Personal Finance

The EQ Bank Personal Account thread - 2.50% (+1.50% direct deposit) - USD account is out: 3.00%

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The EQ Bank Personal Account thread - 2.50% (+1.50% direct deposit) - USD account is out: 3.00%

NOTE: EQ has bring back the referral program for the mean time. NO REQUESTING REFERRALS IN THIS THREAD ELSE YOUR POST WILL BE DELETED AND/OR YOU MAY GET AN INFRACTION!

USD account launched as of June 2nd, 2021!

TFSA: https://www.eqbank.ca/personal-banking/tfsas (3.00%)
RRSP: https://www.eqbank.ca/personal-banking/rsp (3.00%)
USD: https://www.eqbank.ca/personal-banking/ ... anking/usd (3.00%)


As there are lots of requests on having a separate thread in the Personal Finance forum, well here is your wish come true :D

The thread here will be focused on discussions about this account (features, bank linking, etc), where the hot deals forum thread will be more focused on account opening. The link to the hot deals thread is here: eq-bank-online-bank-3-everyday-interest-rate-1903377/

Bank website: https://www.eqbank.ca/index

Interest rate history:
- October 17th, 2022 to Today > 2.50%
- September 6th, 2022 to October 16th, 2022 > 2.00%
- June 24th, 2022 to September 5th, 2022 > 1.65%
- April 11th, 2022 to June 23rd, 2022 > 1.50%
- April 16th, 2021 to April 10th, 2022 > 1.25%
- October 8th, 2020 to April 15th, 2021 > 1.50%
- August 6th, 2020 to October 7th, 2020 > 1.70%
- March 10th, 2020 to August 5th, 2020 > 2.00%
- Jan 23th, 2020 to March 09, 2020 > 2.45%
- May 4th, 2017 to Jan 22, 2020 > 2.30%
- August 25th, 2016 to May 3rd, 2017 > 2.00%
- April 18th, 2016 to August 24th, 2016 > 2.25%
- Jan 14, 2016 (1st day) to April 17th, 2016 > 3.00%

Pros:
- No monthly fees
- No minimum balance requirements
- Free bill payments (Max $5,000 per payment)
- Allows pre-authorized transfers/payments
- Supports direct deposit and joint accounts
- Free EFT transfers on linked accounts (max 100k inbound, 30k outbound per transfer)
- Unlimited Interac e-transfers ($3,000 max per transfer)
- Customer service: 1-844-437-2265 (8 AM - midnight EST)
- Member of CDIC (Under Equitable Bank)

Cons:
- Limit of 10 external linked bank accounts
- EQ needs you to log into your bank site in order to link accounts
- You have to ask EQ to deleted linked accounts
- 5 business day hold on all pulled-transferred funds (though to be fair, standard in the online non-big 5 related-banks banking world)
- No debit card, cannot do withdrawals/deposits through ATM (can be overcame by Interac e-Transfers)

This account is not available in Quebec.

Note: When linking EQ through an external bank, use institution # (623) and transit # (80002)
Note #2: If you decide to close your account, EQ will not let you open one again! So think twice before you close it.
Note #3: A soft credit check is done when opening the account.

Other interesting things about this account:
- For accounts that are opened before Feb 21, 2016, you can only have a maximum of $500,000 in the account (Before interest).
- For accounts that are opened after Feb 21, 2016, you can only have a maximum of $200,000 in the account (Before interest).

If you find anything that I have not mentioned above (or any errors I made), please let me know and I will update the post.

Old stuff:

- Ability to link external accounts through micro-deposits
- 30 minute wait on receiving Interac e-Transfers, no matter the amount
having the birthday bonus every year alone is well worth it for me (though that may be removed in the future), and
5 free Interac e-transfers per month ($1.50 per transfer after)
Note: Do not open the account directly at EQ, as you can get $30 cb from opening the account at GCR (google it yourself) or at High Interest Savings.
NOTE: You cannot just *open* the account now. You have to reserve a spot on the wait list, and EQ will contact you once you can open the account. (Waiting list not needed starting 30/05/2016)
NOTE: EFT Bank to Bank Transfer is not working as of this post's last update time. Interac EMT *should be working* (10/07/2016) (EFT working again as of 13/07/2016)
Update 05/23/17: Starting today there will be a $25 account opening referral (5 referrals only) until June 20th. Do not ask or hint for referrals in your posts/sig, else they will be deleted and you will get an infraction.
Update @ Nov 1st, 2017: The EQ outage incident was on the news: http://toronto.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1249091
So as we all know, the best thing about this account is that it offers 3% interest, although we know that could be lowered anytime. It has been already dropped twice and it's still not been a year yet (refer to below for rate history). Rate as of May 4th, 2017 is 2.30% thanks to the crisis at Home Capital Group.
- $25 birthday bonus every year (Per multiple users, this has been removed starting 08/14/2016)
Last edited by angel_wing0 on Aug 5th, 2020 2:53 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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https://www.eqbank.ca/personal-banking/ ... d-features

