounts (but all under your business profile and accessible in one dashboard). That’s plenty for most small businesses’ needs. Keep in mind all those accounts will be CAD only (no foreign currency), but you could, for example, have an Operating Account, a Savings Account, and other specific accounts and transfer between them easily, all with no fees.

Interest on balances is another consideration here. EQ Bank stands out for offering a high interest rate (currently 2.50% interest on the full balance of its business accounts). This effectively turns every dollar in your EQ accounts into interest-earning savings until you need to spend it. Neither Loop nor Venn pay interest on ordinary balances (in fact, both explicitly state no interest on balance as a trade-off). Venn’s workaround is that it offers GICs (Guaranteed Investment Certificates) within the platform if you want to park money for interest. Those GIC funds are CDIC-insured through Peoples Trust and currently yield around 5%, but they aren’t accessible for daily banking until maturity. Loop does not offer any interest-bearing products at the moment (Loop’s focus is more on saving you fees rather than paying interest). So, if maximizing interest on idle cash is a priority, EQ Bank’s 2.50% yield on everyday business balances is very attractive, whereas Loop/Venn give 0% on deposits (you’d have to move money out to an investment to earn interest).

Payments and Money Movement (Interac, Wires, Deposits)

A critical aspect of any operating account is how you can move money in and out. Here’s how our three contenders compare on payments and transfers.

Interac e-Transfers

EQ Bank and Venn both fully support Interac e-Transfer for Canadian dollar payments, while Loop currently does not (as of this writing). With EQ Bank, you can send up to 50 e-Transfers per month for free (and 100 incoming e-Transfers for free). That’s usually plenty for a small business; if you exceed 50 outgoing e-Transfers in a month, fees would apply ($0.50 each beyond the free limit). Venn allows sending and receiving Interac e-Transfers as well. On Venn’s free plan, outgoing Interac transfers are actually one of the few things that might incur a fee (Venn’s pricing mentions a $2 fee for local transfers on the free tier), but the speed and convenience are there. Loop, on the other hand, does not support sending Interac e-Transfers yet, and you can’t have clients send money to your Loop account via Interac either (Loop lacks an email or phone number for auto-deposit). In fact, a noted drawback is you “can’t receive CAD payments from customers” via e-Transfer into Loop. Loop has this feature on the roadmap (marked as “Planned”), but for now, moving Canadian dollars to/from Loop requires linking an external bank (ACH/EFT) or using wire transfers. If your business uses a lot of e-Transfers with Canadian vendors or clients, this is a significant point in favor of Venn or EQ Bank.

Direct deposits and EFTs

All three platforms let you do traditional EFT or ACH transfers. Loop and Venn actually provide you with real bank account numbers (Loop gives you a Canadian transit and account number for CAD, plus US ACH details for USD, etc.; Venn does similarly) so you can set up direct deposit or pre-authorized debits. EQ Bank is a real bank account as well (transit/account under Equitable Bank). So you can, for example, have your payment processor deposit funds directly, or link PayPal/Stripe, etc., in all cases. Incoming and outgoing EFTs are free for all three. Loop and Venn both emphasize free domestic transfers (Loop even markets that it has unlimited free electronic payments, no fees). EQ Bank too charges no fees for EFT transfers. There may be timing differences (Loop and Venn might process EFTs as electronic debits that take 1-2 business days; EQ does overnight batch processing). Overall, routine bank transfers (EFT/ACH) are a strength of all three; you aren’t nickel-and-dimed for electronic transfers as you would be at some big banks.

Wire transfers and international payments

This is where Loop and Venn truly shine compared to both EQ and traditional banks. Loop allows you to send wire payments globally for free (no wire fees at all); you only pay the currency conversion fee if it involves FX. Loop supports sending to 180+ countries in 37 currencies, and even lets you send money to yourself in another bank account abroad for free. Venn also supports a wide range of international transfers (200+ countries). On the free plan Venn does charge a $10 fee to send an international wire, which is still far cheaper than a typical bank ($30–$50), but not zero. On Venn’s paid plans, the international wire fee drops ($8 on Plus, $6 on Pro). Receiving international wires in Venn is free. EQ Bank, unfortunately, does not currently support sending international wires or foreign currency transfers from the business account at all; you can only send/receive Canadian payments (EFT, Interac) in EQ’s business offering. So if you need to pay overseas suppliers or receive USD/EUR wires regularly, EQ Bank alone won’t suffice (you’d need a separate solution, possibly why you’d consider Loop or Venn in the first place).

