EQ Bank Review 2024
My EQ Bank review has been updated and it now includes the new prepaid Mastercard which also serves as a debit card. For those unfamiliar with EQ Bank, they’re a digital bank that’s been providing consistently high-interest rates. There’s no need to chase promotions with EQ Bank since what they offer is consistently competitive.
The safety of your money is always important, but so is the customer service experience. EQ Bank is focused on providing a better banking solution that will help Canadians reach their savings goals faster. Here’s my EQ bank review of their Personal Account.
EQ Bank
- $20 referral bonus (must fund account with $100 within 30 days)
- 2.5%* Interest rate
- No everyday banking fees
- Unlimited day-to-day transactions
- No minimum balance required
- Unlimited free Interac e-transfers®
- Free electronic fund transfers
- CDIC Member
One of the biggest complaints from Canadians is the lack of a reasonable interest rate with savings accounts. Since EQ Bank’s rate of 2.5%* is available to everyone and not just a limited time rate, it makes the account very attractive. The high-interest rate is obviously an attention grabber, but the other benefits of the account are quite good too.
No monthly fees, unlimited day-to-day transactions, and no minimum balances are common in the online world, but for whatever reason, have been slow to adapt by the big six banks. To be fair, bricks and mortar banks have much higher operational costs since they have retail locations and staff to pay. EQ Bank is branchless and completely digital so the savings are passed on directly to their clients.
The EQ Bank Personal Account combines features found in chequing accounts with savings accounts. You can deposit cheques (including mobile cheque deposits) and set up a direct deposit from your payroll. You can also link an external bank account to EQ Bank, so moving around your money will be easy.
Accessing your money is pretty straightforward since you would link your EQ Bank account to your regular bank account, but it does take up to two business days to transfer any funds. If you want to speed up the process you can get access to your money within 30 to 60 minutes by using your unlimited free Interac e-Transfers®.
All these features should have both savers and investors excited. You can simply park your money and get a guaranteed return (minus taxes of course) with zero risks. With EQ Bank, your interest is paid monthly, and there’s no holding period.
Although EQ Bank has been around for a few years, some potential clients tend to be suspicious of the high rates being offered. The good thing is, EQ Bank is owned by Equitable Bank, a member of the Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation so your accounts are protected up to a maximum balance of $100,000.
One thing to note is that when you open up a new account, EQ Bank will perform a soft credit check to confirm your identity. This does not affect your credit score, so it shouldn’t be a big deal.
Despite all of these great features, EQ Bank is available in all provinces and territories except Quebec.
EQ Bank card
- No monthly fee
- Free withdrawals from any ATM in Canada
- Cash back on every purchase
- Earn interest on your savings
- No FX fees
One of the biggest complaints about EQ Bank in the past was that you couldn’t withdraw cash from ATMs. Well, that’s no longer an issue as the EQ Bank card has been announced. This no fee reloadable Mastercard requires you to transfer funds to the card first, but then you’ll be able to withdraw funds from any ATM for free. Technically speaking, the ATMs will charge you a fee to withdraw the funds, but EQ Bank will reimburse you for those funds after.
What makes this prepaid card highly appealing is that there are no foreign exchange fees when making purchases with the card. Mastercard does add a slight markup that’s built right into the exchange, but you won’t pay the standard 2.5% fee that most credit cards charge.
In addition, any money loaded onto the card earns interest at the same rate as the EQ Bank savings account rate.
Other accounts available from EQ Bank
- EQ Bank Retirement Savings Plan
- EQ Bank Tax-Free Savings Account
- EQ Bank US Dollar Account
EQ Bank has finally introduced RRSP and TFSA accounts. These are separate products from the HISA account. Note that you do need to open an EQ Bank Personal Account if you want to set up an RSP and TFSA account.
Both the RSP and TFSA will be limited to a savings account and GICs. What that means is you won’t be able to invest in stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, etc., within these accounts. The standard rules apply to both these accounts e.g. contribution and withdrawal limits.
The USD account has become quite popular since it also pays interest on your deposits
Why use EQ Bank?
Many people are hesitant to switch banks (we all know they don’t make it easy), but EQ Bank shouldn’t be viewed as a replacement. It’s meant to complement your daily banking needs.
It doesn’t matter if you’re saving for a vacation, school, or a new pair of boots, the EQ Bank Personal Account allows you to open an unlimited amount of sub-accounts to meet your needs. The added option of setting savings goals for each individual account is a bonus since you can clearly monitor the progress of your savings. Best of all, your money is never locked in with the EQ Bank Personal Account. You can withdraw your money whenever you need to.
Saving is obviously the theme of the account, but you can also do day-to-day transactions directly from the mobile app including transferring funds and making bill payments. EQ Bank does not allow your account to go into overdraft so you won’t need to worry about being charged extra bank fees; it’s the lack of available money that I’d be concerned about.
There’s no catch. Even though EQ Bank gives you an above-average interest rate, they make their money by lending out your deposits to other people at a higher interest rate. This is standard practice for any bank, but since EQ Bank is a digital bank, they have less overhead compared to traditional banks.
EQ Bank does allow is pre-authorized payments. This means you can do all your daily spending with one of the best travel credit cards in Canada or one of the best cash back credit cards in Canada and then set your card to be automatically paid from your EQ Bank account. By doing this, your money is only withdrawn once a month from your EQ Bank account so you’re basically earning the maximum interest and getting credit card rewards at the same time.
Despite the fact that EQ Bank has no physical locations, you can contact customer service through live chat, phone (from 8am – midnight), or email.
EQ Bank joint accounts
It may have taken a few years, but EQ Bank finally has joint accounts, which are obviously handy for people who want to set up an account with someone else. Best of all, EQ Bank joint accounts allow up to 3 people which is perfect for a variety of reasons such as elderly parents who want their adult children to have easy access to their funds.
The same interest rate applies to joint accounts. It’s also worth mentioning that CDIC considers joint accounts separate from your main account, so you get another $100,000 insured by them.
Is EQ Bank safe?
I already covered this above, but I want to go over it again. EQ Bank is safe and it’s unlikely to go out of business. The reason you can trust EQ Bank is that they’re owned by Equitable Bank. In case you didn’t know, Equitable Bank has been in operation since 1970 and is a member of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC).
Any person who has their money deposited at a CDIC member will have their accounts protected up to $100,000 under CDIC protection. If you need more deposit insurance, you could have your spouse open a joint savings account which would give you another $100,000 in protection.
To be clear, it’s still possible for a bank to fail, but this applies to all banks. Just because EQ Bank is giving its customers a higher interest rate, that doesn’t mean they’re riskier. I personally use EQ Bank to park the majority of my cash savings.
EQ Bank refer a friend
Just recently, EQ Bank introduced a referral program where the person signing up gets $20. If you make the referral, you also get $20, but that amount increases depending on how many people you bring aboard.
- $20 – For your first 3 referrals
- $30 – For your next 4 referrals
- $40 – For any additional referral
The referral bonus is capped at $500, so you’ll reach the maximum after 15 referrals. Remember, you only get the referral if the person who is signing up for an EQ Bank Personal Account deposits at least $100 into their account within 30 calendar days of account activation.
