Corporate cardsCAD Visa + USD Mastercard2.5% CAD base ratePro free 12 months
Float Credit Card Review (2026): is Float legit, and is it worth it for a Canadian business?
Float issues free CAD Visa and USD Mastercard corporate cards to registered Canadian businesses, pays a 2.5% base rate on idle CAD (2.75% on USD), and syncs every receipt into Xero or QuickBooks. Here is how it is regulated, what it really costs, who qualifies, and when Ramp is the better pick.
At $50,000 idle plus $30,000/mo of spend, Float returns about $1,850/yr in yield and cashback combined. Figures are indicative: the 2.5% CAD base rate (2.75% on USD) is variable and Float can change it, and the 3.5% and 4% rates you may have seen were promotions that have closed.
The CPA pick
TOP PICK
The CPA verdict
Best for
Registered Canadian businesses, registered sole proprietors included, that want free CAD and USD cards, a 2.5% base rate on idle CAD, and receipts that code themselves into Xero or QuickBooks. Corporations and partnerships with at least $50,000 in cash can apply for Float Charge, an interest-free credit line.
Not for
Businesses that want to carry a balance month to month, collect travel points, run most of their spend in foreign currencies on a CAD card (the 2.5% foreign transaction fee applies), or replace their bank account (Float has no pre-authorized debits, cheques or payroll funding). US-heavy or multi-entity companies in a supported province should compare Ramp first.
Bottom line
Float is the default modern choice for a CAD-first Canadian business. It replaces the bank card plus spreadsheet with cards that carry their own limits, a balance that earns instead of sitting flat, and a clean sync into the books. Know the two traps (foreign-currency spend on a CAD card, and the closed 4% and 3.5% promotions) and it is an easy recommendation.
SP
Sebastien Prost, CPA
Reviewed from Float’s own pages · re-checked monthly · October 2026
CPA-reviewed, vendor-sourced
Canadian-built (Toronto)
Updated October 2026
Quick answer
Is the Float card legit and worth it for a Canadian business?
Yes on both counts, with two caveats. Float is a Toronto-based payment service provider registered under the Retail Payment Activities Act and with FINTRAC (MSB M23497654); customer money sits in trust accounts at Scotiabank, in your business's name, with CDIC cover up to $100,000 combined across CAD and USD. Float is not a bank and says so. The card is a Visa in CAD and a Mastercard in USD with no annual fee: most businesses spend against a balance they load (which earns a 2.5% base rate in CAD and 2.75% in USD, paid monthly), and eligible companies can add Float Charge, an interest-free credit line on 15 or 30-day terms with no personal guarantee. Cashback is 1% only on card spend above $25,000 a month per currency, and converting CAD to USD inside Float costs 0.25%. The caveats: a CAD card used in a foreign currency pays a 2.5% foreign transaction fee (get the USD card instead), and the 4% rate some people remember came from Float's September 2025 launch, which advertised "up to 4%" and ended June 1 2026, while the 3.5% boost closed to new sign-ups on August 31 2026. New customers get the Professional plan free for 12 months through our link, against the 90-day trial on Float's public pricing page.
Straight answers
The questions people ask about the Float card, answered first
Legitimacy, whether Float can replace your bank, CDIC cover, how the card is funded, the real yield and cashback rates, fees and FX, who can apply, how long approval takes, and when Ramp or Venn is the better choice. Every fee and feature here comes from the vendor’s own pages, read by a CPA and re-checked monthly; last re-read October 2026.
Legitimacy
Is Float legit?
Yes. Float Financial Solutions Inc. is a Toronto company (1000-119 Spadina Avenue) registered as a payment service provider under Canada's Retail Payment Activities Act, registered with FINTRAC as a money services business (M23497654), and a member of Payments Canada. Customer funds are held in trust accounts at Scotiabank in your business's name, legally separated from Float's own assets, and are eligible for CDIC deposit insurance up to $100,000 CAD combined across your CAD and USD balances. Float states plainly that it is not a bank or a CDIC member itself; the insurance comes through its partner bank. The platform completed a SOC 2 Type 2 audit and is PCI-DSS compliant, carries zero-liability fraud protection, and reports more than 10,000 Canadian companies as customers. The CAD Visa is issued by Float itself; the USD Mastercard is issued by Thread Bank, a US FDIC member.
