EQ Bank Personal Account review

What are the benefits of the EQ Bank Personal Account?

• No account fee. The EQ Bank Personal Account comes with a monthly account fee of $0 to maintain the account.
• Earn interest on your balance: Few chequing accounts in Canada offer the ability to earn interest on your balance, but the EQ Bank Personal Account does. Not only that, this account offers a higher interest rate than you’d typically find with many savings accounts in Canada – up to an impressive 4%.
• No money transfer fees. This account comes with unlimited monthly transactions, $0 Interac e-Transfers, no fee for bill payments and no Electronic Funds Transfers (EFT) fees.
• No everyday banking fees. EQ Bank doesn’t charge overdraft fees, dormant account fees, NSF fees and deposit fees.
• Comes with a prepaid card. In lieu of a debit card, the EQ Bank Personal Account comes with an EQ Bank Card, which is a reloadable Mastercard that you can use anywhere Mastercard is accepted and to withdraw cash. You’ll also earn cashback on all of your purchases with the EQ Bank Card.
• No ATM fees. You can withdraw cash from any ATM in Canada for free. Plus, EQ Bank will reimburse (within 10 business days) any ATM fees charged at the ATM machine.
• Connect multiple accounts: With an EQ Bank Personal Account, you can connect more than one personal account from other banking institutions. This allows you to transfer money between two accounts easily.
• Entirely online: You can do the entire signup process and all of your personal banking online and never have to step foot in a branch.
• CDIC insured. Any money in your EQ Bank Personal Account is insured by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation for up to $100,000.

What should I look out for with this account?

• Requirements for interest. You’ll only receive the highest interest rate under a specific condition. Get 2.50% interest on everyday banking, plus get 1.50% interest when you direct deposit your pay. To receive the 4.00% rate for 12 months, you'll need to set up $500/month or more in direct deposit of your pay to a Personal Account or Joint Account. Conditions apply. Thereafter, you'll earn 2.50% on your balance.
• No debit card. The EQ Bank Personal Account comes with a prepaid card, not a debit card. Although both types of cards offer many of the same functions, you aren’t technically debiting from your account with the prepaid card. Any money you want to spend will have to first be transferred from your account to your prepaid EQ Bank Card before you can use the card.
• Cash deposits. EQ Bank does not offer a way to directly deposit funds. The only way to deposit cash into your EQ Bank Personal Account is to deposit the money into an account at a different financial institution and then e-transfer the money into your Personal account.
• No in-person service. Because EQ Bank operates entirely online, if you want a financial adviser or would like to make in-branch visits, EQ Bank isn’t for you.
• Limited features in Québec. Although Québec residents can sign up for a EQ Bank Personal Account, some features (like EQ-to-EQ transfers) aren’t available in Québec.

Related: Our picks for the best no-fee chequing accounts in Canada

How do I open an EQ Bank Personal Account?

To open an EQ Bank Personal Account, click Go to site on this page to begin filling out an online application. You’ll be asked to verify your eligibility and fill out the required information. Your information will be validated online in a few seconds once you complete the application.

Eligibility

To be eligible for an EQ Bank Personal Account, you must meet the following criteria:

• Be a resident of Canada
• Be the age of the majority in your province or territory with a valid Social Insurance Number (SIN)
• A valid Canadian phone number

Required information

• Contact information (address, phone number and email address)
• Personal information (date of birth, occupation, SIN)
• Proof of ID (e.g. a driver’s license or passport)

How do I deposit and withdraw money into my EQ Bank Personal Account?

To deposit funds into an EQ Bank Personal Account, you need to set up a transfer from an existing account. The transfer can be from another EQ Bank account or any other financial institution.

In either case, transfers are free of charge and easy to set up. To deposit funds, you can send Interac e-Transfers, set up an electronic funds transfer (EFT) or link two accounts together.

If you want to withdraw cash from the EQ Bank Personal Account, you’ll need to transfer money to your EQ Bank Card before withdrawing money from the card at any ATM in Canada for free. If the ATM charges you a fee on the spot, EQ Bank will refund you the fee within 10 business days.

What ther banking products does EQ Bank offer?

EQ Bank offers the following personal banking products and services:

• EQ Bank savings account: EQ Bank offers a savings, called the EQ Bank Notice Savings Account, which lets you earn up to 4.50% - 5.00% on your balance – one of the highest ongoing savings interest rates in Canada. Choose to access your withdrawal funds after 10 days for a 4.5% savings rate or 30 days for a 5% interest rate.
• Online and mobile Banking: EQ Bank provides traditional payment services such as bill payments, money transfers and cheque deposits through its mobile app, which is available on both Android and Apple devices. For more, read our EQ Bank review.

Related: Compare other high interest savings accounts in Canada

How does EQ Bank compare to other banks?

EQ Bank differs from other Canadian financial institutions in many ways. Unlike the Big 5 Banks in Canada, EQ Bank is accessed entirely online and through the mobile app, which means there are no physical locations.

Low overhead costs enable EQ Bank to offer lower fees and higher savings interest rates than many of its brick-and-mortar competitors.

That said, EQ Bank doesn’t come with some perks, like personal cheques or a partner ATM network. But if you’re comfortable linking your EQ Bank Personal Account to a more traditional chequing account from another bank, you can benefit from all of the EQ Bank perks while still saving on banking fees.

Bottom line on the EQ Bank Personal Account

This EQ Bank chequing account comes with free transfers, zero everyday banking fees and the ability to earn a high interest rate on your balance. EQ Bank is suited to digital natives who want to save on banking fees and maximize your savings with a high interest rate.

However, if you need to regularly deposit and withdraw cash, or prefer to have instant access to your account funds with a debit card, you may be better off with a different Canadian chequing account.