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Banking should be easy. If you’ve got questions, we’ve got answers.

Yes—all eligible deposits with Equitable Bank/EQ Bank are insured up to $100,000, per insurance category, as outlined by the CDIC in “Protecting Your Deposits.” For example, you’re covered for up to $100,000 combined across your EQ Bank Savings Plus Account and your EQ Bank GICs, and any deposits you have with Equitable Bank.

EQ Bank is a trademark of Equitable Bank. Equitable Bank is a member of the CDIC. Deposits held under Equitable Bank are eligible for deposit insurance from the CDIC, subject to the CDIC’s applicable limits and policies.

For more details on CDIC, please visit www.cdic.ca.

Generally, we hold funds deposited by cheque or Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) for five business days, beginning after the date of deposit. This means that funds held will actually become available by the sixth business day, when you include the date of deposit.

For example, if you make a deposit on a Monday, you can access the funds on the following Tuesday.

Although the deposit is reflected immediately in your account balance, you won’t be able to withdraw or transfer your funds until the hold period has passed. However, during the hold period, you still earn interest on the deposit amount. For more details, check out our Hold Funds Policy.

EQ Bank offers Canadians a digital banking experience. We launched officially in January 2016 with a commitment to help Canadians get the most out of their money.

Based in Toronto, EQ Bank is a trademark of Equitable Bank. Equitable Bank is a federally regulated Schedule I bank with over 900 employees across Canada.

Equitable Bank, Canada’s Challenger Bank^TM, is the country’s ninth largest independent Schedule I bank. EQ Bank is the digital arm of Equitable Bank. You can learn more by visiting www.equitablebank.ca.

Good question! Banks typically make money by accepting deposits from customers, and then providing loans to other customers and earning interest from those loans. We use the deposits from EQ Bank to furnish Equitable Bank’s residential and commercial loans, and earn interest.

As a branchless bank, we’re able to reduce our operating costs, and pass on those savings to you in the form of a great everyday interest rate on the EQ Bank Savings Plus Account.

We’re always looking for good people! Check out our latest job postings.

It’s really easy! You can open an account by visiting www.eqbank.ca and applying online.

All EQ Bank customers must:

• Be a Canadian resident
• Meet their province’s age of majority (18 or 19 years old, depending on where you live)
• Have a Social Insurance Number

Please note: The EQ Bank Savings Plus Account is not available in Quebec.

As part of our online identity verification process, we do a “soft” credit check—meaning your credit score won’t be affected and won’t be visible to other third parties who view your credit report.

The Income Tax Act requires all banks to obtain your Social Insurance Number when you open an account that earns interest (this includes the EQ Bank Savings Plus Account and GICs). Banks are required to report the interest you earn each year to the Canada Revenue Agency.

We’re working on it! While we don’t yet have a launch date, our team is hard at work to get this product up and running as soon as possible. We’ll spread the word when we have more news. 

Unfortunately, we do not currently offer TFSAs.

We don’t officially support access to your EQ Bank Savings Plus Account through Mint.

Unfortunately, we do not currently offer business accounts. The EQ Bank Savings Plus Account is for personal use only.

You can continue to access your existing account while travelling outside of Canada. However, all EQ Bank account holders must be Canadian residents in order to maintain their account.

If we’re unable to verify your identity through TransUnion (a credit reporting agency), you can do so by visiting Canada Post. Similar to showing your government-issued photo ID at a bank branch, we’ve partnered with Canada Post to make verifying your identity as quick and convenient as possible. Find the participating Canada Post outlet that’s closest to you.

You’ll need to bring:

• 1 piece of government-issued photo ID
• 1 proof of address document (if your photo ID doesn’t have your current address)
• Your Canada Post DSS number (see What is my Canada Post DSS number and why is it important?)

Canada Post will validate your identity based on the information you provided for your EQ Bank account application. Your government-issued photo ID cannot be expired, and the first and last name, address, and birthdate must be an exact match to the information you provided to us.