RPAA-registered payment service provider; FINTRAC MSB M23497654; Payments Canada member
Funds in trust at Scotiabank, in your business's name, separate from Float's balance sheet
CDIC cover up to $100,000 CAD, counted across CAD and USD together (USD at its CAD value)
SOC 2 Type 2 audited, PCI-DSS compliant, zero-liability fraud protection
Bank account?
Can Float be my business bank account?
Not on its own, and Float says so itself. Its Business Accounts FAQ says the accounts do not support pre-authorized debits (PADs) and therefore cannot replace your primary bank account: they cannot be the funding account for payroll processing, cannot be registered with a utility for automatic withdrawals, and cannot be used for payroll verification. You also cannot send Interac e-Transfers or cheques from Float, or invoice customers through it. What Float does is everything around the cards: you can receive CAD by EFT or Interac e-Transfer and USD by ACH or wire, hold both currencies at the 2.5% CAD and 2.75% USD base rate, pay vendors by EFT, ACH, SEPA or wire, and reimburse staff. Float says it plans to support pre-authorized debits in the near future. Until it does, run Float beside a bank account, not instead of one.
What you need the account to do
Float Business Account
Receive CAD from customers
Yes, by EFT or Interac e-Transfer (e-Transfers auto-deposit to your CAD balance)
Receive USD
Yes, by ACH or wire; USD EFT is not supported, so move USD from a Canadian bank by wire
Earn interest on idle cash
Yes: 2.5% CAD and 2.75% USD base rate, variable, paid monthly once KYB is approved
Pay vendor bills
Yes: EFT, ACH and SEPA free, wires $20 CAD each
Fund payroll or let a utility pull payments (PADs)
No, not supported yet
Payroll verification, void cheque or direct deposit form
No
Send Interac e-Transfers
No (receiving them is supported)
Send or receive cheques
No
Invoice customers or take customer payments
No: Float says it is not a payment processor
Move money back to your bank
Yes; withdrawals arrive in 2 to 5 business days
Float states that it is not a bank. It is a FINTRAC-registered money services business and a payment service provider registered under the Retail Payment Activities Act, so treat it as the spend and cash layer that sits beside your bank.
Deposit insurance
Is money in Float CDIC-insured?
Yes, up to $100,000 CAD, but the cover comes through Scotiabank, not through Float. Float holds your CAD and USD balances in trust, in your business's name, in dedicated trust accounts at Scotiabank, legally separated from Float's own assets, and says it has partnered with Scotiabank to offer CDIC insurance of up to $100,000 CAD combined across your CAD and USD cash accounts, with USD balances counted at their CAD equivalent. Float itself is not a bank or a CDIC member institution; it is a registered money services business. Because the money sits in trust under your business's name, Float says it would remain yours in the unlikely event that Float went out of business.
The $100,000 CDIC cap is per business across both currencies. A company parking $400,000 in Float for the yield is insured on a quarter of it, which is also true of a chequing account at any single bank.
How the card works
Is the Float card a credit card?
It can be, but most businesses start without credit. Float runs two funding models behind the same CAD Visa and USD Mastercard cards. On Pre-Funded (Float's own card FAQ also calls it prepaid), you move money from your bank into your Float account, your company-wide limit is that balance, and the balance earns interest while it waits to be spent; there is no underwriting, no borrowing and no credit check. Float Charge is a separate, interest-free credit line for businesses that qualify: you spend, and the full balance is repaid automatically from your bank on a 15 or 30-day cycle, with no personal guarantee. Float markets Charge as needing no credit check, but its Charge FAQ lists past credit history among the factors that set your limit. Either way each card carries its own limit, merchant controls and receipt matching, and Float does not revolve a balance, charge interest, or report to personal credit bureaus.
Pre-Funded (default)
Float Charge
Where spend comes from
The balance you load into Float
An unsecured credit line, repaid in full each cycle
Who qualifies
Any registered Canadian business that passes KYB, sole proprietors included
Registered Canadian corporations and partnerships with $50,000 CAD of cash on hand, 12+ months of operating cash or consistent profitability; non-profits and crypto businesses excluded
Limits
Your Float balance, with per-card limits underneath
From $10,000 up to $3M+, sized on revenue, cash, debt, liquidity and past credit history; Float expects you to use at least 70% of the approved limit
Cost of credit
None, there is no borrowing
None while repaid on time; interest-free with no annual fee
Interest on balances
2.5% CAD / 2.75% USD base rate
None on Charge balances (Cash balances still earn)
Personal guarantee
No
No
Credit check
None to open the account
Marketed as none; the Charge FAQ lists past credit history as a limit factor
Rewards
Does Float pay 4% interest? What are the real yield and cashback rates?
