i use president's choice financial because it's free for everything
and i think their "interest-plus savings account" is one of the banks with higher interest rates..
but then the downside is.. everything is either through the ATM, phone, internet.. you won't be able to go up to a teller lo.. u can talk to those advisors at the superstore.. but then most of the them they'll ask u to call ..
coast capital savings offers a free chequing account too.. but then printing cheques cost $$.. but then it's not just internet/ATM/telephone.. u can actually talk to someone when u want to deposit money..
kinda ironic sometimes that high net worth clients get all the perks and freebies- afterall they are the group that generate most of the profits for banks... while lower net worth clients need to pay service fee... lol~
most B&M banks will waive the account fee if you've establish a set amount of asset with them anywayz... ie. deposite, investment, mortage...
If you keep the minimum $2000 at HSBC chequing account..they wont charge u the monthly service fee.. (for 40 transactions i think~) For personal use, i think it is ok~