You’ll need to show one of the following pieces of government-issued photo ID:

• Canadian driver’s license
• Provincial or territorial photo ID card
• Canadian Secure Certificate of Indian Status
• Canadian passport
• Canadian permanent resident card

If your government-issued photo ID doesn’t list your current address, you’ll also need to show a proof of address document, such as:

• Recent utility bill (residential telephone, cable TV, public utilities commission, hydro, gas, or water)
• Residential Lease, Residential Mortgage Statement or Agreement, Rental Agreement Lease, Agreement of Purchase and Sale
• School, College, or University Report Card or Transcript
• Municipal tax notice
• Canada Child Tax Benefit statement
• Most recent Income Tax assessment
• Government cheque or Government cheque stub with individual’s name and address
• Statement of Employment Insurance Benefits Paid (T4E)
• Canada Pension Plan Statement of Contributions/Quebec Pension Plan Statement of Participation
• Statement of Benefits from Provincial Workplace Safety or Insurance Board
• Statement of Direct Deposit for Provincial Works or Provincial Disability Support Program
• Attestation of Residence issued by the responsible authorities (shelters, soup kitchens, student/senior residence, long term care facilities, Aboriginal reserves, work camps)
• Statement of Old Age Security (T4A) or Statement of Canada Pension Plan Benefits (T4AP)

If we’re unable to verify your identity through TransUnion (a credit reporting agency), you can do so by visiting Canada Post and providing your DSS number. A DSS number (or barcode) is given to Canada Post, so they can validate your identity based on the information in your application on our behalf. Your Canada Post DSS number will be emailed to you, but if you can’t find it, feel free to call our Customer Care team.

As part of our online identity verification process, we may ask you to sign in to one of the banks below to validate your identity:

• ATB Financial
• BMO
• CIBC
• Coast Capital Savings
• Desjardins
• HSBC
• Laurentian Bank
• Meridian
• National Bank
• RBC
• Scotiabank
• Simplii
• Tangerine
• TD Bank
• Vancity

Unfortunately, if you do not bank with at least one of the companies listed above, you will not be able to proceed with your EQ Bank account application at this time.

An Online Consumer Disclosure is a detailed report of all the information on your credit file, and serves as a way for you to check the data as reported to TransUnion. The information you provide in your EQ Bank application must be an exact match to what is on your TransUnion credit file.

EQ Bank deals with Canadian currency only. We don’t offer foreign exchange or USD accounts at the moment.

We offer a high-interest savings account (EQ Bank Savings Plus Account) and GICs (guaranteed investment certificates).

From students to seniors, everyone is welcome! We offer the same banking products to all.

That said, we do have a few basic requirements—all EQ Bank customers must:

• Be a Canadian resident
• Meet their province’s age of majority (18 or 19 years old, depending on where you live)
• Have a Social Insurance Number

Please note: The EQ Bank Savings Plus Account is not available in Quebec.

Unfortunately, not at the moment. All EQ Bank customers must be Canadian residents in order to open and maintain an account.

As part of our online identity verification process, we conduct a “soft” credit check, which doesn’t affect your personal credit score. Your credit score is not considered when opening an EQ Bank account.

From time to time, we may offer bonuses when you refer a friend and they open an EQ Bank account. To ensure you’re kept up to date on our latest offers, you can sign in to your EQ Bank account and update your email subscription preferences.

There are two ways to withdraw funds from your EQ Bank account:

• via Interac e-Transfer^®
• via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) to your linked accounts

Interac e-Transfer^®:

You can instantly withdraw funds by sending a free Interac e-Transfer^® to yourself, from your EQ Bank account to your linked bank account. Funds sent through this method are generally not subject to holds, and funds are immediately available for use.

Note: Banks may set daily limits on how much money you can receive through Interac e-Transfer^®, so it’s best to use this method for smaller amounts.

Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT):

Using the EQ Bank mobile app or through online banking, you can transfer up to $30,000 per transaction from your EQ Bank account to your linked bank accounts. You can make multiple transactions per day. Funds will take one to two business days to appear in your linked bank account.

Sign in to EQ Bank and, from the dashboard, click on your savings accounts. Each account has a unique nine-digit number associated with it.

It’s easy! Simply sign in to your account using the EQ Bank mobile app. In the bottom right corner, click on “Deposit.” Enter the dollar value of the cheque in the “Amount” field, then select the account you wish to deposit the funds into. Take a photo of both the front and back of the cheque, then click “Deposit.”

We’re all about zero everyday banking fees! We don’t charge monthly account fees, fees for sending or receiving Interac e-Transfers^®, fees for bill payments, overdraft fees, or dormant account fees. After all, your money is your money. Check out the full list of fees we don’t charge.

Using the EQ Bank mobile app, sign in to your account, then click on the navigation menu in the top right corner. Under “Manage my account,” click on “Direct Deposits & Payments,” then “Download void cheque.”