Not any more. As of September 2026 every Float Business Account earns a base rate of 2.5% on CAD balances and 2.75% on USD balances, from the first dollar, with no cap, no lock-up and no minimum: interest accrues daily and is credited on the first of the following month, once the business has passed KYB verification. Float's business accounts page and its interest FAQ (updated September 17 2026) give 2.75% for USD, although a few older Float pages still say 2.5% on both currencies. The 4% figure comes from Float's September 2025 launch, which advertised "up to 4%"; Float replaced it on June 1 2026 with today's variable base rates of 2.5% on CAD and 2.75% on USD. A 1% boost promotion (3.5% CAD, 3.75% USD on funds above the account's April 2026 average balance) could be joined from June 1 to August 31 2026. That window has closed, so a business signing up today earns the base rate, which Float says is variable and can change without notice. Cashback is separate: 1% on card spend above $25,000 in a month, calculated per currency (the CAD card programme has a CA$25,000 gate and the USD card programme its own US$25,000 gate) and paid on the first of the next month. Spend $50,000 on CAD cards in a month and you receive $250. Bill payments and reimbursements do not earn cashback.
Yield: 2.5% CAD and 2.75% USD base, accrued daily, paid monthly, variable, no cap
Cashback: 1% of card spend above $25,000 a month, per currency, on both Pre-Funded and Charge
Float pays the yield as a cash reward rather than deposit interest, issues no T5 and exports it to your books as a refund or credit; Float says it may be business income, so tell your accountant
Charge balances earn no interest; only Cash balances do
Fees
What does Float cost, including FX?
The Essentials plan is $0 per user with no monthly account fee, no annual card fee, up to 20 physical cards and unlimited virtual cards, and Float covers all inbound wire, EFT and ACH fees. Professional starts at $100 a month in CAD, which includes your first 10 active users, then $10 for each additional active user, billed month to month; new Canadian businesses get it free for 12 months through our link. Paying vendors by EFT or ACH is free, and each outbound wire costs $20 CAD. The two FX numbers matter and they are different: converting between CAD and USD inside Float (Float FX) costs 0.25%, roughly a tenth of a bank markup, but spending on a card in a currency that does not match the card (a CAD Visa used for a USD or EUR purchase) carries a 2.5% foreign transaction fee, applied after the Visa or Mastercard network rate. A bill paid from a balance in a different currency, such as a EUR invoice paid from your CAD balance, costs 1.5%. The fix for card spend is to hold both cards: once Float approves your business for USD Spend, fund the USD Mastercard from a Canadian-domiciled USD account or through Float FX, and USD purchases carry no foreign transaction fee.
Item
Float charges
Monthly account fee
None
Essentials plan
$0 per user; up to 20 physical cards, unlimited virtual
Professional plan
From $100 a month including 10 active users, then $10 per additional active user (free for 12 months through our link)
Inbound EFT, ACH, wire
Free (an intermediary bank may deduct from a SWIFT wire)
Outbound EFT and ACH (bill pay, send money)
Free
Outbound wire
$20 CAD per payment, invoiced monthly
Float FX, CAD and USD conversion
0.25%
Card spend in a currency that does not match the card
2.5% foreign transaction fee, after the network rate
Bill paid from a balance in another currency (e.g. EUR bill from CAD)
1.5% conversion fee
Interest or annual card fees
None; Charge is interest-free when repaid on cycle
Eligibility
Who can apply for Float?
Any business type that is legally registered in Canada (federally or provincially) and passes Float's KYB verification; Float says most business verifications finish within 1 to 3 business days once documents are in. That includes sole proprietors with a business registration, non-profits, and new businesses with no operating history; Float sets no minimum spend, no minimum balance and no contract. Businesses incorporated outside Canada or the US are not eligible. Float says it serves every province and territory, is Bill 96-compliant, serves customers in English and French, and tracks GST, HST, PST and QST on a single transaction, so Quebec and Saskatchewan businesses are served. Float Charge is narrower: corporations and partnerships only, with $50,000 CAD of cash on hand and 12 months or more of operating cash or consistent profitability. Applying online takes about 5 minutes, and physical cards arrive in five to ten days.