EQ Bank GIC
EQ Bank’s other major product available is guaranteed investment certificates (GICs). GICs are a type of investment that guarantees you a return. The “catch” is that you need to lock in your money for the time you specify. The longer you lock in your money, the higher the interest rate you get. Investing in a GIC can be beneficial if you know you won’t need that money for a set period of time. As EQ Bank’s GIC rates are always changing, I won’t list what’s available now, but the terms are as follows:
- 3 Months
- 6 Months
- 9 Months
- 1 Year
- 15 Months
- 2 Years
- 27 Months
- 3 Years
- 4 Years
- 5 Years
For you to purchase an EQ Bank GIC, you must have an EQ Bank Personal Account.
How does EQ Bank compare to others?
To be realistic, all digital banks are similar, but I do like to separate them into tiers.
Motive Financial is their closest competition when it comes to interest rates, but they’re pretty similar. LBC Digital is another bank that came in with aggressive rates when they launched, but their rates are a bit lower now.
Then there are banks such as Tangerine and Simplii which are owned by bigger banks (Scotiabank and CIBC respectively) who give you access to an ATM network, but their interest rates are much lower.
One feature that EQ Bank excels at compared to similar online banks is international money transfers. EQ Bank is partnered with Wise (formerly Transferwise) to offer some of the best exchange rates.
I personally use EQ Bank for all my personal banking, but I also use Tangerine because my wife and I have old accounts there. I’ve linked my EQ Bank account to my Tangerine account so I can easily transfer money between the two. You don’t need to use one online bank, just pick the ones that make the most sense for you.
Final thoughts
Overall my EQ Bank review is positive. The interest rate is higher than average daily rates and you can access your funds with a physical card. It’s clear that EQ Bank respects its clients’ money and values their business.
I signed up once I discovered there was no cost to close your account if you don’t like it. I found the sign up process a bit onerous with errors and other things but it’s done. The only caveat I noticed was little notice of a change in interest rate but that’s minor. I’ll use it for school savings and see how it goes.
Ashley,
Yes the interest rate is always subject to change at any notice with any bank, but it sounds like they’re pretty serious about helping their clients save. Using your account for short term savings such as school is a great idea since you’ll earn a respectable amount of interest.
Looks like you have some connection with the bank, so may be you can pass it along
Right now the image of this EQ bank is very unprofessional
I opened my account, send in my deposit check, it took them over 3 weeks to cash it.
that was at least a week ago, I haven’t yet received a notice from them about my deposit.
I tried to access my account through internet without much of a success. stupid me or the instruction is so poor.
I tried to call them, and was put on hold for over an hour. never got to speak to any so called customer service representative.
They might be drowned by their success, but to me it is very unprofessional.
I don’t even know where my money is at this time.
Or does this bank even exist.
I am concern
YC,
Due to the overwhelming response from the public EQ has taken much longer than expected to process accounts. It is a bit disappointing that the process has been slow, but all reports indicate that once you’re set up you should be good to go. I assure you the bank does exist.
I would advise trying their customer service again. They have a 24 / 7 team based in Canada that can hopefully help you this time around.
Good article Barry. Your advice on how to use EQ to your best advantage is right on point. I am happy with my online experience with EQ, but have experienced the slow personal service, especially with setting up a joint account. I assume this is due to a high volume of useage or a small number of EQ staff members. It all boils down to “If it works for you, use it!”.
I wonder if once they get a big amount of money and then they claim bankruptcy,
Ross,
EQ Bank is owned by Equitable Bank and they have billions of dollars in assets. It’s unlikely they’ll be going anywhere anytime soon. In the even of a complete cost, account holders are up to $100K in deposits.
I am experiencing the very same. I am in the third week and not a word. My cheque els cashed but nothing more.
I tried e-mail to contact them never gort a reply, I called but never got to talk to any person. This is my worst banking experience ever. One can not recommend this bank to a friend.
If you want my advice, stay away until these problems are solved.
Jorg,
Even I agree the backlog is over the top right now. Even though they’ve managed to clear the original backlog more people sign up making it difficult for them to catch up. Next time I speak to them, I’ll ask for an update.
I applied online on 22 Feb and found out the maximum amount you can have in the account is down from $500,000 to $100,000. If you opened the account prior to 22 Feb, you can still have the $500,000. Of course, not everyone has even $100,000 to deposit but EQ should have left the maximum alone. I’m disappointed and will leave my life savings at my current bank.
BJC,
I would advise people with more than $100K to invest to speak with a fee for service investment advisor. There’s probably a better way to make more than 3% interested while factoring in risk tolerance.
Rather place your money in a mutual fund – much higher interest.
Kim,
Mutual funds are for people who are looking for growth since it’s equity. EQ Bank is a high interest savings account which is a safe investment since it’s fixed income. They are two different products and serve different purposes. Mutual funds don’t have an interest rate, they just have a high potential for capital gains, but also a higher chance for losses.
I signed up for an EQ account last summer. I went to do some banking on my phone this weekend to discover that EQ had updated its app since the last time I opened it. My phone, a 5 year old Samsung, apparently is no longer able to support the app following the most recent update. There was no warning when I signed up that this was a possibility. Now I’m stuck between getting a new phone or going through the hassle of changing banks again. All other major banks support my phone model. When I called EQ about it 5 days ago, I was assured someone would follow up with me to problem solve. I received an email later that day telling me a ticket had been created and I would be contacted within 2 days. That was 5 days ago. I have a cheque I need to deposit and no way to do so. If I had anticipated this situation I would not have chosen this bank.
Forgot to mention, I actually appreciate all the restrictions on the account. I understand they are to reduce their costs and thus, to provide a higher interest rate. I have no problems with this to use it as a purely savings accounts, with perhaps an occasional bill payment or e-transfer.
Hopefully the lack of cheques and/or using it as a TFSA will come soon. I can see it becoming quite popular with the eye opening 3%. I’m already considering moving my other money from my TFSA’s over, the small bit of tax now owing is easily overcome with the increase in intrerest rate you would receive.
Ashley,
They’re mainly a compliment to your day-to-day banking needs. They offer things that a bricks of mortar can’t so it’s smart that you plan on utilizing the benefits.
They’re aware that customers are interested in TFSAs and joint accounts so I’m sure it’s something they’ll potentially look at in the future.
As a retired banker…I was amazed at the incompetence of not understanding the Human Rights Code of Ontario..in essense not allowing joint accounts is prejudical of respecting the ” family unit”. PS .try and transfer from a joint account to a personal account from another institution and I promise it will be red flagged and refused. Fire the Morron
Gary,
Joint accounts is something they’re looking into for the future. Not sure about transfers being flagged and refused when transferring from a joint account to a personal account, I do this all the time at my home bank and have done it with other online banks.
Moron is with one “r”. Hmmmmm….
Burn.
I just called then to clarify some points. There are lots of limitations on how you can take your money out. I was going to put some cash on hold from the sale of my house until I buy the next one.
So bill payments are capped at $5000 per 24 hrs, electronic transfer back to your account is capped at $30,000 per 24 hr period.
I guess it’s fine if you have less than that amount to deal with. It will take me 16 days to get back my $500,000. Alternatively I could open an account in each of my 4 kids names and access more each day that way!
Sally,
The caps you listed are indeed correct. Rarely do people have that much cash handy so the caps don’t affect most people. That being said, if you want to protect yourself opening 5 different accounts and putting $100K in each may be beneficial to you since CDIC covers only $100K per account. It’s unlikely EQ Bank / Equitable bank is going anywhere, but you do want to protect yourself (and your money).
No. CDIC covers only $100K per account holder per institution. Multiple accounts held under the same name at a single institution is insured only to $100K in total.
Mookie,
Sally was talking about creating a separate account for each of her 4 kids which would give her $400K in protection. I should have clarified the protection in my original response.
