Most big banks in Canada charge for standard non-business bank accounts.

This one is TD but the others all charge the same. Why compete when you can collude?

    TD Unlimited Chequing Account
    
    Unlimited transactions for your peace of mind
    
    Annual fee rebate for the first year on select TD credit cards (up to $139)
    
    No TD ATM fee at any ATM in Canada
    
    Free Interac e-Transfer® transactions
    
    Monthly account fee of $16.95 or $0 if you maintain a daily balance of $4,000 or more

https://www.td.com/ca/en/personal-banking/products/bank-acco...

Also, $16.95/month is $203.40/year, which divided by $4,000 is 5.09%. If you can earn more than 5.09% then you are better off paying the fee and investing your $4,000 elsewhere.

It is also pretty much impossible to keep precisely $4,000 in your account because of the lumpiness of day-to-day inflows (paycheques) and outflows (bills). If you keep say $10,000 in your chequing account to (a) avoid the $16.95/fee, and (b) provide a buffer against unexpected expenses, then the breakeven return on your money is $203.40 / $10,000 = a paltry 2.03%.

Sure, you could pop it into a TD High Interest Savings Account and earn your high interest rate of 0.050%.

Wait, its 0.000% on $4,000

High interest, indeed!

Yes, and while TD is paying you 0.050%, they are loaning out your $4,000 in the form of a mortgage on which they earn 6.79%!

There are plenty of reputable banks that still pay 3-5%. Amex savings accounts are now 3.8%

I've seen these fees in personal accounts. They're usually waived if you maintain a certain minimum balance. Sometimes it's a few thousand dollars, but if you want things like free checks or other "perks" they can be much more. And of course they don't pay meaningful interest on your deposits. They're basically charging you the fee in the form of lost interest.

Just a PSA for anyone unaware, you can get checks printed anywhere and using a huge variety of designs. It is not mandatory to order them from the bank where the account is held.

Why would you expect checks to be free? The people who print checks need to eat too.

I'm curious what else is under your "perks" umbrella.

If you want a checking account with no minimums try Ally. EFT payments are also free. You will have to pay for checks however.

Because a small number of checks have been free for many decades. They cost almost nothing to print. But banks now charge $20 for a small box. Add another $10 for shipping.

I don't use checks often but have to buy a box in order to have >0.

I like Ally. I can do pretty much everything I need to for free and their interest rates are about as good as it gets. Only annoying thing is being unable to deposit cash but that's such a rare occurrence.

Even for business accounts. I have a "business" account, opened for some contract work I did years ago, it has very little activity, but I pay no fees and have a debit card. I keep it open "just in case I need it" because it doesn't cost me anything.

In Germany it’s ubiquitous