EQ Bank Card Review 2024: The Only Credit Card In Canada That’s Truly No-Fee

• Free withdrawals from any ATM in Canada. If the ATM charges you a fee, EQ Bank will refund you within 10 business days.
• Earn 2.5% interest on your card balance right up until the moment you spend it.
• Earn 0.5% cash back (credited monthly) on all purchases made with your EQ Bank Card.
• No fees, including credit card surcharges, transaction fees, inactivity fees or foreign transaction fees.
• Can be used anywhere Mastercard is accepted—including up to 210 countries.
• No minimum balance required.
• You can carry a maximum balance of up to $10,000.
• Withdraw up to $500 out of an ATM every day.
• Spend up to $5,000 per day.
• Deposits are insured by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC).

With roots dating back to the 1970s, EQ Bank is no stranger to Canada’s financial scene. But it wasn’t until 2016 that the bank started to make major waves with its direct banking options that offered low fees and high rewards for the digitally-savvy Canadian.

EQ Bank’s standout offering was, and still is, its Personal Account. This account offers zero fees and rates that hover above what the traditional “Big Five Banks” are able to give you. Similar to other direct banking options, EQ Bank is able to provide higher interest rates thanks to their online-only approach that forgoes the need to maintain expensive brick-and-mortar branches.

EQ Bank’s other offerings include TFSAs, GICs, mortgages and U.S. Dollar accounts. Still, for many years, it seemed as if something was missing. With so many banks creating their own prepaid card, it left many wondering when EQ Bank would take the plunge.

The EQ Bank card has a simple purpose: to offer EQ Savings Account holders an easy, free payment method for everyday spending. Users can easily transfer money onto their EQ Bank Card and use it in person or online, just as they would any other credit card. From the moment they load money to the time they spend it, they’ll earn up to a solid 4% interest on their balance. They will also earn 0.5% cash back on every purchase (no matter the category), which they are able to redeemed monthly.

The downside is that, like most prepaid cards, the EQ Bank card does not report to any credit bureau. As a result, this card will not help with credit building efforts—a fact we confirmed with EQ directly. However, the EQ Bank Card remains a great budgeting tool and proudly offers zero fees, whether it’s on ATMs or inactivity. This card even saves you foreign exchange fees—which typically hover around 2.5%—which is a rare offering for even a conventional credit card. In fact, using this card can even help you make some cash, thanks to the cash back earned on spending and interest earned on the funds in your account.

• Zero fees.
• 0.5% cash back.
• 4% interest earned on the credit card balance.

Earning rewards

Unlike other credit cards that make you choose a few purchase  categories to redeem rewards on, the EQ Bank Card allows you to earn rewards on every purchase. Every online and offline purchase made with an EQ Bank Card is eligible for 0.5% cash back with the exception of cash advances and fees. Any refund will also result in the cancellation of any cash back earned from that purchase.

Redeeming Rewards

Cash back is deposited into each cardholder’s account on a monthly basis. Every cash back reward will be credited before the end of the month following when the purchase was made. EQ Bank will round each purchase amount to the nearest cent for the purposes of calculating cash back.

Rewards Potential

As far as cash back rewards rates go, 0.5% is about as low as you can go. Even if you use the card to make $2,000 in purchases every month, you’ll only earn $10 in cash back rewards. The best way to think about its cash back rewards is as a nice little bonus rather than the main attraction. More compelling reasons to get this card include the interest rate and the lack of fees.

• You’ll earn 0.5% cash back on every purchase and most purchases are eligible for cash-back rewards, excluding cash advances and fees.
• The EQ Bank Card is accepted worldwide and offers zero foreign transaction fees.
• The EQ Bank Card pays out cash back rewards every calendar month and rounds purchases to the nearest cent when calculating the monthly cash-back total.
• There are no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements.
• You’ll earn high interest on the money loaded onto your EQ Bank Card.
• As the EQ Bank Card is a prepaid card, you won’t risk going into overdraft or spend more than you budgeted for the month.
• The EQ Bank Card does not impact your credit score.