Deposit methods (adding money)

With EQ Bank, you can deposit via EFT (link an external account and “pull” funds in), mobile cheque deposit (yes, EQ offers cheque deposit via its app, which Loop and Venn do not), or receive Interac e-Transfers. EQ doesn’t accept cash or in-branch deposits (no branches), so you can’t deposit physical cash or drafts. Loop allows deposits by linking an external bank for ACH/EFT pulls (which take a few days). Loop is working on enabling Interac e-Transfer deposits to your Loop CAD account (planned). Venn similarly can link external accounts for EFT, and it has a clever workaround to fund your account instantly: you can send yourself an Interac e-Transfer to your Venn account (Venn provides you a unique email address to auto-deposit, essentially). This way, you could e-Transfer money from, say, your personal bank or another bank, into Venn within minutes. It’s a nice convenience Loop lacks at the moment.

Bill payments and CRA taxes

Only EQ Bank allows outbound bill payments (paying Canadian billers through the Canadian bill payment system). This is useful for things like paying credit card bills, suppliers who have banking set up with billing codes, etc. They even go a step further by enabling CRA business tax payments directly from the account interface. For example, you can make GST/HST remittances or payroll source deduction payments via EQ Bank’s online banking (similar to how one would with a big bank’s business account). Loop and Venn do not have integrated CRA tax payment functionality; you’d have to pay the CRA directly via their Web site, via a third-party or by mailing payments if using those platforms. If you frequently remit taxes, EQ’s built-in support is a time-saver.

Recurring and automated payments

Both Venn and EQ Bank support scheduling recurring payments or transfers. You can set up an automatic weekly payment or monthly rent, etc., easily. Loop currently does not have a recurring/scheduled transfer feature (marked as “Planned”). Venn even offers more sophisticated automation on paid plans, like multi-step approvals for payments (useful in larger companies). It also has an “auto top-up” feature where you can maintain a target balance in a sub-account, e.g., automatically transfer funds from your main account to a sub-account if it dips below a threshold (helpful for budgeting). Loop intends to add similar balance automation, but it’s not there yet. EQ Bank doesn’t offer automatic top-ups or any advanced payment automation beyond standard recurring bill payments.

In summary, Loop and Venn are far superior for international payments and multi-currency transfers, while EQ Bank covers the basics of domestic payments and adds useful bill/CRA payments. If your business is mostly domestic, EQ’s simplicity and free unlimited Interac/EFT may suffice. But if you deal globally, Loop or Venn will be indispensable.

Card Features: Spending, Rewards, and Wallets

All three platforms take different approaches to payment cards for your business:

Loop

Loop issues the Loop Global Visa corporate card. This can be debit card (paid out of your account balance) or a true credit card (corporate card), meaning you get a credit limit and can carry a balance (Loop extends credit based on your business finances). The standout feature is that it’s a multi-currency Visa card: when you spend in USD, EUR, or GBP, it draws from your respective currency balance (if you have funds in those currencies) or from your credit in those currencies. There are no foreign transaction fees on this card for the supported currencies (CAD, USD, EUR, GBP); you can literally travel or make purchases abroad in those currencies with 0% FX fee (big banks typically charge ~2.5% on card purchases). Loop provides both physical and virtual cards (even on the free plan you can have 20 virtual cards for online spending). You can issue cards to employees as well, with spend controls. However, Loop’s rewards are points-based rather than straight cashback. On the free plan, you earn “1× points” per dollar, which effectively is a rewards program but not cash. The points can be redeemed (Loop hasn’t publicly detailed if it’s for statement credits or perks, but there’s no direct cashback on the base plan). Higher Loop plans earn 2× points. It’s a bit complex compared to a simple cashback system. And notably, Loop’s base plan offers 0% cashback in practical terms; the points have some value, but there’s no immediate cash rebate on purchases. If rewards are a priority, consider that.

Venn

Venn offers a Venn Mastercard Corporate Card, which functions like a debit/charge card linked to your account balance. It is not prepaid in the sense that it’s fully integrated with your Venn account and can be used wherever Mastercard is accepted. Like Loop’s, the Venn card is multi-currency: if you have USD in your account and use the card in the US, it will deduct from your USD balance with no FX fee. If you don’t have that currency, it will convert at Venn’s low FX rate. The big advantage of Venn’s card is its rewards: it gives a flat 1% cashback on all purchases, automatically. This cashback is unlimited and applied as real cash (not points), a strong perk for using Venn. For a fintech business card in Canada, 1% back on everything is excellent (few traditional business cards match that without annual fees). Venn provides unlimited virtual cards and free physical cards (one per user; additional physical cards cost $10). You can also set spending limits and category restrictions on each card, which is great for expense management. One limitation: as of now Venn’s card cannot be added to Apple Pay or Google Pay (no mobile wallet support). So you’ll need the physical card on hand for tap payments, etc., whereas Loop’s card can be added to your phone’s wallet for contactless payments.