I called them about those two things specifically … and according to CSR anyhow, was told that — If you have a bill over $5,000 … – you can still pay it there … but not on your own … — you’d have to contact them and they will set up that bill payment for you, lol (strange but true, and so far not documented anywhere … the CSR will suggest to people in charge to indicate it somewhere so people would know).
Same thing, basically, with outgoing EFT … – if you want more than $30,000 out of there to your external account … — you can not do it on your own … however you can call them and they will do it for you 🙂
Paul,
Thanks for the info. Tangerine also allows you to go over any transfer “limits,” as long as you call it in.
Strange stuff about cheque deposit limit, max. $25,000 also … lol …
I called about that … And CSR told me (again something that wasn’t listed at their website) … that 1st cheque / from each original initial cheque deposit (to create a link) could be over 25 K … but 2nd etc can not be (which maybe not a big deal anyhow, cuz can do EFT and save on cheques etc 🙂 )
So we finished talking … And then I thought … what if someone writes me a personal cheque for over $25,000 … what then? 🙂
So I called back … and got the same CSR actually … and she had no clue / no answer … I go basically … How to give it to you, if I want to do it directly to you … ?
The only way to negotiate it to them is to deposit it to say PCF or Tangerine … then it will be on hold there etc .. and only then send it to them via EFT ….
Not the end of the world … but simply strange stuff, lol … Can’t even send such a cheque directly to them … (unless they have lame discrepancies like that on their web site there)
She had no clue … and told me will address these (and other) questions and concerns of mine to proper channels … and then told me will call back with answers in 1 or 2 business days.
Paul,
You’re quite the sleuth. The good thing about EQ Bank’s customer service is that they’re open 24/7 and based in Canada, plus it sounds like they’re pretty knowledgeable.
They may be open 24/7 but they do not reply to an e-mail or a phone call. I stayed on the line for 41 minutes no answer yet.
Hi Barry Choi, I believe it would be appropriate for you to disclose the exact nature of your relationship with EQ Bank as it is clear that you are much more than a helpful forum member just trying to make the world a better place.
Hi Bob,
There has always been a line at the bottom of my review stating that this was a sponsored post but the opinions expressed are strictly my own. I just respond to all comments on my blog regardless if the are positive or negative.
I understand EQ bank just launched, and as a new bank they want to attract a new customer base, so they are offering this high 3% rate. I wonder though how long will this rate last? Once they get their target level of deposits, will they be reducing it in a few months? They are not calling it a promotional rate, but really how long can they sustain 3% in this low rate environment especially with possible BoC rate cuts on the horizon? It would be good to get some reassurance from EQ that this rate will be around for a considerable time to make the decision easier to switch over…
Jasper,
It’s true the advertised rate can change at anytime, but I suspect there would be quite the outlast if they did it anytime soon. Here’s how I look at it, right now they have the best rate, more than double most of their competition, so I’ll take advantage of the 3% while I can. If the interest rate is cut in the future, I’ll consider my options at that time.
Does EQ Bank has TFSA or RSP accounts with the same interest rate?
Igor,
Currently there is no TFSA or RRSP accounts available with EQ Bank, but it’s something they may consider in the future.
So what’s the catch for this bank? Where to do they earn?
Jonesy,
Not sure if there’s a catch. They’re clearly believe that their clients work hard for their money and as bank they should respect them. The 3% is very generous and who knows how long it’ll last so we should enjoy it while we can. As far as how they earn their money, they’re owned by Equitable Bank which has a sizable mortgage portfolio so EQ Bank could just be their way of diversifying.
Can you give a break down of how the 3% interest works? Example: I have $10,000 in the account, how much will get paid out in interest every month? Thanks
Blake,
Interest is calculated annually but paid monthly so assuming you put in $10,000 and don’t add any extra money you would get $30 to begin with and it would slowly increase every month. At the end of the year you would have earned $304.16 from interest.
Your one reply doesn’t make sense. You say that its calculated annually and paid monthly, but on the website it says that is calculated daily and paid monthly. Please clarify this for me. Thankyou.
Katelyn,
The EQ website states the following:
“Get 3.00% annual interest and save money faster, with an EQ Bank Savings Plus Account.”
It also says this
“Enjoy a high interest rate every day on your entire balance, when you open an EQ Bank Savings Plus Account. Your interest is calculated daily and paid monthly.”
I can definitely see the confusion, but basically it’s calculated annually at 3% but at the same it’s calculated daily due to compound interest. When they say “every day” what they mean is that it applies to your entire balance and it’s not a promotional rate e.g. for 60 days only.
Here’s a compound interest calculator you can use to see what you would earn. Put 3% as your interest rate and compounding 12 times annually.
http://www.moneychimp.com/calculator/compound_interest_calculator.htm
I have a summit account with Canadian Western Bank for more than 15 years which earns slightly better rate than most big five. Now I am thinking of moving my money to EQ bank. Love the 3% rate but hopefully it will last for awhile since I do not need the money for at least for three years. Need to park the money from the my condo sold three weeks ago.
So far setting up the online account and my phone apps installed is a breeze, will deposit a cheque later tonite to find out if it goes through. Getting exited about it.
Vince,
I have no idea how long the 3% will last, but as long as they’re offering more interest than their competitions; I’ll be happy to park my money with them.
Is Equitable Bank and EQ Bank considered the same entity? I ask because according to the Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation’s site, Equitable Bank is covered, but there’s no mention of EQ Bank. http://www.cdic.ca/en/about-di/what-we-cover/Pages/list-members.aspx
Gena,
EQ Bank is owned by Equitable Bank so in the eyes of CDIC, they’re the same.
Tried to call for information and waited 45 min They kept telling me that my call was important but I finally hung up, emailed them but never received a reply, Is this where I want my money?
James,
EQ Bank has received more interest than expected with their launch and have already stated that they’re behind with getting people set up. What was your question? They have a detailed FAQ which might be of help to you.
https://www.eqbank.ca/personal-banking/common-questions
Opened an account 7 business days ago. Checked my bank account. Still nothing happened. My EQ account has not been activated yet.
Joe,
They got an overwhelming response and are a bit behind on their activation’s. Users are starting to report that they’re connected so hopefully you get hooked up soon.
I started the process to set up an account but misspelled my email and didn’t notice until I tried to reconnect after reading agreements. Called customer service and my call was answered within seconds. The lady I spoke with quickly figured out my mistake but said she had to put in a change request that would take 2 days to process. Actually only took 1 day so I completed my sign up process and deposited a cheque. Said my account would be active in 5 days which was yesterday (Friday). Hasn’t been activated yet but I assume this is because of the high number of accounts being set up. My cheque has cleared and I am expecting my account will be activated in within the next day or so.
So far looks good and I am planning to use it for savings as long as interest rate stays above that of other account I have.
Hey Dave,
Thanks for sharing. I’ve heard stories that customer service has been trying their best to help out customers so it’s always great to hear about these positive experiences. The high number of traffic has definitely been a factor and they’ve even added a disclaimer to their main page.
I agree that you should keep using it while the interest rate is better than everyone else. If it changes later, you can address your needs then.
Just curious – you were paid by EQ to write this post? Forgive my asking – but how much? I.e., enough to impact a purely objective opinion that’s TRULY “your own”?
Chuck,
I vet all clients before agreeing to work with them, the opinions stated truly are my own; clients have no say over editorial content. If I let money make the decisions for me, no one would trust me. I’m well aware that one bad recommendation could ruin all my credibility.
