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Quick help with your business banking needs.

Get answers to your frequently asked questions and learn more from our helpful digital banking guides.

Online and Mobile Banking Guides

Discover video and written guides to help you navigate many of our digital online and mobile banking features.

Existing business client login

Logging in to Alterna’s new online and mobile banking for the first time.

New business client login


Getting started with online and mobile banking.

Pay business taxes


Pay your corporation, GST, payroll, and other business taxes through digital banking.

Set-up delegates

Assign delegates to add additional "non-signatory" users to your account.

Business Homepage

Discover your new online and mobile business banking homepage.

Transaction Notifications

Subscribe to alerts to keep track of all your business account transactions.

View pending transactions

Keep track of and manage upcoming and recurring transactions all in one place.

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.

Business Banking Frequently Asked Questions

You've got questions.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 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).

  1. Bank Statement

  2. Bill

  3. 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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  1. Small Business eChequing

  2. Payment Processing

  3. 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.

Frequently Asked Questions

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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 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.

Frequently Asked Questions

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

Frequently Asked Questions

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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