Using a web browser, sign in to online banking. Under “My accounts,” click on “Direct deposit,” then “Generate void cheque.”

Using the EQ Bank mobile app, sign in to your account, and then click on the navigation menu in the top right corner. Under “Manage my account,” click on “Profile,” then “Edit.”

Using a web browser, sign in to online banking. Under “Profile,” click on “Profile,” then “Edit.”

EQ Bank is a digital bank. While we don’t offer a debit card or direct ATM access to withdraw cash, our mobile app and online banking website make it easy to deposit or transfer funds electronically between bank accounts. By sending funds to your linked account(s) through Interac e-Transfer^® or Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), you can easily withdraw the cash as you normally would from your linked account.

Using the EQ Bank mobile app, sign in to your account. The current interest rate will be visible on your dashboard.

To view the current rate without signing in, click here.

To unlock your account, please call the EQ Bank Customer Care team at 1-844-437-2265 (844-4EQ-BANK) or launch Live Chat.

You can download the EQ Bank mobile app for iOS here.

You can download the EQ Bank mobile app for Android here.

To reset your password, click on “Forgot password” from the EQ Bank sign-in page. If you’ve made too many failed attempts with an incorrect password, you’ll eventually be locked out.

Using the EQ Bank mobile app, sign in to your account, and then click on the navigation menu in the top right corner. Under “Manage my account,” click on “Profile,” then “Edit.”

Using a web browser, sign in to online banking. Under “Profile,” click on “Profile,” then “Edit.”

Using the EQ Bank mobile app, sign in to your account, and then click on the navigation menu in the top right corner. Under “Manage my account,” click on “View documents,” then “View statements.”

Using a web browser, sign in to online banking. Under “My accounts,” click on “Bank statements.”

Your EQ Bank account will be a unique nine-digit number. You can also generate a void cheque by signing in to the EQ Bank mobile app or online banking.

T5 tax slips can be found by signing in to your account through the EQ Bank mobile app or online banking website. Once you’re signed in, navigate to the “Accounts” tab, and click on “Tax documents.”

Your T5 tax slip will be available for download as a PDF file by no later than February 28 of every year.

To report an issue with your T5 tax slip, please call the EQ Bank Customer Care team at 1-844-437-2265 (844-4EQ-BANK) or launch Live Chat.

From your EQ Bank account, you can send:

• Up to $3,000 per day
• Up to $10,000 per 7-day period
• Up to $20,000 per 30-day period

There is no dollar limit on how much you can receive via Interac e-Transfer^® to your EQ Bank account. To view the dollar limits of other transaction types, click here.

There are three ways to deposit funds into your EQ Bank account:

• via Interac e-Transfer^®
• via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) through your linked accounts
• via Mobile Cheque Deposit through the EQ Bank mobile app

Interac e-Transfer^®:

You can instantly deposit funds by sending an Interac e-Transfer^® to yourself, using your other bank account. Funds sent through this method are generally not subject to holds, and funds are immediately available for use.

Note: While it’s free to send or receive Interac e-Transfers^® with EQ Bank, your other bank may charge a fee for sending them. Banks also tend to set daily limits on how much money you can send through Interac e-Transfer^®, so it’s best to use this method for smaller amounts (generally $3,000 or less).

Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT):

Using either the EQ Bank mobile app or through online banking, you can deposit up to $100,000 per transaction from your linked account to your EQ Bank account. You can make multiple transactions per day. A hold period will apply to the deposited funds; however, you will start earning interest immediately.

Mobile Cheque Deposit:

Using the EQ Bank mobile app, you can deposit up to $100,000 per cheque. You can deposit multiple cheques per day. A hold period will apply to the deposited funds; however, you will start earning interest immediately.

Generally, we hold funds deposited by cheque or Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) for five business days, beginning after the date of deposit. This means that funds held will actually become available by the sixth business day, when you include the date of deposit. For example, if you make a deposit on a Monday, you can access the funds on the following Tuesday.

Although the deposit will be reflected in your account balance immediately, you will not be able to withdraw or transfer the funds until the hold period has passed. During the hold period, you continue to earn interest on the deposit amount. For more information, please to refer to our Hold Funds Policy. To view the dollar limits of other transaction types, click here.

Your funds will take one to two business days to appear in your linked bank account.

Using the EQ Bank mobile app, sign in to your account, then click on “Bills” along the bottom of the screen, then “Pay Bills.’