Registered Canadian entity, any structure, including sole proprietors and non-profits
KYB documents: articles or business registration, ID for owners and signers, proof of address and banking
No minimum spend, no minimum balance, no contract; Professional is billed month to month
Float Charge needs a corporation or partnership with $50,000 CAD of cash on hand and 12+ months of runway or consistent profitability
Approval time
How long does Float take to approve a business?
Usually 1 to 3 business days. Float's FAQ for new customers says most business verifications (KYB) are completed within 1 to 3 business days once documents are submitted, though complex verifications can take longer, and its approvals team emails you if it needs more. Each person who will use Float also completes an identity check (KYC), which Float says usually takes minutes and up to one business day if a manual review is needed. You can explore the platform as soon as you sign up, but cards cannot be activated, and interest is not paid, until the business verification is approved.
Articles of incorporation or proof of business registration
ID for the beneficial owners and authorized signers
Proof of address and banking details
Float's FAQ says the "Send for review" step stays greyed out until every required verification field is filled in. If the sign-up form itself will not let you continue, contact us and we'll connect you with Float's team directly.
Ramp, if your business is eligible and wants cashback on every dollar and Ramp's spend automation; Venn, if what you are missing is a business bank account rather than a card platform. Ramp launched in Canada in July 2026 with free CAD and USD Visa charge cards (the USD cards are virtual only), 1% fixed cashback on all eligible spend, and a US$250 credit after US$1,000 of card spend through our link. It suits corporations running US operations or several entities, and teams that would rarely clear Float's $25,000 monthly cashback gate. Ramp is narrower on who it serves: corporations, incorporated partnerships and registered not-for-profits only, legally registered in any province except Quebec (the territories are not supported), with at least CA$25,000 in connected bank accounts, which Ramp calls a minimum, not a guarantee of approval. Venn covers the main gap in the bank-account table above: billers such as utilities can set up pre-authorized debits on its CAD account, and it takes sole proprietors as well as corporations, but it is not available to Quebec businesses. Float stays the better fit for Quebec businesses (Ramp and Venn both exclude Quebec), for sole proprietors who want corporate cards with per-card controls (Ramp excludes them), and for teams whose main need is spend control: cards, receipts and approvals that sync to Xero or QuickBooks. Nothing stops you running two: a bank or Venn account for payroll and debits, Float for cards and bills.
Sources: floatfinancial.com/pricing, the Float Business Accounts page, the Trust and Security page, and the help centre articles on pricing, interest, cashback, foreign-currency card fees, bill payment fees, business accounts, Float Charge and new-customer eligibility, all re-read on October 6 2026. Ramp facts come from ramp.com/en-ca and support.ramp.com, and Venn facts from venn.ca and its help centre, read the same day. Rates and eligibility are each vendor’s to change; check the sign-up page for the figure on the day you apply.
What you get
The features that make Float worth switching to
Free corporate cards, yield on idle cash, and automation that codes GST/HST into Xero, the modern replacement for a bank card plus a spreadsheet.
CAD Visa + USD Mastercard
Issue physical and virtual cards in CAD and USD with real-time tracking and per-card limits; physical cards arrive in five to ten days. USD cards need Float’s separate USD Spend approval.
2.5% base rate on idle cash
CAD balances earn a 2.5% base rate and USD balances 2.75%, accrued daily and paid on the first of the month, from the first dollar with no lock-up. The rate is variable.
1% cashback above $25k
Earn 1% cashback on card spend above $25,000 in a month, calculated separately for CAD and USD cards, on both Pre-Funded and Charge.
Fee-free EFT bill pay
Import invoices, route approvals, and pay vendors by EFT or ACH with no transfer fee (wires are $20 CAD each), from the same platform as the cards.
Employee reimbursements
Reimburse out-of-pocket expenses and mileage without waiting for payroll, with approval workflows and CAD direct payouts (USD on Professional).
Text-to-submit receipts
Snap or text a receipt and Float matches it to the transaction, so receipts stop piling up for month-end.
Xero & QuickBooks sync
Two-way accounting sync that tracks GST, HST, PST and QST on a single transaction, plus NetSuite on Professional and above.
0.25% Float FX
Convert CAD to USD inside Float at 0.25% and fund the USD card, which spends USD with no foreign transaction fee. A CAD card used in a foreign currency pays 2.5%.
