Holiday Hours
Please note our Contact Centre will be open from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm ET on May 20 for Victoria Day.
Online banking and ATMs are available for your convenience.
Business FAQs
Got questions? We’ve got answers! Here are some of our most frequently asked questions about small businesses, online account applications and more. If you don’t find the answer to your question, feel free to call us or send us an email - a representative would be happy to help.
Frequently Asked Questions
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If you have all required documentation hand the account opening will take between 10 to 15 minutes.
Provided we have all the information and documentation, you will receive an email from us regarding the status of your application within 1 business day.
Sole Proprietorship | Partnership | Corporation | |
Required Business Documentation | Proof of Business Number registration if business is operating under the Sole Proprietor's name | Proof of Business Number registration if business is operating under the partners' name | Proof of Business Number Registration |
Valid Master Business License if business is operating under a name other than that of the sole proprietor | Valid Master Business License if business is operating under a name other than that of the partners | Articles of Incorporation | |
Partnership Agreement | Valid Master Business License if the company is operating under a name that is different from that listed on incorporation document. |
Your Business Number - The Business Number (BN) is a unique number the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) assigns your business as a tax ID. It is a nine-digit number that is unique to your business.
A personal bank statement is a summary of financial transactions that occurred at a certain institution during a specific time period. For example, a typical bank statement may show your deposits and withdrawals for a certain month. You may receive bank statement electronically or through the mail. Bill and Statement may not be screenshots. Must be in PDF format
Bill -A digital bill is a copy of your personal utility/telephone bill that is sent to us electronically. Bill and Statement may not be screenshots. Must be in PDF format
Signature specimen means sending us your signature electronically and you can do this by taking a blank piece of paper and sign your name by yourself and send us a copy of your signature.
Co-owner information (if your business is a partnership or a corporation, anyone who is part of this corporation will be required to provide personal details).
Bank Statement
Bill
Signature Specimen
No, your company must be registered and operate within Canada
No, we currently do not accept applications for corporations with a board of directors.
We cannot open accounts for Cannabis companies online but we are more than happy to assist you with this. Please complete the form to get the process started. Or visit us here.
No, at this time we can service all provinces and territories excluding Quebec. A Quebec company is a business registered in Quebec and located within Quebec.
A sole proprietorship is an unincorporated business that is owned by one individual. It is the simplest kind of business structure. The owner of a sole proprietorship has sole responsibility for making decisions, receives all the profits, claims all losses, and does not have separate legal status from the business.
A general partnership is a business established by two or more owners. It is one of three ways of organizing a business in Canada
A set of formal documents filed with a government body to legally document the creation of a corporation. Articles of incorporation generally contain pertinent information, such as the firm’s name, street address, agent for service of process, and the amount and type of stock to be issued.
Articles of incorporation are also referred to as the "corporate charter," "articles of association," or "certificate of incorporation."
Trade names are business name registrations used by sole proprietors, partnerships and corporations. Any corporation that identifies itself to the public under a name other than its full corporate name must register that name as a trade name (also known as a business name, operating name, fictitious name, trade style, and dba – "doing business as" name).
The business number is a nine-digit number the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) assigns your business or non-profit as a tax ID. It is unique to your organization and is used when dealing with the federal government and certain provincial governments.
Tax jurisdiction details - For corporations, their tax identification number is their nine-digit Business Number (BN) issued by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Corporations resident in Canada have income tax reporting obligations and are required to have a BN.
Small Business eChequing
Payment Processing
Small Business Loans and Lines of Credit
For more information please visit alternabank.ca/smallbusiness
Please visit here for full details
Yes, your business can have multiple signing authorities on this account, however the account can only operate as one-to-sign. This means that any one of the signing authorities may sign off on transactions, but you may not set up a two-to-sign rule. Two to sign means that to process a transaction two of the signers must approve the transaction. If you would like to add an additional signing authority, please call us at 1.866.560.0120.