EQ Bank

EQ Bank currently does not offer any business payment card. When you open an EQ Bank Business Account, you have no debit card or credit card associated with that account. This is a significant difference from Loop and Venn. It means you cannot directly spend your EQ business funds in a store or online via card; you’d have to transfer money out to another account to spend, or pay bills electronically. EQ has hinted at working on a business card in the future, but nothing yet. For some businesses, this is a deal-breaker: If you need a business debit card for routine purchases or a credit card for employee spending, EQ Bank alone won’t suffice. You might then pair it with a separate card (or simply choose Loop or Venn which have integrated cards).

In summary, if having a versatile business card is important, Loop and Venn are the clear winners. Loop’s Visa is great for travel and global spending (no FX fees), and Venn’s Mastercard gives you cash back on everything. They both offer robust expense controls and multiple cards for your team. EQ Bank’s lack of a card is a notable gap. Though you save on fees elsewhere, you’ll need another solution for card-based spending (which could negate some of the simplicity of banking with EQ only).

Fees and Pricing Plans

All three platforms have no monthly fee for their basic offerings; that’s a core appeal of these challengers compared to traditional banks (which often charge $20+ monthly for a business account). However, Loop and Venn use tiered subscription plans to unlock additional features or lower fees, whereas EQ Bank has only one free tier (no paid upgrades, all features included by default).

Loop’s Plans

Loop has three plan levels: Basic ($0/month), Loop Plus, and Loop Power. The Plus and Power plans carry hefty sticker prices if paid monthly ($79 and $299 per month, respectively). Most small businesses will be fine on the free Basic plan, which already gives you multi-currency accounts and cards. The paid plans mainly reduce your FX fees and increase card perks. Specifically, Loop’s FX conversion fee drops from 0.50% on Basic to 0.25% on Plus, and 0.10% on Power. Those are extremely low FX markups; 0.10% is virtually at the interbank rate (great for large volume currency exchange). By comparison, Wise’s well-known FX fee is around 0.43%, so even Loop’s free tier is a tad higher than Wise, but Loop’s top tier undercuts Wise significantly. Loop’s paid plans also increase your card rewards (2× points vs 1×) and come with a higher number of free physical cards and some premium services (like instant deposit of credit card payments). Important: You don’t have to upgrade unless your business would save more in fees than the subscription cost. Many growing businesses might find the $49/month Loop Plus worth it if they do a lot of FX volume, since it halves the FX fee from 0.5% to 0.25%. But if you only occasionally need FX or international payments, you can comfortably stay on free. Loop does not charge transaction fees for day-to-day operations even on the free plan; you get unlimited free transactions (EFTs, wires, etc.), which is very generous.

Venn’s Plans

Venn also has three tiers: Essentials (Free), Plus ($40/month), and Pro ($100/month). The Essentials (free) plan has no monthly fee, but unlike Loop, certain transactions have fees on this tier, notably a $2 fee per outgoing EFT/ACH and $10 per international wire sent. For a business with low volume of payments, that might be fine, but if you do many transfers, those $2 fees add up. The paid Plus plan at $40/mo makes all your domestic transfers free (and lowers the international wire fee to $8). It also lowers the FX conversion fee from 0.45% to 0.35%. The Pro at $100/mo lowers FX further to 0.25%, and further reduces wire fees ($6). Additionally, certain features are gated: for example, sub-accounts: On Essentials you get 5, on Plus you get 10, on Pro unlimited. User access controls (roles/permissions for team members) are only enabled on the paid plans; the free plan allows you to add other owners only. Plus/Pro also add priority support and some advanced automation (rules for accounting, multi-step approvals, etc.). In short, Venn’s free account is great for trying out or for a very small operation, but many businesses will likely need to upgrade to Plus ($40) to avoid nickel-and-dime transaction fees and get multi-user support. The good news is you can start free and only upgrade as needed, and $40/month is still far less than many legacy banks (and could easily pay for itself if you send a lot of EFTs or FX).