Linking Your EQ Bank Card to Your Credit Card

EQ Bank shares the following strategy for making the most of your EQ Bank Card, EQ Savings Plus Account (that earns 4% interest) and a credit card:

1. Open a Savings Plus Account and start earning 4% interest.
2. Use your EQ Bank Card for everyday spending and earn cash back on every purchase.
3. Set up your bank-issued credit card to be automatically paid from your Savings Plus Account each month. This will maximize the interest you accumulate and ensure you don’t pay any credit card interest.

EQ Bank shares its commitment to providing a safe mobile and online banking environment with these protections:

• If you experience Unauthorized Activity on your account, defined as any transaction carried out in your EQ Bank account without your permission, EQ Bank will reimburse 100% of any resulting losses, provided you meet all your security responsibilities (namely, you did not share your password or login)
• Data encryption ensures your information can only be decoded and read by EQ Bank’s secure online and mobile environment
• Secure firewalls and fraud detection help prevent unauthorized access to EQ Bank’s internal systems
• Two-factor authentication, strict password requirements, security questions, one-time passwords and device recognition provide an added level of security against unauthorized access
• 24/7 monitoring and system improvement

Interest Rates

• Regular APR Min: N/A
• Regular APR Max: N/A

Fees

• Cash Advance: $0
• Foreign Transaction Fee: $0
• Annual Fee: $0
• Any other fees: None

EQ Bank Card vs. CIBC AC Conversion Visa Prepaid Card

It would be hard to compete with CIBC as a brand name, but it’s clear that the EQ Bank Card and CIBC AC Conversion Visa Prepaid Card are targeting people with similar needs. Like the EQ Bank Card, the CIBC AC Conversion Visa offers customers zero foreign exchange fees. However, unlike the EQ Bank Card, the CIBC AC Conversion goes the extra mile and offers a favourable exchange rate on ten different popular currencies. However, it’s not a complete loss for EQ Bank—while the CIBC card offers 1% cash back as a limited time promotion, there are no signs that this offer will stick around past the initial window.

EQ Bank Card vs. Wealthsimple Cash

The Wealthsimple Cash card is another new card on the Canadian market—and a contender competing with EQ Bank. Also long-awaited, the Wealthsimple Cash card functions as a prepaid Visa and offers cardholders 1% cash back on purchases. Uniquely, they have the option of opting for that 1% cash back as cash, crypto, or stocks. The Wealthsimple Cash card also has the round-up feature, which gives cardholders the option of “rounding up” the spare change from their purchases and saving or investing it.

EQ Bank Card vs. KOHO Prepaid Mastercard

Both the EQ Bank Card and the KOHO Prepaid Mastercard offer great deals on foreign exchange rates, with EQ Bank Card charging no foreign exchange fees and the KOHO Prepaid Mastercard charging 1.5%, which is still below market value. Both cards only offer 0.50% in cash-back rewards, though KOHO limits these rewards to three top purchase categories.
However, unlike EQ Bank, KOHO does team up with popular retailers to offer higher cash back rewards. Also, KOHO cards can accept transfers from any bank account, the EQ Card only accepts money from EQ Savings Accounts.

When determining a rating for individual credit cards, the Forbes Advisor Canada editorial team factors in an exhaustive list of data points. With cash back, the scoring model used takes into account factors such as, but not limited to, cash-back  rates and categories, fees, welcome bonuses, and other benefits and features. Keep in mind, what may be best for some people might not be right for you. Conduct informed research before deciding which cards will best help you achieve your financial goals.

If you find yourself spending a lot of time abroad or over the border, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better card for foreign spending. Even among traditional credit cards with high income and credit score requirements, it’s rare to find a card that can offer you zero foreign exchange fees.

Although the EQ Bank Card is accessible to anyone regardless of credit, it won’t report to the credit bureaus so it will not help you build  a low credit score the way a secured or traditional unsecured credit card would. However, a prepaid card can be great for helping you budget your “fun money” —and the 0.5% cash back and 2.5% interest rate doesn’t hurt.

Related: Best value credit cards in Canada