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Best EQ Savings Accounts In Canada

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Best EQ Savings Accounts In Canada For December 2024

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Updated: Dec 2, 2024, 3:36pm

Aaron Broverman

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EQ Bank is a Canadian financial institution that operates entirely online. Powered by Equitable Bank, this digital bank launched in 2016 and, so far, has more than $8 billion in deposits.

Notably, EQ Bank has an almost entirely fee-less structure, making them a solid choice for saving or investing without penalty. Some of their most compelling offerings are their savings accounts, thanks to competitive interest rates, lack of fees and other convenient features that can make saving simpler, as long as you don’t mind not having a branch to visit.

Find The Best Accounts

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Why you can trust Forbes FA CA

Why You Can Trust Forbes Advisor Canada

Our editors are committed to bringing you unbiased ratings and information. Advertisers do not influence our editorial content. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial, small business and insurance products or companies so that all are measured equally. You can read more about our editorial guidelines on our ‘About Us’ page and what informs our rating system in the methodology section of the article below.

Best EQ Savings Accounts In Canada For December 2024

We’ve compared five savings accounts at EQ Bank to rank the best options available. See below to learn more about why we picked each account and the pros and cons, along with other features and benefits.

EQ Bank TFSA Savings Account

APY

2.50%

Minimum Deposit Requirement

Monthly Maintenance Fee

Learn More

On EQ Bank's Website

APY

2.50%

Minimum Deposit Requirement

Monthly Maintenance Fee

Why We Picked It

This tax-free savings account offers a little bit of everything: A 2.50% tax-free interest rate, no minimum deposit, no monthly maintenance fees and unlimited access to your money with no fees or penalties. Overall, you won’t pay a penny to use this account—unless you overcontribute—all while earning interest.

Learn more: Read our EQ Bank TFSA Review

Pros & Cons

2.50% APY earned tax-free on every dollar in your account
No monthly maintenance fees
No minimum deposit requirement
Unlimited free withdrawals
Easily links to other accounts, with EQ or another bank

No brick-and-mortar locations of EQ Bank
Cannot transfer funds between two EQ Bank accounts in Quebec
Interest rate is fixed and not tiered, so your rate won’t ever be higher with a higher balance

Details

Get a 2% match for every dollar deposited to your TFSA Savings Account. Offer ends February 28, 2025.
2.50% interest on every dollar in your account
Interest is tax-free
No monthly maintenance fees
No minimum deposit requirement
Unlimited free withdrawals
Easily links to other accounts, with EQ or another bank
All deposits are eligible for CDIC protection

EQ Bank RSP Savings Account

APY

2.50%

Minimum Deposit Requirement

Monthly Maintenance Fee

Learn More

On EQ Bank's Website

APY

2.50%

Minimum Deposit Requirement

Monthly Maintenance Fee

Why We Picked It

The EQ Bank RSP Savings Account allows you to save for retirement or your first home and grow those savings tax-free while earning 2.50% interest on your balance. Aside from that, it also charges no fees.

Pros & Cons

Earn 2.50% interest on your savings
Savings are tax-deferred
No monthly maintenance fees
No minimum deposit requirement
Easily links to other accounts, with EQ or another bank

No brick-and-mortar locations of EQ Bank
Tax implications for withdrawal are typical of RRSP accounts
This account is not available in Quebec

Details

Get a 2% match for every dollar deposited to your RSP Savings Account. Offer ends February 28, 2025.
Earn 2.50% interest on your savings
Savings are tax-deferred
No monthly maintenance fees
No minimum deposit requirement
Easily links to other accounts, with EQ or another bank
All deposits are eligible for CDIC protection to a maximum of $100,000

EQ Bank Personal Account

APY

Up to 3.75%

Minimum Deposit Requirement

Monthly Maintenance Fee

Learn More

On EQ Bank's Website

APY

Up to 3.75%

Minimum Deposit Requirement

Monthly Maintenance Fee

Why We Picked It

This no-fee bank account offers a competitive interest rate that trumps what most big banks can offer. Plus, with unlimited everyday banking transactions and the ability to link it to the EQ Bank Card in every province but Quebec, it can basically function like a chequing account, even though it has “savings” in its name.

Learn more: Read our EQ Bank Personal Account Review

Pros & Cons

Earn up to 3.75% interest on your savings
No monthly maintenance fees or minimum deposit requirement
Unlimited everyday banking transactions
All the flexibility of a chequing account, but with interest
Easily links to other accounts, with EQ or another bank

Not the highest amount of interest offered by EQ Bank accounts
You must direct deposit your pay to earn 4% interest on your balance
No brick-and-mortar locations of EQ Bank
EQ Bank Card unavailable in Quebec

Details

Earn 3.75% interest on your balance when you direct deposit your paycheque
Earn 2.00% on your balance if you do not set up direct deposit
No monthly maintenance fees
No minimum deposit requirement
Unlimited everyday banking transactions such as Interac e-Transfers, bill payments and electronic funds transfers.
Easily links to other accounts, with EQ or another bank, except in Quebec where EQ to EQ account transfers are unavailable.
All deposits are eligible for CDIC protection

EQ Bank Joint Account

APY

Up to 3.75%

Minimum Deposit Requirement

Monthly Maintenance Fee

Learn More

On EQ Bank's Website

APY

Up to 3.75%

Minimum Deposit Requirement

Monthly Maintenance Fee

Why We Picked It

This account is essentially a carbon copy of the EQ Savings Plus Account above. It boasts all the same features: up to 3.75% interest, no fees, and unlimited transactions. However, the difference is it can be shared with up to three people.