EQ Bank’s Pricing

EQ Bank keeps it simple; there is no monthly fee, period, and most transactions are free. You get unlimited free EFTs, free bill payments, and free deposits. The only fees you’d encounter are if you exceed the free Interac e-Transfer limits (more than 50 sent per month) or certain less common actions (like a paper statement by mail, etc., which are optional). There are no premium tiers to pay for as you get everything (that they offer) on the standard account. This simplicity is a big plus for cost-conscious entrepreneurs. However, keep in mind EQ Bank doesn’t offer some of the more advanced or expensive-to-provide features (no foreign wires, no multi-currency, no included international transfer service); those are exactly the things Loop and Venn monetize via their paid plans. So with EQ, it’s “you get what you get for free,” and if you need more exotic services, EQ might not have them at all.

In summary, all three are very affordable compared to traditional banks. Loop and Venn can be used entirely for free, but they also provide upgrade paths for businesses that need higher tiers of service; you’ll have to weigh the benefits of lower FX fees or more features against the subscription cost. EQ Bank is wonderfully straightforward on pricing (free means free), but it doesn’t have premium add-ons. If you outgrow what EQ offers, you might find yourself looking at the others anyway.

Venn’s Own “Venn vs Loop” Comparison (Bias Check)

It’s worth noting that Venn itself publishes a “Venn vs. Loop” comparison on its Web site. This can be a useful read for a quick overview, but keep in mind it is marketing material created by Venn, so it naturally highlights Venn’s advantages and downplays its weaknesses relative to Loop. For example, Venn’s site claims “Venn delivers faster onboarding and more transparent, cost-effective pricing, particularly in FX rates and subscription plans. Additionally, Venn offers actual cashback instead of points…”. It emphasizes that Venn has a 1% cashback reward versus Loop’s points-based rewards. These points are valid: the cashback on Venn’s card is a clear perk over Loop’s point system, and Venn’s transparency about fees is commendable (they openly list that Loop’s FX is 0.5% vs their 0.45% on free tier, etc.).

However, the Venn comparison is of course biased in Venn’s favor. For instance, it calls Venn’s FX rates “industry-leading” while characterizing Loop’s as “markups”, even though in reality Loop’s top-tier 0.10% rate is lower than Venn’s best 0.25%. The Venn write-up also touts features like accounting integrations and automation that Venn has and Loop purportedly lacks or has “limited”. In short, Venn’s comparison is a helpful marketing snapshot, but take it with a grain of salt.

The truth is both Loop and Venn are strong platforms with slightly different focuses: Loop is very focused on cross-border banking, FX, and credit (e.g., offering working capital up to $1M and no-fee international payments), whereas Venn pitches itself as an all-in-one financial platform for businesses, with features like expense management, accounting sync, invoicing, and even investment products. Depending on your business’s needs, one may suit you better. If you value cashback and an integrated bookkeeping/payment stack, Venn is appealing. If you value lowest possible FX fees and free unlimited global transfers, Loop is hard to beat. And Venn’s own comparison, while informative, understandably underscores Venn’s strengths so also look at independent reviews or firsthand trials.

Other Alternatives: A Note on Wise (TransferWise)

You might be wondering about Wise (formerly TransferWise), since it’s popular for international business banking. Wise isn’t included in our main comparison because it’s not a Canadian bank or credit union; it’s a London-based financial tech company. However, they do offer a Business account that many Canadian businesses use alongside their local bank. With Wise, you can hold and manage funds in dozens of currencies, and you get local bank details in several countries (US, UK, Eurozone, etc.), somewhat like Loop and Venn provide. Wise’s currency conversion fees are very competitive, about 0.43% on conversions, which often beats regular banks. They also provide a debit card (Mastercard) that lets you spend from your Wise balances and should work globally anywhere Mastercard is accepted. (However, I have found that it doesn’t work everywhere, which is why I started looking for other options.) In fact, many entrepreneurs use Wise’s card when traveling or paying overseas, because it automatically uses the local currency balance or converts at the low Wise rate with no extra foreign transaction markup.

That said, Wise is not a full replacement for a Canadian business bank account. You can’t do Interac e-Transfers with Wise, you can’t pay Canadian bills or taxes through it, the payment card doesn’t actually work everywhere, and your Wise balance isn’t CDIC-insured (though Wise keeps client funds in safeguarded accounts). Typically, a Canadian business might use Wise in addition to one of the accounts above. For example, the might use Wise for a specific international project or vendor payments, but still maintain a Canadian-dollar account like Loop/Venn/EQ for domestic needs. Wise is an excellent specialist tool for FX and global transactions (in fact, Loop and Venn sometimes compare themselves to Wise on rates), but since Wise isn’t Canadian-owned or focused, we centered our comparison on Loop, Venn, and EQ Bank, which are all Canadian-focused solutions.