What does it mean by 3% everyday?
WR,
See below for the answer from the website, but the other distinction they’ve made is that this is not a teaser or timed rate. Mind you the interest rate could change at anytime.
How is the interest calculated on my account?
You start earning interest on the day your account becomes active. It is calculated daily on the total closing account balance and at the rates per annum, as offered. Interest is payable monthly.
Hi Barry
I signed up for your news letter subscription and I’m happy to have come across your post as well. I have 2 accounts with PC and one is a TFSA which is making nothing so I may pull my money out of it and sign up with EQ bank I have been on there website.. Off topic is Tangerine better then PC? I have a savings account with them as well and making 0.8% interest I have no idea about Tangerine but I’m thinking there like PC.
Thanks for your time and keep up the great work…
Only bank with them if you have infinite patience and lots of free time on your hands.
Reminds me of the old days of banking where one has to wait in line for 30 minutes or so to see a teller
each time they want to do a transaction.
Takes about 15 business days or more just to open an account – that’s about 3 weeks!!! Which country and which century are we living in!!!.
I thought EQ bank was catering to people on the go, who wanted to do most of their banking on the net
at their own convenience.
Though the 3% seemed enticing, looks like the management of the bank is still stuck in the 90’s if it can’t
hire more people to accommodate the increased demand. I was just dreading if I finally open an account and have
to deal with them on a day-to-day basis and have to wait that long to speak to an operator.
Wont be banking with them.
Hey Frank,
EQ Bank just launched with much higher than expected volume so the increased wait time although disappointing. it’s fair to give them some leeway. Once your account is set up, processing time is similar to other online banks. In regards to their customer service they do have a 24 hour call centre which is based in Canada.
Frank, I fully agree with you and after waiting for 3 weeks without any response, I opened an account within 5 Minutes with Tangerine. 2.4% is not much worse and I keep my sanity
Diether,
Based on their current backlog, I don’t blame you for switching to Tangerine.
Note that the 2.4% interest at Tangerine is only on new deposits and ends on Feb. 29th.
Are you sure about Tangerine promo ending on 29 Feb?
Here’s what they sent me:
“Get a special interest rate of 2.34% on new deposits to a full portfolio† of Savings Accounts
Whether you’re saving for a longer-term goal, such as retirement, or a shorter-term one, like an upcoming vacation, you can now earn a special great rate on each of the Savings Accounts you choose for these savings goals. From now until March 31, 2016, you can earn 2.34% interest on new deposits into Tangerine Savings Accounts, RSP Savings Accounts and Tax-Free Savings Accounts*. More savings means more opportunity to reach your goals.”
Jim,
The 2.34% interest rate for new deposits was sent to select Tangerine clients and does indeed end on March 31st. Some clients have even reported that they were offered 2.5%
I checked CDIC website and Equity Bank is on it. I am concerned however that there are many Equity Banks wordwide including ones in Kenya & Uganda. How do we know our money is going where we think its going?
Fred,
CDIC is for Canadian banks, it’s not possible for banks of the same name from a foreign country to be a member. Equity Bank which owns EQ Bank has operate in Canada for quite some time.
Apparently there is a 16 day wait time to transfer large amounts out.
If interest rates are zero during this period there is a loss of $658.
Dave,
That would only apply if you’re transferring more than $250,000.
Being a rookie at this, assuming I can get through the application process, can I deposit directly from RBC to EQ online? I mention the application process as I tried to open a Tangerine account and they wanted a cheque sent to them. I am sure I am not alone, cheques have become a thing of the past. Although they call them chequing accts. most are set up for electronic transfers for bill payments; not for written cheques anymore.
Hi Wayne,
To set up your account with EQ Bank, you do require a cheque from your original bank as I believe that’s the only way to link your accounts. I agree with you that cheques are pretty dated so I’m surprised that the online banks (including EQ and Tangerine) don’t have other ways to get people set up.
I agree Barry. Seems rather dated but I was told this is a government requirement (surprise; surprise!).
Thank you for the impressive quick response and the info.
Cheers;
Wayne
Wayne,
I suppose it’s a good thing since I assume it’s to prevent fraud? What annoys me more is the fact that my bank (both RBC and TD) used to be able to issue me “emergency cheques” if I needed them for payroll or whatever, but they stopped doing that because they just issue your account numbers with a bank stamp for those purposes. Of course, now having a few cheques handy again is relevant because so many things are digital, but now I have to order a minimum of 50 for a cheque. It can’t be that hard to re-introduce emergency cheques that can be printed on site when requested.
Overall not really impressed so far. I thought I would be since their online application process looked pretty slick. However I have to agree with frank’s comment about needing infinite patience and lots of free time. It took forever to cash the electronically deposited cheque, including a number of days before EQ acknowledged the deposit despite it already coming out of my other account. Waiting 10-15 days to open a savings account is a bit over-the-top considering that most banks can do it almost instantly. That’s not to mention the multiple crashes of their app, to the point of almost giving up, while trying to deposit the cheque in the first place (seems a number of people were experiencing that. )
I received notice today that account has been opened (yay!) but now waiting for them to SMS a passcode to verify my mobile phone number but that’s not coming. No way to access my account further without that. When I try to call customer service, I gave up after being on hold for over 30 minutes.
I’m afraid there is only so much slack I can cut them. “Overwhelming response” is no excuse. What did they expect. If they are not ready to take on new customers, they shouldn’t start advertising until they are.
They definitely need to get their shit together. 3% is irrelevant if they are not able to function effectively as a bank. I’m afraid for the moment, I can’t recommend them to anyone. They have been an exercise in frustration. I’ll continue to try to give them a go, but if their customer service doesn’t improve, I expect that I and many others will quickly flee the moment they inevitably start dropping their rates to match everyone else (or sooner if I can’t succeed in accessing my account).
Rand,
Any new launch requires a bit of patience. I can certainly understand that you’re disappointed with the experience already, even EQ Bank admits they weren’t prepared for this much interest. I spoke to them recently and they’ve been hiring more staff, but that also requires time.
Absolutely shocking service; I’ve spent hours waiting without reply and this goes on for days and days. I’ve waited over two weeks for my account to be activated and still nothing. How can one possibly operated a BANK like this and how can we entrust our hard earned savings to those who don’t even answer their phones after 45 minutes to an hour of cocktail music? If they’re so busy with a wonderful response, why not train more people to provide their clients with excuses?
Trevor,
When I last checked with EQ Bank, they told me that they indeed started to hire more staff in response to the demand. Of courses getting them onboarded takes time too. They’re well aware of the complaints and are trying as best they can to address them.
Yes I have had nothing but problems dealing with EQ. I have waited 12 days to finally deposit a large amount of money. When I tried last night to deposit $100K it did not allow it. It said maximum deposit is $25K. This morning I tried to call customer service but gave up after waiting 45 minutes on hold. I then tried another deposit for $25K but the website keeps crashing so I cannot even deposit that. I give up on EQ bank.
Cory,
EQ Bank has hired additional staff to address the overwhelming demand, but they do require some time to be fully onboarded. There is indeed a $25K deposit limit, but if you call in they’ll be able to assist you with larger amounts. Obviously customer service has also experienced much longer wait times than expected.
I can certainly understand why you’ve decided to give up, however most people who have their accounts active have had positive experiences.