Dollar Limit Maximums

Interac*e-Transfer Daily Maximum

$2,500

Interac*e-Transfer Weekly Maximum

$10,000

Interac*e-Transfer Monthly Maximum

$20,000

Interac Etransfers are the fastest way to transfer $2,500 amounts out to any chequing account at no charge, it can take minutes to get the funds to the external account.
Deal Addict
Mar 8, 2013
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5 business day hold on all transferred funds, but cutoff maybe not on $1500 or less. I pulled more than $2000 on Jan 26, and the funds just now available (6th business day)
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akaManny wrote: 5 business day hold on all transferred funds, but cutoff maybe not on $1500 or less. I pulled more than $2000 on Feb 26, and the funds just now available (6th business day)
Feb 26?

Anyway, that's what I was told, and is also part of their hold policy: https://www.eqbank.ca/general-banking/l ... nds-policy
Sr. Member
Nov 29, 2014
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Pitt Meadows, BC
It's to new. The reasons for them getting into the banking side of things is sketchy. There ad on T.V. is also not very good. Their T.V. appearance on Bloomberg Canada was very weird to. They said it was not a promotional rate and their regular rate but they agreed it was likely they decrease it after a while or something like this. I need to see better stuff out of them before I place money there. Reputation is better then rate.

Most banks allow bill payments through savings but usually with a fee. Tangerine is one where you can pay through savings account without fees.

So the claim that "Supports bill payments (RARE for a savings account)" in the OP is incorrect to me. It's not rare. If EQ supports bill payments for free then its some what rare. Depends on what you call rare.
I play the video games H2, WC3. I bank with low fee or no fee banks like Implicity. If you got questions ask.
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User230 wrote: So the claim that "Supports bill payments (RARE for a savings account)" in the OP is incorrect to me. It's not rare. If EQ supports bill payments for free then its some what rare. Depends on what you call rare.
Sure, i can put free bill payments then instead.
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on the links!
angel_wing0 wrote: Transfer to/out of account is capped at $30000 per 24 hours (Can call CSR to process to bypass the cap)
Easily bypassed online. I did $30K x3 transactions yesterday...no need to talk to a human.
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"$25 birthday bonus every year (!!!)" --- that's extra 2.5% on a $1,000 balance .... and .25% on a $10,000 balance :)
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Darkman wrote: "$25 birthday bonus every year (!!!)" --- that's extra 2.5% on a $1,000 balance .... and .25% on a $10,000 balance :)
Can someone point me to the source about this ... cuz (after quick glance around their web site) I am not finding this ...
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Darkman wrote: "$25 birthday bonus every year (!!!)" --- that's extra 2.5% on a $1,000 balance .... and .25% on a $10,000 balance :)
Well not that appealing if you were born on Feb. 29th :cheesygri
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^ ^ ... lol ... I see your point ... I am sure they might accommodate for that somehow though (but never know) ...

Side Note ... -- I never though about that before ... what happens to people who were born on Feb. 29th ... -- I guess they don't have a birthday every year ... or? :)

P.S.

For some reason I misread / misunderstood maybe before ... and took $25 birthday bonus every year for $25 anniversary (of the day the account was opened) bonus every year :D
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Re: their 24/7 Customer support .... --- LOL, I am on hold with them for 1 hour, 3 min+ min already ... simply wanting to confirm / to find out about 25 dol. birthday bonus :)
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Source: https://www.eqbank.ca/company/news/news ... es-eq-bank


Equitable Bank launches EQ Bank

JAN. 14, 2016

New digital bank offers EQ Bank Savings Plus Account with high 3.00% interest rate and flexibility to pay bills and easily transfer money

TORONTO – January 14, 2016 – Equitable Bank, a subsidiary of Equitable Group Inc. (TSX: EQB and EQB.PR.C), today announced the launch of EQ Bank, a new completely digital way of banking. EQ Bank offers a seamless online and mobile banking experience, and will help Canadians reach their savings goals faster.

EQ Bank’s first product, the EQ Bank Savings Plus Account, allows customers to pay bills, transfer money to friends and family, and also earn a competitive interest rate – all from one account.