Sole proprietors qualify
Any business type legally registered in Canada that passes KYB can apply, sole proprietors and non-profits included, with no minimum spend or balance.
Funds in trust, CDIC to $100k
Toronto-built, RPAA and FINTRAC registered, with balances held in trust at Scotiabank in your business’s name and CDIC cover up to $100,000 across CAD and USD.
Pros & cons
Where Float wins, and where it does not
Strengths
A 2.5% base rate on idle CAD (2.75% on USD), accrued daily and paid monthly, with no lock-up and no cap.
1% cashback on card spend above $25,000 a month, in each of CAD and USD.
Float FX converts CAD to USD at 0.25%, and the USD Mastercard spends USD with no foreign transaction fee.
Cards issued in seconds with per-card limits, merchant controls and instant freeze.
Text-to-submit receipts and a two-way Xero and QuickBooks sync that codes GST, HST, PST and QST.
Float Charge is interest-free credit with no personal guarantee for businesses that qualify, and opening the account needs no credit check.
Open to sole proprietors and non-profits, and Bill 96-compliant with French support.
Watch-fors
A CAD card used in a foreign currency pays a 2.5% foreign transaction fee; the 0.25% rate is for conversions inside Float, not card spend.
Cashback starts only above $25,000 of monthly spend per currency, so most small businesses will never trigger it.
Float Charge is for corporations and partnerships with $50,000 in cash, expects 70% utilization, and Charge balances earn no interest.
The 4% and 3.5% rates were 2025-2026 promotions; a new account today earns the 2.5% CAD (2.75% USD) base rate, which Float can change without notice.
Not a bank, by its own description: the business account has no pre-authorized debits, so it cannot fund payroll or utility bills, and it handles no cheques, no outbound e-Transfers and no customer invoicing (customers can still pay into it by EFT, ACH, wire or Interac e-Transfer). Withdrawals go through support and take 2 to 5 business days, and CDIC cover is capped at $100,000 across both currencies.
Outbound wires cost $20 CAD each, and a bill paid from a balance in a different currency, such as a EUR bill from CAD, carries a 1.5% conversion fee.
vs the alternatives
Float vs Ramp vs a Big-5 bank card
Float and Ramp are two modern spend platforms open to Canadian businesses, but they are not the same kind of tool. Float is a Canadian-built spend platform with its own business accounts: it holds CAD and USD, pays a base rate on both, pays vendors by EFT, codes GST, HST, PST and QST off receipts, and is registered here under the RPAA and with FINTRAC. It runs beside a bank account rather than replacing one, because it has no pre-authorized debits or payroll funding. Ramp is a US platform with a Canadian card programme and strong spend automation, open only to corporations, incorporated partnerships and not-for-profits, and not in Quebec or the territories. For a CAD-first business, Float usually wins the day-to-day; Ramp fits US operations and multi-entity companies. Both leave a traditional bank card behind.
Factor
Float
Ramp
Big-5 bank card
Monthly fee
$0 on Essentials; Professional from $100 a month
$0 on Free; Plus CA$15 per user plus a platform fee
Annual card fee is common
Interest on idle cash
2.5% CAD / 2.75% USD base
None in Canada; Ramp's checking account is US-only
None on a card
Cashback
1% above $25k a month per currency
1% fixed, from the first dollar
Varies, often capped
Cards
CAD Visa + USD Mastercard
CAD Visa + USD Visa (USD virtual only)
CAD
Credit model
Pre-funded balance, or interest-free Charge on 15/30-day terms
Corporate-liability charge card, paid in full
Revolving credit with interest
Who qualifies
Any registered Canadian business incl. sole props; all provinces and territories
Corporations, incorporated partnerships, registered NFPs with CA$25k+ in connected accounts; every province except Quebec, no territories
Depends on personal credit and guarantee
New-account offer
Professional free 12 months via our link (90-day trial direct)
US$250 after US$1,000 card spend
None
Accounting sync
Xero, QBO; NetSuite on Professional
Xero, QBO on Free; NetSuite on Plus
Bank feed
If most of your spend is in USD or cross-border, read our Float vs Ramp comparison and the Ramp Canada review before deciding. For CAD-first operations with idle cash to put to work, Float is usually the smoother choice; if you want a bank account with a card attached rather than a spend platform, see the Venn review.
Pricing
What Float actually costs in 2026
Start free, upgrade only for advanced controls. New customers get the Professional plan free for 12 months through our link, against a 90-day trial on Float’s own pricing page.
