My advice would be to weight your decision on which bank has a branch within walking distance. I know that sounds like boomer advice, but it’s genuinely saved my butt a few times. I was with RBC for a while, but they’re generally terrible so I agree with that decision.

In my opinion, all a bank does is hold onto my paycheque until it can go to rent/mortgage, credit card autopay, or into the TFSA/RRSP accounts. If I look at the records for my chequeing account there’s usually 4-5 transactions per month.

The important decision, to me, is which credit card and investing account to get. These are the ones that actually matter.

For posterity, here’s what I use at the moment:

• chequing/savings accounts at Libro credit union (3 minute walk away) and TD (backup, 15 minute walk away). Lowest account “tier” and bare minimum in each to get the fees waived.
• credit card: some visa with a high limit and cash back because I don’t like “points”
• investing: TFSA and RRSP at wealthsimple because there aren’t any fees on ETFs.

The nice thing is that these can all be decoupled. If I change any component, it’s just adjusting the autopay info on its dependants.