Just click on the ‘Save and continue later” button at the bottom of the application. To return to complete the application, click on the link that we provided to you by email
Documents supporting existence of business
Sole Proprietorship | Partnership | Corporation | |
Required Business Documentation | Proof of Business Number registration if business is operating under the Sole Proprietor's name | Proof of Business Number registration if business is operating under the partners' name | Proof of Business Number Registration |
Valid Master Business License if business is operating under a name other than that of the sole proprietor | Valid Master Business License if business is operating under a name other than that of the partners | Articles of Incorporation | |
Partnership Agreement | Valid Master Business License if the company is operating under a name that is different from that listed on incorporation document. |
Your Business Number - The Business Number (BN) is a unique number the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) assigns your business as a tax ID. It is a nine-digit number that is unique to your business.
A personal bank statement is a summary of financial transactions that occurred at a certain institution during a specific time period. For example, a typical bank statement may show your deposits and withdrawals for a certain month. You may receive bank statement electronically or through the mail. Bill and Statement may not be screenshots. Must be in PDF format
Bill -A digital bill is a copy of your personal utility/telephone bill that is sent to us electronically. Bill and Statement may not be screenshots. Must be in PDF format
Signature specimen means sending us your signature electronically and you can do this by taking a blank piece of paper and sign your name by yourself and send us a copy of your signature.
The business number is a nine-digit number the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) assigns your business or non-profit as a tax ID. It is unique to your organization and is used when dealing with the federal government and certain provincial governments.
The legal name of a business is the official name of the person or entity that owns a business. If you are the only owner of your business, then its legal name is simply your full name. For limited partnerships, LLCs, and corporations, the legal name of the business is the name registered with articles of incorporation.
Almost all businesses in Canada must register their business name in their respective provinces or territories except for sole proprietorships that use only the owner's legal name with no additions. All other forms of business ownership, including partnerships, must register their business names.
Trade names are business name registrations used by sole proprietors, partnerships and corporations. Any corporation that identifies itself to the public under a name other than its full corporate name must register that name as a trade name (also known as a business name, operating name, fictitious name, trade style, and dba – "doing business as" name).
The 7-digit corporation number is assigned to the corporation by Corporations Canada. You can find a corporation's BN by accessing Corporations Canada online database of federal corporations or by contacting Corporations Canada or CRA directly.
If you are a new client, you can access the form in the Small Business eChequing application.If you are already an Alterna Bank customer, you can apply by logging into Alterna Bank online banking and access the form under Quick Links
If you are a new customer, you can access the form in the Small Business eChequing application.If you are already an Alterna Bank customer, you can apply by logging into Alterna Bank online banking and access the form under Quick Links
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1.866.560.0120
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questions@alterna.caBusiness Banking Frequently Asked Questions
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We've got answers!
For business members, a Login ID is assigned when you first log into the new online banking system. Enter your member number to get started with login and a new ID will be provided as part of the log in process.
No, Signers will need to recreate them. Delegate set up on the new platform is straightforward and can be recreated quickly.
Yes, you can have multiple users set up on a business account with different levels of access and individual sign on credentials.
Not initially, but a solution to this is being identified and will be deployed in the future.
Users will have to maintain separate login IDs and passwords to access each business account until they combine their separate profiles into one. Combining their separate business profiles will allow them to have 1 set of credentials for digital banking with the option to chose the account/profile they want to access upon login. Branch staff will work with users, so they are able to maintain one set of login credentials.
Members will be able to update their contact information by contacting the contact centre or their branch.
Each user will now have their own unique login ID and password after logging in for the first time.
Delegates are fully managed by any of the signers or account admins on the business account.
A Delegate’s username is created by the signer. The username cannot be one that already exists at Alterna.
The signer will manually provide the username to the delegate. The signer can choose to use an auto-generated password or manually select one. Auto-generated passwords are directly emailed to the delegate while manually selected passwords need to be given to the delegate by the signer.
If users have access to multiple accounts which are linked to 1 individual profile in our banking system, they can now use 1 set of credentials for all of these accounts in digital banking, with the option to choose the account/profile they want to see access to upon login.
Business specific functionality can now be found under the Contract data and Operations tab.
Signers and admins can now update their personal information via online banking. This is an updated feature on the new platform.
On the new platform the signers will still need to approve/complete all financial transactions. The only exception is that Account Admins and initiator delegates can now send a request money transfer without requiring approval of a signer; however, they will require approval(s) to fulfill a request money transaction.