Using a web browser, sign in to online banking. From the Dashboard, click “Pay a bill.”

Using a web browser, sign in to online banking. From the Dashboard, click on the applicable savings account. You can download a CSV file containing your account transactions by clicking on the download icon (to the left of the printer icon).

Using the EQ Bank mobile app, sign in to your account, and then click on the navigation menu in the top right corner. Under “Manage my account,” click on “Externally linked account,” then “Link another account.”

Using a web browser, sign in to online banking. Under “Transfers,’ click on “Manage externally linked accounts,” then “Link another bank account.”

To delete a linked account, please call the EQ Bank Customer Care team at 1-844-437-2265 (844-4EQ-BANK) or launch Live Chat.

To delete or close your savings account, please call the EQ Bank Customer Care team at 1-844-437-2265 (844-4EQ-BANK) or launch Live Chat.

To delete or close your savings account, please call the EQ Bank Customer Care team at 1-844-437-2265 (844-4EQ-BANK) or launch Live Chat.

Should an account holder pass away, next of kin or the executor should call the EQ Bank Customer Care team at 1-844-437-2265 (844-4EQ-BANK). If possible, please have the date of death, and lawyer or trustee details available, and we’ll do everything we can to help.

You don’t! You’re able to keep a $0 balance in your account, should you choose to.

Your account will be considered dormant, if there has been no activity for a 12-month period. If your account is dormant and has no balance, it will be closed without notice. If your account is dormant and the balance is greater than $0, we will email you a Dormant Account Notice. EQ Bank does not charge dormant account fees. For more information on dormant accounts, please review our EQ Bank Savings Plus Account Agreement under the section titled “Dormant Accounts.”

You can link up to 10 other external accounts to your EQ Bank account.

EQ to EQ Transfers let you instantly send money to another EQ Bank customer for free. You can send up to $30,000 per day (as opposed to a maximum of $3,000 per day for Interac e-Transfers^®). Funds sent through this method are not subject to holds, and funds are immediately available for use.

To send an EQ to EQ Transfer:

Using the EQ Bank mobile app, sign in to your account. Click on “Transfer” along the bottom of the screen, and then “Transfer to EQ Connection.”

Using a web browser, sign in to online banking. Under “Transfers,” click on “Transfer to EQ Connections.”

Unfortunately, we’re not able to offer wire transfers at the moment.

You can open up to four savings accounts, in addition to your main account, for a total of five savings accounts.

Using a web browser, sign in to online banking. Under “Transfers,” click on “Pending transfers.” Under “Recurring transactions,” click “Delete” on your selected transaction.

TransferWise is a service that offers a cheap, fast way to send money around the world. TransferWise was founded in 2011, is registered with multiple financial authorities around the globe, and has served over 6 million people in 71 countries. TransferWise Canada Inc. is registered with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) as a Money Service Business (MSB) with registration number M15193392. They also hold a MSB licence with the Authorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) under licence number 902804.

EQ Bank and TransferWise have formed a partnership that allows customers to send cheap and fast international money transfers directly from their EQ Bank Account, through online banking or the mobile app.

International money transfers sent using the EQ Bank Savings Plus Account are powered by TransferWise, which uses HTTPS encryption and two-factor authentication to protect all transactions and make sure all communications are secure.

The real exchange rate is the mid-point between the BUY and SELL rates on the global currency markets and it constantly fluctuates. It’s the rate you’ll find on Reuters, Google, Yahoo! Finance, etc. and it’s also the rate you’ll get when you send your international money transfer via TransferWise.

You can access our calculator here to see the current exchange rate as well as the transaction charge.

EQ Bank powered by TransferWise converts money using the real exchange rate and charges a conversion fee based on the amount you’re sending and the currency you’ve selected. You can view the conversion fee before sending an international money transfer through your EQ Bank account, or you can click here to calculate the conversion fee based on the currencies selected.

Unfortunately, you cannot cancel an international money transfer once the transaction has been submitted, but you will have an opportunity to review the transaction details prior to clicking the “Submit” button.

Unfortunately, you cannot recall or cancel an international money transfer once you’ve reviewed the transaction details and clicked the “Submit” button.

You can view the status of your international money transfer on the International Transfer dashboard. To do so, simply click “Transfers” and choose “Send International Transfer.” This screen will contain your transaction history, and will show your previous transactions as “Pending,” “Completed,” or “Bounce back” (which appears in the case of an error that results in the money being refunded into your account in its entirety).

