Nickel and Diming

[Matt.Dean]

Hi all,

Just the other day, I got a letter from the bank I have my business account with... BizSmart. It's underwitten by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC).

It seems that they're closing all their accounts and ceasing operations in November of this year.

For those who don't know, BizSmart was originally started years ago by Staples/Business Depot as a no-fee business account for small businesses, similar to President's Choice Financial is no-fee personal banking. A while after, they were about to close for good but at the last moment decided to keep the existing customers while not accepting any new accounts.

Earlier today, I was reading news articles on the Internet on how airlines (going on a trip to Italy for a cruise in October & November) are nickel and diming everyone to death... in fact, on Air Canada it costs $2 if you want a pillow and blanket, which makes US Airways (I just got back from my Vegas trip which was Aug 4-7) look like a luxury airline with the free pillows, drinks and pretzels.

To me, it looks like this may be the beginning (or the middle) of most/all companies starting to nickel & dime their customers to death...

I just thought I'd share this little tidbit and see what you all think.

[Matt.Dean]

...It's underwitten by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC)...

Of course they want to sell me CIBC business bank accounts in the letter too... anyone got any good suggestions for low (or preferably no) fee business bank accounts in Canada (specifically Ontario... Toronto area)?