Conclusion: Which Challenger Bank to Choose?

Each of these modern business banking options brings something different to the table, and the “best” choice really depends on your company’s priorities.

EQ Bank

EQ Bank is ideal for simple, fee-free banking if your needs are mostly domestic. You’ll earn a high interest rate on your balance, pay no fees, and enjoy unlimited transactions within Canada. It’s perfect for sole proprietors or small businesses that just need a basic account to send/receive money in CAD, pay bills, and maybe stash some savings, all while avoiding bank fees. The downsides are the lack of a card and no multi-currency or advanced features. EQ Bank is like a high-interest business chequing/savings hybrid that’s super easy to use and saves you money, as long as you don’t need bells and whistles.

Loop

Loop shines if your business has a global footprint or significant foreign currency needs. It truly enables a small business to bank like a local abroad by giving you local USD, EUR, GBP accounts and a multi-currency card. The absence of wire fees and ultra-low FX rates on higher plans can save tens of thousands of dollars for businesses that do large international transactions. Loop is also great if you want a credit card for your business, especially one with no FX fees on spend. Keep in mind, Loop is best for corporations (their onboarding might be slower if you’re a very new or small sole prop) and it currently lacks Interac e-Transfers which are ubiquitous in Canada. If you can live without Interac for now (or use EQ/another account as a workaround for e-Transfers), Loop offers tremendous value for cross-border finance. It’s like a modern alternative to having a USD account at RBC plus a EUR account at HSBC, etc., all consolidated in one platform. Many tech startups and e-commerce companies love Loop for these reasons.

Venn

Venn is a compelling choice for a business that wants an all-in-one financial platform and plans to grow into it. It has a broad feature set (global accounts, corporate card, invoicing, even investments) and is building a full ecosystem (expense management, accounting automation, etc.). The 1% cashback on the Venn card is a steady perk that essentially gives you back some money on every business purchase, essentially helping offset the subscription if you do enough volume. Venn’s slightly higher FX fees than Loop are still way better than banks, and everything is transparent. One thing to consider is cost: if you need multiple users or lots of transactions, you’ll likely be on the $40/month plan at least. But even at $40 or $100 a month, Venn might replace several other tools (it could handle international payments, corporate cards, and some accounting tasks in one). Venn is a strong pick for a growing startup or SMB that wants to streamline finances digitally and is okay with a monthly software-as-a-service (SaaS) fee for a better experience. It’s also an obvious alternative if you find Loop’s points/rewards or lack of interest a turn-off; with Venn you get cash back and can even earn interest through GICs on spare cash.

In many cases, a combination might serve you best. Since there’s no cost to open these accounts, some businesses use EQ Bank to park cash (earning interest) and handle Canadian transactions, while also using Loop or Venn for their card and global banking needs. That way you get the best of both: no-fee domestic banking plus advanced FX and card features. Just be mindful of keeping bookkeeping straight if using multiple accounts.

The emergence of Loop, Venn, EQ Bank (and others like Wealthsimple, Tangerine, Neo, etc.) signals a new era of banking in Canada, which is now helpful for businesses. The common theme is zero fees, flexibility, and fintech innovation, which is a refreshing change from the old-school big banks with their paperwork and charges. By evaluating what matters most for your business, be it saving on foreign exchange, earning interest, getting cashback, or simply avoiding fees, you can choose the platform that aligns best. And since all have free tiers, you can even try them to see which interface and service you prefer. One thing is certain: Canadian business owners finally have viable alternatives to the Big 5, and that competition can only be a good thing for entrepreneurs.

Take Them for a Spin

If you’re ready to experiment and set up one or more of these accounts yourself, you can use my referral codes to get started. We’ll both get something back for doing so. However, these are only available for Loop and Venn because EQ Bank doesn’t offer such a program. You can find links for these on the last row of the comparison table above.

Corrections and Updates

I’d like to keep this comparison as accurate and current as possible, but fintech tools evolve quickly. If you spot any errors or want to share updates (e.g. new features, pricing changes, eligibility details) I welcome your corrections. Feel free to reach out and help keep this resource reliable. Thanks for reading!