I signed up account from Jan 24, 2016, send in my deposit check. Today is my 15 business day and EQ account has not been activated yet, I tried to call customer service and gave up after 1 hour and 15 minutes on hold and also email them but never received a reply. My cheque already cleared last week from Feb 2 and why account is not activated yet??? where is my money?
Dennis W.,
I do not work for EQ Bank so I can’t answer your question. I can only give you an official statement which they provided me with.
“We’re really happy people are so excited about our savings account. At the volumes we anticipated, accounts would be opened in 5 business days. However, account sign-ups far exceeded the levels we expected. Unfortunately, that has led to delays as we securely bring on all our new customers. To address this, we have added extra staff to speed up processing times. If you’ve opened a Savings Plus account please bear with us – you’ll receive your welcome email soon. Moving forward, we’ll be reviewing our internal procedures to ensure these types of delays don’t happen again.”
They have time to take my cheque money and no time to do activated account, no time to answer phone and no time to reply back email.
Dennis,
Again I don’t work for them by the long wait times are due to volume. People on RedFlagDeals have reported shorter wait times when calling customer service late at night (They’re open 24 hours).
http://forums.redflagdeals.com/eq-bank-online-bank-3-everyday-interest-rate-1903377/37/
@Dennis, my cheque also cleared Feb 2. On Feb 6 I received an email that said “we have processed your cheque and will open your account in 5 business days”” On Feb 10 my account was fully activated and I received my “Welcome” email telling me how to login and start using my account.
Did you receive the “we’re processing” email that comes before the Welcome email? If not, is there any chance your email notes from EQ Bank ended up in your Spam or Junk mail filter or something?
Sorry to hear it’s going rough for you, it seems to work fine so far for me.
(I have no connection to EQ Bank and don’t get a cent from them if I write anything on my website, in case anyone is wondering.)
Bet Crooks,
Thanks for sharing your experience, it echoes what others have said e.g. slow signup, but once you’re in, people are satisfied.
I read your review. You can have an unlimited of sub-accounts if you so desire.
Yes i do received an email said ““ we have processed your cheque and will open your account in 5 business days””. Yesterday tried to call them and gave up after 1 hour and half on hold.
Dennis,
If you guys got that email then your account should be fully active soon. If you still want to talk to a live person people on RedFlagDeals have reported much shorter wait times when calling customer service after midnight.
Just to add to the story:
January 18 – signed up and deposited cheque electronically
January 27 – cheque cashed
February 4 – managed to access account but there is no ability to transfer money in or out, even though there is a linked Scotiabank account – I called (60 minute wait) and was told someone would work on it and email me when it was fixed
February 15 – no word from EQ bank
I only deposited $10, but I have no access to the money. Glad it wasn’t more. I can see it’s there, but I can’t transfer it out, or transfer any more in. This must be a violation of banking legislation.
Impossible to link an account that doesn’t have chequing – like my Tangerine savings. I have to transfer from Tangerine to my Scotiabank chequing and then to EQ.
Never had the supposed “Welcome email”
Nobody cares.
My wife says they’re getting no more of our money. I’m beginning to agree.
Currently at 25 minutes waiting on the phone.
They’re just playing at being a bank.
RGS,
From what I understand, you’re basically in the final “holding” stage. Once everything is linked it’s a pretty straight forward process with normal holding times for money transfers.
The signup process has been longer than expected, but most people have reported a positive experience once they’re in.
http://forums.redflagdeals.com/eq-bank-online-bank-3-everyday-interest-rate-1903377/39/
Keep in mind you’re calling in on an Ontario Holiday right now so I would expect wait times to be long (well they’re already long).
No I am not in the final holding stage at all. There is no indication in the signup procedure that this even exists. They only speak of receiving a welcome email and having access to the account 5 business days after cheque deposit. This is to comply with the law.
On both February 5 (not the 4th – my error) and today (after a 65 minute wait) when I called, I was told that there is something wrong with the account. Intervention was requested on February 5th but NOTHING was done. As of today, that request has been escalated to the head of the relevant department – or so I am told.
Mistakes will inevitably happen. However, it seems that they are so busy setting up new accounts, nobody pays attention when something goes wrong.
Why are you such an apologist for this organization? You say you are not being paid, but your comments speak otherwise.
RGS,
I respond to all comments on my blog, both positive and negative. I was indeed compensated for this post, but I receive no compensation for answering concerns. You’ll notice that throughout my review and my comments that I state the positives and negatives. I also contacted EQ Bank directly when I was hearing complaints to get an official statement from them so I could share it with my readers.
Since they do not allow joint accounts, is it possible to assign a beneficiary to the account? I’m concerned how the family would access the funds in the event of death?
Or does one just give your password to family so they just transfer money to your joint account in event of your death, before they notify bank you died?
Barb,
That’s a great question. I don’t believe you can formally designate a beneficiary with bank accounts so I suspect you would have to put it in your will and/or assign power of attorney privileges to make it formal.
Still on hold (45 minutes plus), as mail-in cheque cashed on Feb 8, but no notice of opening.
Definitely not ready for prime time, and extra info that I should get an e-mail confirmation of cheque, with additional delay, means account opening will still not be made.
Previous call-in was more than 32 minutes hold, where I got many corrections to their misleading promise of technology convenience, including phone deposits that only work on two phones (iPhone and a Samsung), mobile app not usable on iPad.
To this, the funds deposit and withdrawal limits, that were unknown to me. A phone in override is useless when more than an hour on hold.
Regardless of rate, this is horse and buggy age banking.
They can keep the dollar, as it’s cost me hundreds in my lost time to do something that any bank branch could execute in five minutes, and it has been three weeks since I put a stamp on my mail-in cheque.
Sign up was confusing and included options for features that do not exist.
Ombudsman, anyone?
David,
I agree that the biggest disappointment right now is the time that people are spending trying to get in touch. I consider people’s time to be incredibly valuable.
I signed up the first day….yes it took a little time (maybe a week) for the cheque to clear….by hey it was only $2….Since then I have been happy…..did the EFT from my linked PC…remember it takes five days to clear so don’t deposit funds you need right away….I tested the online bill payment with small 50 cent amounts to two credit cards…both cleared with two days…and did an intract transfer I got within 30 min…at 3 per cent interest I can handle the minor inconvience
Hey Mark,
Thanks for sharing your experience. The 3% interest makes the startup inconvenience worth it for most people. We all know it won’t stay at 3% forever, but as long as they’re offering more than the competitors, I’m sure people will still be interested.
Sorry Barry, but the 3% interest is feeling less and less worth the startup inconvenience. As a bank they are a joke. Don’t get me wrong… when I finally manage to speak to staff there, they are great and friendly, but overall I have NO confidence in them as a bank. Their online app doesn’t work and constantly crashes (check out the reviews on their app if you don’t believe this). When I try to bank online, I repeatedly get server errors from their side and can’t log in. I can’t deposit a cheque (When I finally got their app to work, it tells me that the cheque has been processed and won’t accept it, but there is no indication in my account that it has been received). If I calculate the hours that I have now spent dealing with trying to open an account, it in no way warrants the few extra dollars I’ll get for their startup interest rate of 3% (which no doubt will drop swiftly in the future). They really need to get their act together before they can even be considered a functional bank, let alone recommending anyone else to give them a try.
Hey Rand,
Those are very fair and valid points, I definitely agree that a bad customer service experience (well in this case even the use of the app / website) can turn people off completely. EQ Banks knows this so it’ll be interesting how they address this once they clear the backlog.
I do agree that your time is more valuable than a few extra points of interest.