The exact time period of an international money transfer depends on multiple factors, including the destination country, the time of day the transfer is sent, and security checks. Some recipients may receive their funds within 24 hours, and all recipients should receive their funds within 3 business days.

Great news—it doesn’t take longer to process an international money transfer if it’s your first one!

It may take a few more minutes to complete your first transaction as you’ll need to link your account to TransferWise and fill out new recipient details, but once you click “Submit” on your transaction, funds should be received within 3 business days.

The recipient does not require a TransferWise account to access their funds, as they will receive the money directly in the bank account that was specified in the transaction.

Unfortunately, the recipient cannot track the progress of the international money transfer, but you can check the status of the transaction on your international transfer dashboard, and let the recipient know they should receive it within 3 business days.

1. Check the status of your international money transfer. If the transfer has a status of “Pending,” it’s still on its way to the recipient.
2. If the transfer shows a status of “Completed,” the money has been delivered but it may not yet be available in the recipient’s account. It can take some banks up to 1 additional business day to process and release the money.
3. If the delay has exceeded the anticipated period of 3 business days, you can check the TransferWise ID (listed along with the other transaction details in the transaction history) and call the EQ Bank Customer Care team for assistance.
4. If the status of the transaction appears as “bounce back,” the funds did not reach the recipient, and the money will be refunded into your account in its entirety. Note: these funds will not earn interest during the period they are not in your EQ Bank Savings Plus Account.

You will not be able to send an international money transfer without the recipient’s bank details. In order to send the transfer, you’ll need to add a new recipient and fill in the banking details in the mandatory fields.

Typos or mistakes in recipient details are one of the main reasons for requesting a transfer cancellation, but once a transfer is submitted, it’s not possible to cancel it. To prevent this from happening, please look over all the recipient information on the “Review Details” screen before clicking “Submit”!

If you do realize you’ve entered in something incorrectly, you can:

• Get in touch with our EQ Bank Customer Care team
• Wait for the money to bounce back

If you’ve entered in the wrong amount, the payment will not bounce back. In this case, get in touch with the recipient so they can tell their bank to reject the payment or return the money to you.

If you’ve entered in the wrong account number and the transfer is sent to the wrong account, neither EQ Bank nor TransferWise has the ability to get involved in disputes between senders and recipients, so it’s important to check the account information on the “Review Details” screen before clicking “Submit.”

Yes, there are maximum amounts, as follows:

• $9,500 CAD for a single transaction for all currencies, except CNY ($5,800 maximum), PKR ($8,400 maximum) and LKR ($7,100 maximum)
• $9,500 CAD for a 24-hour period

You can buy up to 20 GICs. Each GIC purchase must be for at least $100, and can be up to a maximum of $100,000. Customers can hold up to $500,000 in GICs, excluding interest earned.

Once your GIC reaches the maturity date, the funds will be placed in your EQ Bank Savings Plus Account (the one from which your initial investment was funded). You will receive an email or SMS alert notifying you of the GIC maturity.

Should an account holder pass away, next of kin should call the EQ Bank Customer Care team at 1-844-437-2265 (844-4EQ-BANK). If possible, please have the date of death, and lawyer or trustee details available, and we’ll do everything we can to help.

You have up to the end of the next business day following the day you purchased your GIC (your GIC Effective Date) to cancel your GIC online. Once the cancellation period has passed, your GIC is non-redeemable and your funds are locked in. For more information, please refer to the EQ Bank GIC Agreement.

Unfortunately not. Once the cancellation period has passed, your GIC is non-redeemable, and your funds are locked in. For more information, please refer to the EQ Bank GIC Agreement.

Yes. Any interest you earn from your GIC investments will be included on your T5 tax slip.

T5 tax slips can be found by signing in to your account through the EQ Bank mobile app or online banking website.

No, but you can view your current and previous GIC purchases by signing in to your account.

We’re committed to meeting all industry standards, and we take the safeguarding of your account very seriously. That’s why we constantly monitor—and make enhancements to—our security features. For additional details, consult our EQ Bank Mobile and Online Banking Security Guarantee.

We do a lot of work behind the scenes to keep your personal information safe. Check out our Privacy Agreement for more details.

As soon as possible, please call the EQ Bank Customer Care team at 1-844-437-2265 (844-4EQ-BANK) or launch Live Chat.