Learn more: Read our EQ Bank Joint Account Review

Pros & Cons

Earn up to 3.75% interest on your savings
Ability to share account with up to three people
No monthly maintenance fees or minimum deposit requirement
Unlimited everyday banking transactions
All the flexibility of a chequing account, but with interest
Easily links to other accounts, with EQ or another bank

Not the highest amount of interest offered by EQ bank
You must set up direct deposit to earn 3.75% interest on your balance
No brick-and-mortar locations of EQ Bank

Details

Earn 3.75% interest on your balance when you set up direct deposit for your paycheque
Earn 2.00% interest on your balance if you do not set up direct deposit
Ability to share account with up to three people
No monthly maintenance fees
No minimum deposit requirement
Unlimited everyday banking transactions such as Interac e-Transfers, bill payments and electronic funds transfers.
Easily links to other accounts, with EQ or another bank, except in Quebec where EQ to EQ transfers are unavailable.
All deposits are eligible for CDIC protection

EQ Bank US Dollar Account

APY

3.00%

Minimum Deposit Requirement

Monthly Maintenance Fee

Learn More

On EQ Bank's Website

APY

3.00%

Minimum Deposit Requirement

Monthly Maintenance Fee

Why We Picked It

This U.S. dollar bank account offers a high-interest rate on USD currency, no minimum deposit requirement or monthly fees and more.

Pros & Cons

Earn 3.00% interest on all deposited U.S. dollars
No monthly fees
Free USD to USD transfers within Canada

No brick-and-mortar EQ branches
The EQ Bank US Dollar Account is not available in Quebec.

Details

Earn 3.00% interest on U.S. dollars
No monthly fees
Free USD to USD transfers within Canada
Ability to send money to other countries through the EQ Banking App, except in Quebec (powered by Wise)
Deposits eligible for CDIC protection

Summary of Best EQ Savings Accounts In Canada

Bank/Credit Union	Interest Rate	Monthly Maintenance Fee	Interest Rate	Learn More CTA text	Learn more CTA below text
EQ Bank TFSA Savings Account	$0	$0	2.50%	Learn More	On EQ Bank’s Website
EQ Bank RSP Savings	$0	$0	2.50%	Learn More	On EQ Bank’s Website
EQ Bank Personal Account	$0	$0	Up to 3.75%	Learn More	On EQ Bank’s Website
EQ Bank Joint Account	$0	$0	Up to 3.75%	Learn More	On EQ Bank’s Website
EQ Bank US Dollar Account	$0	$0	3.00%	Learn More	On EQ Bank’s Website

Methodology

To create this list, Forbes Advisor Canada analyzed 123 savings accounts at 39 financial institutions, including a mix of traditional brick-and-mortar banks, online banks and credit unions. We ranked each account on 17 data points within the categories of fees, access, customer experience, digital experience and annual percentage yield, plus the minimums and balance needed to avoid monthly fees.

The following is the weighting assigned to each category:

Fees: 50%
Branch and ATM access: 15%
Customer experience: 10%
Digital experience: 10%
Minimums: 10%
Balance to avoid monthly fee: 5%

Specific characteristics taken into consideration within each category included monthly fee, ability to waive the monthly fee, overdraft fee, NSF fee, other fees, ATM network, branch access, Better Business Bureau rating, Trustpilot rating, live chat availability, mobile app ratings, online bill pay availability, online banking access, minimum deposit requirements and minimum balance requirements.

Accounts offering no or very low fees scored the highest, as did those offering low minimum requirements and high customer service and digital experience scores. To appear on this list, the account must be nationally available.

Banks We Monitor

Our research is based on information from the following financial institutions: RBC, TD, BMO, National Bank, CIBC, Scotiabank, UNI Financial, Canadian Western Bank, Coast Capital Savings, Digital Commerce Bank, EQ Bank, First Nations Bank of Canada, Laurentian Bank, Manulife Bank, Motus Bank, Peoples Bank of Canada, Simplii Financial, Tangerine Bank, VanCity, VersaBank, HSBC, Home Bank, ICICI Bank Canada, SBI Canada Bank, CTBC Bank, Bank of China (Canada), KEB Hana Bank Canada, Shinhan Bank Canada, Meridian Credit Union, Servus Credit Union, Envision Financial, Steinbach Credit Union, Affinity Credit Union, Prospera Credit Union, Conexus Credit Union, ConnectFirst Credit Union, Access Credit Union, Assiniboine Credit Union.

Frequently Accessed Questions (FAQ)

What is the interest rate for EQ Savings?

Each of the EQ Savings accounts offers different interest rates. At the time of this writing, the EQ Bank TFSA Savings Account and the EQ Bank RSP Savings Account offer 2.50% interest, while the EQ Bank Joint Account and standard Personal Account offer up to 3.75%.

Related: What Is A TFSA?

How much interest does EQ Bank charge on its tax-free savings account?

EQ Bank’s TFSA account offers 2.50% interest. All the interest earned is tax-free.

Is EQ Bank safe?

In short: Yes. EQ Bank is a federally regulated institution and is authorized to accept deposits throughout Canada. EQ Bank is also a member of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC). This means that deposits made are eligible for CDIC protection up to $100,000 per person, per category.

Find The Best Accounts

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Courtney Reilly-Larke Editor

Courtney Reilly-Larke is the deputy editor of Forbes Advisor Canada. Previously, she was the associate editor of personal finance at MoneySense. She was also managing editor of Best Health Magazine and has contributed to publications such as Cottage Life and Blog TO. She currently lives in Toronto.