What happened to their customer service? Being put on hold more than 1 hour still listening to the music… have to give up!
Shirley,
I don’t work for EQ so I can only provide you with their official statement. Some people have reported that when calling after midnight, wait times have been short.
“We’re really happy people are so excited about our savings account. At the volumes we anticipated, accounts would be opened in 5 business days. However, account sign-ups far exceeded the levels we expected. Unfortunately, that has led to delays as we securely bring on all our new customers. To address this, we have added extra staff to speed up processing times. If you’ve opened a Savings Plus account please bear with us – you’ll receive your welcome email soon. Moving forward, we’ll be reviewing our internal procedures to ensure these types of delays don’t happen again.”
I opened an account with $1, waited patiently and then was told that may account was set up!
I deposited a cheque for about $8500. An error message popped up that I didn’t have a chance to read. I tried again and it said I had already deposited. That was on Feb 12th, now Feb 22nd. You cannot contact them (tried messaging them and have been on the phone with them for the second time today – up to 45 minutes this time).
They should sort things out before taking on more clients. I was going to park some money here, but it is to risky if I need it I am not confident I could get it.
I would recommend everyone to steer clear until they have their act together.
Jim,
Cheques clearing have been an issue as of late. Users have reported that the funds have been withdrawn from their accounts, but it takes a few extra days before it appears in their EQ Bank account. This of course understandably has freaked some people out since the money appears to be “missing” for a few days.
I have yet to try to move money back into my bank account, but a quick way to transfer money would be through the Interac e-transfers. That’s handled by Interac with the money arriving arriving in about 30-60mins.
Hello Barry are you aware how to print a copy of a transaction/transfer or list of completed transfers? There appears to be no such function except printing monthly statements.
Thank-you
FFP,
I’m unaware of the ability to do so, but I’ll EQ Bank about it the next time I speak to them.
FFP,
I just checked, there’s currently no way to download your transaction history.
Hi Barry,
If I want to move say about $30,000 to $50,000 out of the account, what is the best way to do this?
According to the Interact listing below, Interac doesn’t seem feasible (unless if I use Interac 15-20 times over a month; only first 5 free). Do I have to make a phone call to make a transfer and if so, how much would it cost me to do this?
Interac e-Transfer Daily Maximum
$2,500
Interac e-Transfer Weekly Maximum
$10,000
Interac e-Transfer Monthly Maximum
$20,000
Thanks Barry
Markus,
There’s a $30,000 outbound linked external bank limit, but users have reported that you can increase that number by calling in the request. The problem is that their customer support lines are slammed due to the demand so there are long wait times. It appears the best time to call right now is at 1 am, but even then I have no idea how long you’ll have to wait.
Since this would be a standard transfer the 5 day holding period would apply. If you need the cash, I would advise moving it sooner than later.
Hi Barry,
Is there a limit to how many times ETF can be used (per day, per month, etc)
Mark
Markus,
I’m not sure you’d have to check with EQ Bank. I just looked at the Interac website and it says that amount limits are set by the partner banks so if you do call EQ, you should probably ask if you can do a larger Interac transfer
This part made me nervous. What happens if they mistakenly withdraw an amount from your account and you do not pick it up within the 30 days?
EQ BANK SAVINGS PLUS ACCOUNT AGREEMENT
You Agree to Notify EQ Bank
You agree to review your transaction history carefully and at least once every 30 days to ensure that:
•All transactions and balances are correct;
•All instruments paid from the Account are valid and duly authorized;
•All amounts charged to your Account are correct;
Should you notice any errors, omissions, irregularities or discrepancies you must notify us within 30 days of the transaction record, otherwise we will consider your Account records to be accurate. You will be bound by this section even if you do not use Mobile Banking or online banking to review your account entries and balances at least once every 30 days.
If we mistakenly credit an amount to your Account, we can correct that error at any time.
Andrew,
Good eye, I’m going to ask them about that next time.
Maximum Balance Held Per Customer
For accounts opened before February 21, 2016, the maximum balance per customer is $500,000 (plus accrued interest)
For accounts opened on or after February 21, 2016, the maximum balance per customer is $100,000 (plus accrued interest)
Can you tell me the date my account is opened Cheque Was processed on Feb 19
The account was active on Feb 26 So what would be my maximum balance be
Peter,
As I don’t work for the bank, I don’t have an answer for you.
i phoned them today about how to send them a cheque… i got in no problem, the guy was very nice to talk with… this is incredible… 3%… a good place to park your money.
Thanks for sharing Monique. Perhaps that’s a positive sign and they’ve started to clear their backlog.
I have had a pretty frustrating experience so far with EQ Bank, I just want to link a 2nd bank account and they require that I go through their customer service department to do so (why can’t this be done online like the original link or like any other bank?). Sounds simple enough, but as many have said, have tried a couple times getting them on the phone and waited well over an hour and was forced to hang up as I had other obligations to attend. Tried email, got a great reply back saying they could do it, but I need to contact them first to set up a link request then I can deposit a cheque, I replied back requesting that they initiate this and provided my account number, and their only reply was that this had to be done over the phone, wtf, and they called my Ian (my name is Nathan). Even tried their messaging system built into the online account where they promise to get back within 24hrs, I figure this would be an option and would be more secure. Has been over a week, have sent a couple messages, and still no replies. Currently on hold again, has been 30 minutes, will see if I get through this time.
Not a good first impression, the moment they lower their rate, I’m outta here.
They have an interesting policy regarding ETF transfers from the linked bank account to the EQ Bank account. When you transfer the money online, there is a 5 business day holding period until it is “available” in your EQ bank account. Why is this? ETF’s should be done immediately or at least the next business day in this day and age. What are they doing with MY money during those 5 days?
Buke,
Interac e-Transfers take 30-60mins to arrive. Electronic fund transfers e.g. from one bank to EQ bank however, does have up to a 5 business day holding period which is standard at all online banks. That being said, quite often you’ll see your money within 2 days.
HORRIBLE customer service. Waited on the phone for an hour….ended up walking over to head office only to be treated rudely. I won’t go into details….but they should really try to improve their service.
Poorest service I have ever experienced in my entire business career. Kept on hold on the phone for over an hour on two occasions and eventually had to hang up with no answers to my questions. Be prepared…any money deposited will be in limbo gaining no interest for 10 days to two weeks. I advise everybody to check the interest that they are paying daily and remove your money ..the instant that they reduce their interest rate. Be careful.
Was just notified April 13, 2016 “On April 18th 2016, the EQ Bank Savings Plus Account annual interest rate will change to 2.25%*. I opened my account Feb 1. I knew it was a promotion at 3% but they talked it down in their ads as not just a promotion.Im very disappointed in this bank and their tactics. I would recommend keeping a close eye on them and their business practices.
Yes I agree with you. I finally opened a account there. But now the interest rate is down to 2.25. I just can ‘t get excited about these low interest rates. My other best interest rates I use is 1.7% for saving. I guess .55% is better than nothing… I am hoping their GIC’s are higher.
Ir Rebel,
Keep in mind that GIC’s are usually locked in for a certain term so even if its a higher interest rate, you won’t necessarily have access to that money whenever you want. This may or may not matter to you though.
Hi Barry,
I do not see you replying to dissatisfied customers regarding the rate change. Do you not feel that lowering the rate after 3 months to be a poor business practice?