“This is an exciting new chapter for Equitable Bank as we launch EQ Bank and bring convenient everyday banking right to the fingertips of our customers,” said Andrew Moor, President and CEO, Equitable Bank. “Each year, Canadians are leaving billions of dollars of interest on the table. Our goal is to ensure they get the most out of their hard-earned money. Without the cost of traditional branches, we can focus on our customers first, helping them achieve their savings goals faster.”

EQ Bank’s entry into the digital banking space comes on the heels of a growing shift towards fintech innovation and digital banking in Canada, where 55 per cent of the population choose to do most of their banking online, according to a report released by the Canadian Bankers Association.


The EQ Bank Savings Plus Account offers:

  • An everyday interest rate of 3.00% – with no teaser promo periods that have an expiry date
  • Interest earned on every dollar, without the hassle of transferring money between a chequing and savings account
  • No monthly fees
  • Unlimited day-to-day transactions
  • No minimum balance requirements
  • Five (5) free Interac e-Transfers[SUP]®[/SUP] per month
  • Savings goals feature to help save towards that new car, vacation or home
  • No complicated terms or unreasonable conditions
  • Safe and secure banking from your desktop or mobile – Equitable Bank is a member of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC), therefore deposits in the EQ Bank Savings Plus account are insured up to applicable limits
“The EQ Bank Savings Plus Account will help Canadians earn more money, while still being flexible to meet life’s everyday needs – with no surprises,” said Dan Dickinson, Vice President, Digital Banking, Equitable Bank. “With our innovative branchless model, we have removed unreasonable and complicated monthly fees, bundles and minimum balances from the banking equation so that we can offer our customers more value. Working with an experienced team at EQ Bank and leading Canadian fintech partners, we are now able to offer Canadians an easy, secure and better savings option.”To sign up or learn more on how EQ Bank is helping Canadians reach their savings goals faster, visit eqbank.ca or download the EQ Bank mobile app (available on the App Store and Google Play).
EQ Bank is brought to Canadian customers by, and is a trademark of Equitable Bank, and offers a branchless, completely digital banking experience. Features of the EQ Bank Savings Plus Account, including the interest rate, are subject to change. Visit eqbank.ca for the latest details.


About Equitable Bank

Equitable Bank is Canada’s ninth largest independent Schedule I bank and offers a diverse suite of residential lending, commercial lending and savings solutions to Canadians. Through its proven branchless approach and customer service focus, Equitable Bank has grown to approximately $17 billion of assets under management. Most recently, Equitable Bank launched a digital banking operation, EQ Bank, along with its flagship product the EQ Bank Savings Plus Account. Equitable Bank currently employs over 500 employees across the country, and was named one of Canada’s best employers for 2016 by Aon. For more information about Equitable Bank and its products, please visit equitablebank.ca.


Media Contact

Bryan Dinh
Director, Marketing
EQ Bank
647-600-2160
bdinh@eqbank.ca

Natasha Boeck
Environics Communications
416-969-2724
nboeck@environicspr.com


[SUP]®[/SUP]Interac e-Transfer is a registered trade-mark of Interac Inc. Used under licence.
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Darkman wrote: Re: their 24/7 Customer support .... --- LOL, I am on hold with them for 1 hour, 3 min+ min already ... simply wanting to confirm / to find out about 25 dol. birthday bonus :)
No need to call. Birthday on Jan 31 and cheque was clear on Jan 26th. Account was activated yesterday and $26 is there (with my $1 cheque)
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OK ... I just got off the phone with them ... Re: - $25 birthday bonus every year (!!!)

Can confirm that that's the case indeed and it's not advertised on their web site (so kind of a surprise, basically) ....

BUT ....

Re: - $25 birthday bonus every year (!!!)


That's not the case ... and should be corrected in OP,

... as CSR told me that the $25 birthday bonus is a ONE time deal ONLY.

Deposited into one's account on one's birthday, as a present.

ONE time ONLY.
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mkl38s wrote: No need to call. Birthday on Jan 31 and cheque was clear on Jan 26th. Account was activated yesterday and $26 is there (with my $1 cheque)
Maybe there was a need to call, after all, lol (for correction posted in my previous post above) ;)
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I just called them again ... on hold again ... just to find out what will happen to the person whose birthday is on Feb 29th ( this year February has 29 days by the way :) ), and who were to open / activate EQ bank account on March 1, 2016 or after, lol ..... :D

Would $25 be deposited on the next Feb. 29th (whenever that might be), on Feb. 28th, 2017 (considering Feb. 29th is not every year) ... or not at all ... :)

Forgot to ask about this in my previous phone call ... and wondering how long I will be on hold this time ... haha.

2 hours 15+ min. so far ... and counting :)
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Dec 8, 2012
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they would be broke if they gave $25 to everybody every year. $1+ million out of their pockets. OP.

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