Most popular
Essentials
$0/ user / month
Small businesses and startups getting started with spend management.
Up to 20 physical cards and unlimited virtual cards
CAD Visa and USD Mastercard cards
2.5% CAD / 2.75% USD base rate on balances, CDIC-eligible to $100,000 combined
1% cashback on card spend above $25,000 a month, per currency
0.25% Float FX and fee-free inbound wire, EFT and ACH
Bill pay from your Float balance: free EFT and ACH, $20 wires
Receipt matching, Canadian tax tracking, Xero and QBO sync
Essentials is free. Professional starts at $100 a month in CAD, including your first 10 active users, then $10 per additional active user, billed month to month; administrators and bookkeepers always count as active. Float's public pricing offers a 90-day Professional trial; new customers get it free for 12 months through our link, then regular pricing applies. The 2.5% CAD and 2.75% USD base rates are variable. Verified at floatfinancial.com/pricing and the Float help centre, October 6 2026.
How it works
From signup to team cards in five steps
1
Apply online
The application takes about five minutes. You need proof of registration or articles, ID for owners and signers, and your banking details.
2
Pass KYB verification
Float says most business verifications finish within 1 to 3 business days once documents are in. Cards cannot be activated before this step clears.
3
Fund the account or apply for Charge
Move money in by EFT (free), or add up to $25,000 CAD instantly by Interac e-Transfer, and it starts earning from the first dollar. Or apply for Float Charge inside the app if you are a corporation or partnership with $50,000 in cash.
4
Issue cards and set policies
Create a virtual card per subscription or vendor with its own limit, order physical cards (five to ten days), and set spend policies so receipts are requested automatically.
5
Connect Xero or QuickBooks
Map your tax codes and accounts once; every transaction then lands in the books with the receipt attached.
Common mistakes to avoid
Using the CAD Visa for USD or other foreign purchases: that is the 2.5% foreign transaction fee. Apply for USD Spend, then fund the USD Mastercard through Float FX at 0.25%.
Expecting 4% or 3.5% interest: those were promotional rates, and a new account earns the 2.5% CAD base rate today.
Treating Float Charge as a cash-back-only decision: Charge balances earn no interest, and Float expects at least 70% utilization of the approved limit.
Leaving the monthly interest where the sync puts it: Float exports it as a refund or credit (a credit note in Xero), not income, and issues no T5. Map it to an income account and mention it to your accountant.
Planning to run payroll or pre-authorized debits from Float: the business account does not support PADs, so keep a bank account for payroll and utility withdrawals.
Forgetting to map tax codes in the accounting settings before the first sync.
Method
How this review was built
SP
Sebastien Prost, CPA
Founder, LedgerLogic
This review is built from Float's own published material, not from running Float for a team. Sebastien Prost, CPA, read Float's pricing page, its Business Accounts and Trust and Security pages, and its help centre articles on pricing, interest, cashback, foreign-currency card fees, bill payments, business accounts, Float Charge and new-customer eligibility, then worked through how the numbers interact: yield against the $25,000 cashback gate, the 2.5% foreign transaction fee on a CAD card against the USD card, and which business structures qualify for Pre-Funded and for Charge. Ramp and Venn facts come from their own Canadian pages and help centres. Every fee and feature here comes from the vendor's own pages, read by a CPA and re-checked monthly; the last full re-read was on October 6 2026.
Common questions
9 questions people ask about Float
Yes. Float Financial Solutions Inc. is a Toronto-based payment service provider registered under Canada's Retail Payment Activities Act and with FINTRAC as a money services business (M23497654), and a member of Payments Canada. Customer funds are held in trust accounts at Scotiabank in your business's name, separate from Float's own assets, with CDIC cover up to $100,000 CAD combined across CAD and USD. The platform is SOC 2 Type 2 audited and PCI-DSS compliant, carries zero-liability fraud protection, and serves more than 10,000 Canadian companies. Float is not a bank and states that itself.
Both models exist behind the same Visa (CAD) and Mastercard (USD) cards. On Pre-Funded, the default (Float also calls it prepaid), you load a balance from your bank, spend against it, and the balance earns a 2.5% CAD or 2.75% USD base rate while it waits. Float Charge is an interest-free credit line for registered corporations and partnerships with $50,000 CAD of cash on hand, repaid in full automatically on a 15 or 30-day cycle, with limits from $10,000 up to $3M or more and no personal guarantee. Float markets Charge as needing no credit check, but its Charge FAQ lists past credit history among the factors that set the limit. Neither model revolves a balance or charges interest.