Hi “barrychoi”
I won’t deny the fact that the lowering of the interest rate this fast is disappointing. Although the 2.25% is still high compared to standard interest rates, other online banks including both Tangerine and ZagBank are offering better promotional rates.
buke lacktavose,
Everyone knew that the rate wouldn’t last forever, but I do agree that they gave the impression would be longer than a promotional rate. Oddly enough because of their 3% interest rate, other online banks have started their own promotional rates that are close to that number. It’ll be interesting to see how things play out it as it seems apparent that Canadians are looking for a good interest rate if they’re going to park their money.
I have indicated to this ‘bank’ that I was very upset about them changing the interest rate from 3% to 2.25% after only being a customer for less than 3 months. I did not hear back from their CSR. I have withdrawn all my funds from this shady organization and would encourage all of their other customers to do so. I found their advertising to be very misleading and will report this to Advertising Standards Canada for what it’s worth.
I got an email on April 21 2016 saying I could start up my account today. I wasted an hour and a half trying to login with an online chat Eqbank Csr finally they gave up and asked me to try later. I am thinking what private info they do have I want them to delete and I never deal with them again
I got on board early and have had a very good experience. No problems. I started with a small deposit to test things out. At the end of the month I was paid the correct amount of interest. I’ve since used EFT to transfer more in with no issue and have again been pain the correct interest.
I would have been happy if the 3% rate lasted longer, but I can imagine that the short time it was offered may have something to do with the overwhelming response they received. If I were in such a position, where I couldn’t offer the quality service customers deserve, I might want to make my service less appealing so fewer new customers sign up while staff numbers are raised and backlogs are dealt with. I hope and expect everyone will receive the good service I’ve experienced with time. (I have zero bias and no connection with EQ or Equitable Bank other than as a customer who has 1 account which I thought I would mention considering the vast majority of comments here are negative).
Hey Kim,
Thanks for sharing your experience. Some believe that I have a bias since I was paid for this review however, my personal experience with EQ has been positive. I would have liked to see the 3% longer, but I also understand the frustrations that some people had to go through to get their accounts active.
Barry:Opened an account recently and had no issues on transferring funds, even transferred over 50m to raise balance to 100m.On the issue of printing transactions since their security does not allow printing the dashboard(?)you have to hit the copy function on your computer then open your word program and hit the paste function to create a printable copy of the page.My only complaint is their web page is very amateurish and not really informative as to who they are. Gives the impression you are dealing with a boiler room on bay street. CDIC coverage is the only saving grace to reassure clients,
John
Hi John,
I only use EQ Bank via my mobile but I actually like their platform. There are a few small things that annoy me but overall I enjoy it. Good point about CDIC, it’s important that the public knows that they shouldn’t do business with any financial institution that doesn’t have insurance.
Several things. Firstly you can’t beat the interest rate! That’s why we are all customers. But … like many others I was drawn in by the 3% promise, spent time on the waiting list, then found it was 2.25% and that the maximum was $100,000 not $500,000. Hmm. Their interface is clunky. One other comment here said amateurish and I have experienced several glitches. Adding a feature like debit cards takes lots of time in the development cycle so I’m not looking for anything like that in the near future even though that is the single Improvement that would make using their bank account a lot simpler and easier. They have my email address so I’m not sure why they insist on using an internal Mail system which has restrictions on the number of characters you can use and does not respect carriage return spaces etc. Clunky again. The app makes you sign in every time you switch screens to look at the balance on another account. Go back to EQ and you have to log in again. Hypersensitive security that’s not really necessary and not used by any other banking application that I know of or use. The restrictions on the amount that you can withdraw at any one time make it more difficult to move money around. They will take a big check in but won’t let the money out very quickly. That said and despite their teething troubles I will be moving in more money as soon as the bonus rate at Manulife bank ceases at the end of August.
Run fast from this scam bank. Locked my account and stole my money with no reason. Did I bounce a check..no…did I do anything ..no….only ever used the account 3 times. Thieves is what they are.
Hi Brad,
I suggest contacting their customer service line to find out what’s going on with your account.
Thank you for all the comments. I will hold off in using EQ bank for now. I am presently with PC financial and not too happy with their online service.
This stopped me from creating an account “” We may terminate this Agreement with you or withdraw access to Mobile Banking or Online Banking at any time, without notice to you, in which case this Account will continue to apply in respect of your past access “”
Good luck.
I opened an account which seemed easy enough. I went to my bank to get a cheque as they requested. In this day and age I had almost forgotten what a cheque was. So I go to upload it. It does not work, I try on a different phone it does not work and I get a different error. So I emailed them and they tell me its a problem. Well it sounds like you need new developers, people having been complaining about this problem since the beginning of the year. They also tell me they need a printed cheque not the handwritten one. What!?
I reply telling them this is what my bank gave me, their response please close your account by telephone.
Might be a good rate but to trust my money with an incompetent company, I’d rather go for with a slightly lower rate but much more helpful bank Alterna. They let you transfer money online, wow, its like something out of back to the future.
I won’t be wasting my phone bill on them. The account goes dormant in 6 months.
Nic,
They now allow you to link accounts by manually inputting your information. This doesn’t make up for the problems you’re experiencing as I can certainly understand your frustrations.
I just received an unexpected payment of one million. I was going to open an account here and transfer the funds in while I investigate other investment options. The attraction being the interest rate and the liquidity. Apparently the interest rate is subject to change and has done so a number of times in the past year and the liquidity is subject to arcane limits for a bank which supposedly has billions in assets. After all this isnt the Bailey Savings and Loan. After reading the comment son this blog and seeing no positive responses to the complaints I will see my cash goes elsewhere.
I have one word which explains everything – SLUSH FUNDS. What they are doing is illegal, but don’t expect anyone in law enforcement or government regulatory offices to notice anytime soon.
I applied online to open one saving account. When i was creating the profile, the SIN was wrongly typed and profile took me to next page. When i realized I typed wrong SIN, I called the customer service and explained this. The customer service person confirmed that the back office will fix this issue in 48 hours and then i can create my profile. After few days, I tried to login, the account login worked and I followed few steps to reach to the deposit first cheque option. I deposited one cheque online to connect to my main Bank. It’s almost 10 days and I didn’t get any information from the Bank. When I called the customer service today to check the account status, to my surprised, the customer service staff told me that they are waiting for certified copy of my SIN number. This additional information was never shared with me. I asked them to delete my existing profile and I will recreate my profile with correct SIN number, they refused and asked for the same document.
I agreed to send the copy of my SIN card either by mail/email, but the customer service insisted me to get the Notarized copy or go to Service Canada to get the confirmation of SIN.
Sorry to say, I was not sure, if I have to do this to get my account opened. I was expecting that I can open my account without hassle, now it looks like never ending situation.
I have been trying all morning to get into my EQ account–but am not even able to log on. Are the servers down? ALL DAY?? When will this be fixed? I can’t even find the web-site–or phone numbers! ALL down!
Hi Barry,
I stumbled onto EQ today and found your review very helpful. I’ve been with Tangerine/ING Direct for the past 15 years. Since they were bought out by Scotia Bank, I’ve found that their interest rates have dropped (currently 0.8%). I put some money in a 5-year GIC with them a few months ago at 2% and am regretting my decision – especially now that I see I could have gotten 2.3% with EQ right now and kept the cash liquid. Do you still stand by this review? Has anything changed in the past year that makes you less enthusiastic about the bank? Seems like many commenters above have been having trouble with the admin/logistical side of using the bank.
