Canada Emergency Business Account

On March 27, Prime Minister Trudeau announced additional measures to support businesses through this time. Scotiabank, together with other leaders in the banking community, has been consulting with the government on these measures, designing them specifically to help small and medium-sized business owners with their most pressing needs and position the economy to recover.

The Canada Emergency Business Account will provide qualifying business customers and clients access to a $40,000 loan:

• 0% interest until December 31, 2022.

• No principal payments until December 31, 2022.

• Principal repayments can be voluntarily made at any time without fees or penalties.

• $10,000 loan forgiveness is available, provided outstanding balance is $40,000 at December 31, 2020, and $30,000 is paid back between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2022.

• If balance is not paid by December 31, 2022, the remaining balance will be converted to a 3-year term loan at 5% annual interest, paid monthly, effective January 1, 2023.

• The full balance must be repaid by no later than December 31, 2025.

Note: Once you are approved for the CEBA program, you will receive a deposit of $40,000 in your operating account within 5 business days, and will have a new loan displaying as “ScotiaLine for Business VISA” within online banking. Please note there is no revolving feature on this product, and once the money is repaid, you will not be able to re-advance funds again. Payments on CEBA loans will be reversed centrally on a biweekly basis.

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The easiest and fastest way for small business customers interested in the Canada Emergency Business Account will be to apply through Scotia OnLine banking or the Scotia mobile banking app. Please do not contact the branches or contact centre at this time, as they do not have the ability to set up the Canada Emergency Business Account.

If you are not currently registered for Scotia OnLine banking or the mobile banking app, please visit scotiabank.com/digital for resources on how to register.

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You will need your 2019 T4 Summary of Remuneration Paid statement with the following information: 

• A Canada Revenue Agency Business Number (BN) (15 digits), as reported at the top of the 2019 T4 Summary of Remuneration Paid 
• The total employment income reported in Box 14 of the 2019 T4SUM. For customers who also pay employees tax-exempt employment income under the Indian Act, all employment income reported in Box 71 of T4 statements issued to the organization’s employees for 2019 must also be included in the total
  

When you are approved and accept this new account, you will have access to a $40,000 loan with a 0% interest rate, no fees, and will not require repayments of principal until December 31, 2022. 

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For small business customers, the Canada Emergency Business Account will be offered as a ScotiaLine for Business VISA. You will be able to access your account through Scotia OnLine Banking or the Scotia mobile banking app. $40,000 will automatically be transferred from the ScotiaLine for Business VISA to your operating account upon activation of the loan. No fees apply for this transfer.

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Your online CEBA application will be processed, and a decision on approval will be provided, immediately. If approved, your $40,000 loan will be set up automatically. Within approximately 5 days, the $40,000 will automatically be transferred into your business operating account.

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After December 31, 2022, your interest-free period ends and a 5% annual interest rate is applied on the outstanding balance. Monthly interest-only payments will begin in January 2023 and the full outstanding principal balance must be repaid no later than December 31, 2025.

Per the requirements of the program, as set out by the Federal Government, customers and clients must agree to use funds from this loan to pay for operating costs that cannot be deferred, such as payroll, rent, utilities, insurance, property tax and regularly scheduled debt service.

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Any balance owing on this account can be repaid at any time. To qualify for the $10,000 loan forgiveness, the outstanding balance should be $40,000 at December 31, 2020, and you will need to repay $30,000 from your operating account to your ScotiaLine for business Visa between Jan. 1, 2021 and Dec. 31, 2022.  You will not be charged any interest charges or service fees.

You must maintain a balance of $40,000 on your CEBA loan until December 31, 2020 to qualify for the full $10,000 loan forgiveness. If you repay $30,000 from your operating account to your ScotiaLine for Business VISA between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2022 , the remaining $10,000 balance will be forgiven.

Scotiabank was experiencing some technical difficulties from April 9 – April 11. This resulted in some small business banking customers not being able to complete and submit their application during this time. We apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused. The problem has since been resolved with full service now restored.

We encourage you to re-apply if you haven’t already been approved for the CEBA program, and your business continues to meet the program requirements as set out by the Federal Government. Before re-applying, please clear your browser history to ensure you get the latest technical updates. Follow these instructions on clearing your browser for Chrome, Internet Explorer and Firefox.

 If you have applied already and received a confirmation email that you have been approved, no further action is required by you.

Small business customers that meet each of the following criteria will be eligible for the program:

•  The person applying has the ability and authority to bind the organization.
• Your organization is a Canadian operating business in operation on March 1, 2020.
• Your organization’s payroll expense in the 2019 calendar year was between  $20,000 and $1,500,000 (updated payroll expense requirements effective April 17, 2020). You will need to have a federal tax registration and provide:
  • Your Canada Revenue Agency Business Number (BN) (15 digits), as reported at the top of the 2019 T4 Summary of Remuneration Paid(T4SUM)
  • Your total employment income reported in Box 14 of the 2019 T4SUM. For customers who also pay employees tax-exempt employment income under the Indian Act, all employment income reported in Box 71 of T4 statements issued to the organization’s employees for 2019 must also be included in the total
  • Information to demonstrate the above when requested upon audit by the Federal Government
    
    
• Per the requirements of the program, as set out by the Federal Government, you will agree to use funds from this loan to pay for operating costs that cannot be deferred, such as payroll, rent, utilities, insurance, property tax and regularly scheduled debt service.
• You have an active business chequing/operating account at Scotiabank, which is your primary financial institution.  Your account was opened prior to March 1, 2020, and was not in arrears on existing borrowing products, if applicable, with Scotiabank by 90 days or more as of March 1, 2020.
• You are not applying for this program at any other financial institution.  You understand that applying for support under the Program at more than one financial institution may result in ineligibility under the Program, default under the facility in respect of which this attestation is being provided, prosecution or other enforcement measures available at law or otherwise.
• You agree to participate in post-funding surveys conducted by the Federal Government or any of its agents.
• You intend to continue to operate your business or to resume operations.
• You authorize Export Development Canada, as your representative with the Canada Revenue Agency, to access any required payroll information for the purpose of verifying eligibility.

Please note the following businesses are not eligible for the Canada Emergency Business Account:

• Government organizations or bodies, or entities owned by a government organization or body.
• Unions, charitable, religious or fraternal organizations or entity owned by such an organization or if it is, it is a registered organization that has filed its T2 return or T3010 return and that generates a portion of its revenue from the sales of goods or services.
• Entities owned by any federal Member of Parliament or senator.
  
• Entities that promote violence, incite hatred or discriminate on the basis of sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, colour, race, ethnicity, religion, culture, region, education, age or mental or physical disability, contrary to applicable laws.
  

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If your business is not able to meet the specific qualification criteria defined by the Federal Government, unfortunately you will not be eligible for this program.  

For additional program details and clarity on eligibility criteria, please visit www.CEBA-CUEC.ca.

No. The eligibility criteria only applies to your 2019 payroll expenses, as displayed on your T4 Summary of Remuneration Paid (T4SUM). For customers who also pay employees tax-exempt employment income under the Indian Act, all employment income reported in Box 71 of T4 statements issued to the organization’s employees for 2019 must also be included in the total.

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