Not any more. Float's September 2025 launch advertised up to 4%, but from June 1 2026 every Float Business Account earns a variable base rate: 2.5% on CAD and 2.75% on USD, accrued daily, paid on the first of the month, from the first dollar and with no cap. A 1% boost to 3.5% CAD and 3.75% USD was available on funds above each account's April 2026 average balance, but its opt-in window closed on August 31 2026, so new accounts earn the base rate. Float describes the base rate as variable and subject to change, and pays it as a cash reward rather than deposit interest, so it issues no T5.
Float pays 1% cashback on card spend above $25,000 in a calendar month, calculated separately for CAD cards and USD cards, on both the Pre-Funded and Charge models. Spend $50,000 on CAD cards in July and $250 is credited to your Float balance on August 1. Spend $40,000 on CAD cards and US$10,000 on USD cards and the payout is $150, because the USD cards did not clear their own US$25,000 gate. Bill payments and reimbursements do not earn cashback.
Essentials is $0 per user with no monthly fee, up to 20 physical cards and unlimited virtual cards, and Float covers inbound wire, EFT and ACH fees. Professional starts at $100 a month in CAD, including your first 10 active users, then $10 per additional active user, and it is free for 12 months for new customers through our link, with nothing to enter; Float's own pricing page offers a 90-day trial instead. Outbound EFT and ACH payments are free; wires cost $20 CAD each. Converting between CAD and USD inside Float costs 0.25%. Spending on a card in a currency that does not match it, such as a CAD Visa used for a USD purchase, carries a 2.5% foreign transaction fee after the network rate; the USD Mastercard avoids that on USD spend. A bill paid from a balance in a different currency, such as a EUR bill from CAD, costs 1.5%.
Yes to both. Float accepts any business type that is legally registered in Canada, federally or provincially, and passes its KYB verification, including sole proprietors with a business registration, non-profits and brand-new businesses. There is no minimum spend, no minimum balance and no contract. Float says it serves every province and territory, is Bill 96-compliant, supports customers in English and French, and tracks GST, HST, PST and QST. Float Charge is the exception: it is for corporations and partnerships with $50,000 CAD of cash on hand and 12 months or more of operating cash or consistent profitability.
Your CAD and USD balances are held in trust under your business's name in dedicated accounts at Scotiabank, so they are legally separated from Float's own assets and would remain yours if Float ceased operating. Through that partnership, balances carry CDIC insurance up to $100,000 CAD, counted across CAD and USD together with USD valued in CAD. Float itself is not a bank or a CDIC member. Cards carry their own limits, merchant controls and instant freeze, and Float's zero-liability policy covers fraudulent transactions.
No, not on its own. Float's Business Accounts FAQ says its accounts do not support pre-authorized debits and so cannot replace your primary bank account: they cannot fund payroll processing, cannot be registered with a utility for automatic withdrawals, and cannot be used for payroll verification. You also cannot send Interac e-Transfers or cheques from Float, or invoice customers through it. You can receive CAD by EFT and Interac e-Transfer and USD by ACH or wire, earn the 2.5% CAD and 2.75% USD base rate, and pay vendors by EFT, ACH, SEPA or wire. Float says it plans to support pre-authorized debits in the near future; until then, keep a bank account beside it.
Float for sole proprietors, Quebec businesses, anyone who wants a 2.5% base rate on idle cash alongside the cards, and companies that want a Canadian-built platform with French support. Ramp for corporations with US operations or several entities, teams that want 1% cashback from the first dollar rather than only above $25,000, and deeper spend automation; it pays US$250 after US$1,000 of card spend through our link, but it excludes sole proprietors, Quebec and the territories, and needs at least CA$25,000 in connected bank accounts. Neither asks for a personal guarantee.
About $1,850 of year-one value on $50,000 idle cash.
A legitimate, RPAA-registered Canadian platform with funds in trust at Scotiabank and CDIC cover to $100,000. Free CAD and USD cards, a 2.5% CAD base rate on idle cash, 1% cashback on card spend above $25,000 a month in each currency, and receipts that sync to Xero, with the Professional plan free for 12 months through our link. For USD-heavy spend, compare it with Ramp first.