Hi Erin,
There are a few things to consider with EQ vs. Tangerine. Although Tangerine has a daily interest rate of 0.8%, they’ve been running limited time promotions over the last year where people have been getting above 2% for new deposits.
EQ’s daily rate of 2% (now 2.3%) is the highest available so it’s definitely appealing. So why is EQ Bank offering 2.3%? It’s likely that they are suffering some of the fallout from Home Capital Group. Since EQ’s parent company is Equitable Bank, some people think they may run into troubles like Home Trust. I personally don’t think that’s the case since their books are much cleaner.
The 2.3% is to encourage people to stay and to attract more people. The poor customer service as many people have mentioned was due to the fact that when EQ Bank started, they did not expect so much volume. From what I understand, they reached their 1 year goal in about 3 months, so clearly it was hard to reach demand.
I personally still use EQ and I think they’re a good fit for many people. Just make sure you keep no more than $100K with them since that’s the maximum CDIC will cover you in the unlikely case EQ Bank goes under.
Eqbank says interest is 2.3 percent on first deposit. How much is it for subsequent deposits ??
Hi Raj,
2.3% is EQ Bank’s current everyday rate. It applies to all deposits, not just your first one.
I have several banks that I deal with. If I open the account with a cheque from one bank can I add other banks without the need for more cheques?
I’ve been attempting for 2 weeks to open an account. First, their app doesn’t work, so you can’t submit a cheque. I managed to create a login, and receive their two verification deposits. I emailed them a bank statement as they asked for an ID/statement to verify my account. After a week a heard nothing and tried to log back in. It asked me to re-confirm that I had submitted a verification document. It then didn’t let me proceed beyond that step. I wouldn’t trust these guys with my money.
Attempted to sign-up five times. Each time I contacted customer service and was told that they would reset my account and it would allow me to sign up. It didn’t.
Be careful with this bank, $400 disappeared from my account due to a bug in their implementation of interac and they’re giving me the runaround. The last guy I spoke to had the audacity to suggest that my email account may have been hacked and someone deposited funds somewhere even though their website states that the transaction was cancelled.
I just signed up and had a minor issue (my fault). I did the online chat and had a person talking (typing) with me within 5 minutes.
[…] In addition, you get 5 free Interac e-transfers every month. If you’re unfamiliar with EQ Bank, they’re owned by Equitable Bank who has been operating in Canada for four decades and are a […]
If I have 300k and divide it over 5 year GIC , so 60K for 1 year, 60k for 2 year etc is the 300k totally insured through CDIC
Hi Paul,
Yes and no, it depends on the type of account and if it’s individual or joint.
https://www.moneywehave.com/6-things-you-should-know-about-deposit-insurance-in-canada/
Notwithstanding CDIC protection, do you still feel as confident about the health of EQ Bank and the security of funds on deposit under the current challenging circumstances of COVID-19. Relatively smaller mortgage lenders will soon be taking a big hit on their bottom line. Any thoughts?
Hi Andrew,
EQ Bank is owned by Equitable Bank so they’re likely in better shape compared to other banks. COVID-19 is going to have an effect on everyone including lenders. I imagine they’ll all just be more picky about who they lend to in the future.
I think they should be okay too.
I think they should be okay too.
I transferred my money from Scotia bank and the money had been withdrawn from Scotia in April 16,2020. It’s been 6 days now and the money is still not available in my EQ bank. It’s supposed to be just 3 days. What’s the reason for the delay. I tried to call but it’s a long wait.
Early redemption of GIC’s due to Compassionate Reasons.
Warning about EQ Bank
I checked with my different banks about early redemption of GIC’s for care and living expenses of this awful, terminal disease called Cancer.
Being terminally ill with Cancer means nothing to EQ Bank, and they will not redeem your GIC early.
My first reach out to all the banks was in June and the EQ Bank response was this:
“Thank you for being a valued customer at EQ Bank.
Sorry to read about your recent health concerns. For early GIC redemptions, customers would need to send us any details regarding their hardship in a cover letter or e-mail format to “contact@eqbank.ca”. All GIC redemption requests are reviewed and determined by our management team. ”
Looked promising right?
They have finally (after many emails on my part, they tend to ignore a lot) 4 months later made their decision: “Our Management has reviewed your request for premature termination of your GIC, but unfortunately has declined your request.” They knew in advance they were going to deny my request!
So just a heads up for ANYONE, EQ Bank DOES NOT HAVE COMPASSION FOR DYING PEOPLE. Do not give them your money, because if you die sooner than expected, you will never see the money you put in their care. It is not as if I was asking for a loan or charity, THIS IS MY MONEY TO BEGIN WITH. I was prepared to pay an early redemption fee.
How sad and pathetic is a company that won’t allow you to redeem early for medications and living expenses when you are terminal. If they are in financial difficulty and just don’t have it, just be honest with people and let them know. Supposedly they are very well funded, so why won’t they let me have my money back to live on? Of all the banks I checked with they are the only ones who don’t care if you are dying or not, and will not early redeem! Their email address is contact@eqbank.ca Please stay away from this bank!!
Do you have a similar situation with your bank, please post it so we know who to stay away from!
Stuart Martin
Worst banking experience of my life
I cant even get my E-transfer back for $1000
How can nobody even answer a damn email…chat doesnt work…and I have been on the Phone for 90 mins and counting…this is soo bad.I just need help cancelling a etransfer..(code 000014061410).
Had an issue with e-transfer a few days ago, seem to be some sort of glitch. On my end it said there was an error sending and the transaction was cancelled (with no history or pending records of the transaction) but the funds were taken. Was able to get someone on chat and advised the money will be returned within 24-48 hours. The funds has now been returned. I do wish their e-transfer service was faster as it takes a while to get through to the recipient and you have to do it through a separate portal/link.
And the crow (did you paint that?!) reminds me of The Raven.
I have never been treated like this before in my life. My EQ bank and 2 other (credit union) accounts were hacked into. The credit unions were really great going through this. I got everything back except for some e transfers which they took care of. EQ on the other hand are horrible. I call them as soon as I noticed to stop my account as the other credit unions. I didn’t hear back from them and I called quite a few times. Finally talk to someone in week 3 and just like the other they try to say it was my fault. Mean while I get a call from my credit and someone from EQ was trying to take 6000.00 from my credit union account. I call Eq and said I thought my account was frozen? and they said it was. Hmm. Someone from EQ was trying to hack my credit union accounts. Makes me wonder what kind of Bank is this? I am beginning to think that maybe this breach and fraud might be coming from thier EQ bank? So here it is 2 week old and they have not once reached out to me. I have called head office and supposedly the senior directer of Fraud will check into it. That was last week and he too has not got back to me. I am being hopeful maybe tomorrow he will at least contact me and tell me what is going on. I’m not very sure on what to do next if they don’t get back to me. This is very unprofessional to say the least. I don’t even know how much they took and how much they got back. They just won’t tell me. I talk to one person there trying to get some information and he was the one that was trying to say that it was my fault. Yeah right. I am thinking they don’t know what they are doing there, and they have untrained people working for them. Why did the credit Unions get pretty well all the moneys back? and EQ still hasn’t even contacted me to at least show they are trying instead of threatening me. They are not even trying to get my accounts back in order. Knowing what I know now I would not touch this bank with a 39-and-a-half-foot pole. Do your self a favour and Stay away!! Far… Far away.
WARNING!!!!
This is a digital bank until you try to transfer your registered funds (RRSP). How about only paper via snail mail and after 4 weeks no response for them as to the status.
Absolutely never have an account with these hacks again.