TD accepts RBC’s gauntlet throwdown. Who’s next?

—Updated on Feb. 10, 2014.—

You may recall earlier this year MoneySense suggested that lower trading commissions could become the norm for Canada’s big banks, following RBC’s mid-January announcement that all DIY investors would now pay only a flat commission of $9.95 per equity trade through RBC Direct Investing online and mobile channels. Now TD Direct Investing has responded in kind.

Effective today, TD Bank Group has scrapped its minimum account balance or trading activity requirements for its Direct Investing platform. Previously, DIY clients who held less than $50,000 in assets or traded fewer than 30 times per quarter paid $29 plus charges for trades larger than 1,000 shares. But now all TD Direct Investing users will pay $9.99 for Canadian and U.S. equity trades placed online or through its mobile and tablet apps.

Being an active trader at TD, however, continues to have its privileges. As before, those who place 150 or more trades per quarter will pay a lower $7.00 flat rate per equity trade.

No doubt, DIY investors who use other bank’s online brokerages are now wondering if their financial institution will follow RBC and TD’s move.

Update: BMO InvestorLine today, Feb. 10, announced a lower flat fee of $9.95 per equity trade for all DIY clients. The new fee is not subject to any minimum account balance or trade activity.