Review: EQ Bank Card

What Is the EQ Bank Card?

The EQ Bank Card is one of the many financial products offered by EQ Bank.

Unlike traditional banks, EQ doesn’t offer a debit card option for you to access your account funds. Instead, the EQ Bank Card is a prepaid Mastercard that you load with funds from your EQ bank account.

How is the EQ Bank Card different from a traditional debit card?

Given that the EQ Bank Card is essentially a credit card and not a debit card, there are few key differences that are important to note:

First, your EQ Bank Card is not attached to your EQ bank accounts, so you’re not able to just spend the available account balance(s). Instead, you need to load funds from your bank account onto your EQ card, and you’re then limited to spending however much you’ve loaded – though, of course, you’re able to add more money whenever you’d like.

Additionally, the EQ Bank Card acts like a credit card, not a debit card. This is convenient in that it lets you make online purchases from retailers that don’t accept debit cards, but it also means that you can’t use this card at smaller retailers that only accept cash and debit.

Pleasantly, unlike traditional debit cards, the EQ Bank Card lets you earn 0.5% cash back on all your purchases, giving you a little something extra back whenever you use it.

How do I get an EQ Bank Card?

Getting an EQ Bank Card is incredibly easy:

1. Open and fund a personal EQ bank account through the EQ website
2. Order your free EQ Bank Card
3. Add money to your card by transferring funds from you EQ bank account
4. You’re all set and ready to spend!

Advantages and Disadvantages of the EQ Bank Card

As a prepaid Mastercard, the EQ Bank Card comes with a bunch of advantages and a handful of disadvantages, so let’s take a look at both.

Advantages

In terms of advantages, the EQ Bank Card has more than a few! Some of the perks of having this card include:

• no foreign transaction fees (avoid the 2.5% fee charged by most other credit cards!)
• no monthly fees and no annual fees
• No ATM fees (in fact, you get free withdrawals from any ATM in Canada since EQ Bank reimburses the fees charged by other banks/third parties)
• Earn 0.5% cash back on every purchase
• Your EQ Bank Card can added to your mobile wallet
• No need to apply and be approved like you would with a traditional credit card
• Earn high interest rates on the money you keep in your EQ bank account, like the EQ Notice Savings Account

Disadvantages

When it comes to the downside of the EQ Bank Card, there are only a few disadvantages to choosing this card over a traditional debit or credit card. For example:

• You can only access the funds that you’ve loaded onto the card, not the money available across your EQ bank accounts.
• Occasionally, you may find that some retailer cannot accept prepaid credit cards like the EQ Bank Card.
• The card requires that you load funds manually, and it doesn’t currently offer an automated top-up option.
• The EQ Bank Card doesn’t help build your credit history the way a traditional credit card would.
• The card won’t work if the retailer only takes debit and cash.

Our Review of the EQ Bank Card

The EQ Bank Card is a solid choice for travelling thanks to the wide global acceptance of Mastercard and the fact that the card doesn’t charge the 2.5% foreign transaction fee or ATM fees.

We also love how accessible this card is, with no application, no minimum income requirement, and no annual fees.

Using this card is also a great way to budget and avoid overspending since you have to consciously load a selected amount of money. Plus, instead of costing you money, the EQ Bank Card actually gives you money in the form of its 0.5% cash back on all purchases.

Finally, we like that the EQ Bank Card works in tandem with EQ Bank’s other products, like its popular high-interest-earning Personal Account and its unique Notice Savings Account.

Bottom Line

The EQ Bank Card is an accessible credit card option that saves you 2.5% on your foreign transaction purchases, helps you stay on top of your budget, and lets you earn cash back on all your purchases.

If you’re looking for a solid travel credit card that saves you money on fees, it’s definitely worth exploring this option – especially if you’re already banking with EQ.

FAQs

What is EQ Bank?

EQ Bank is a Canadian digital banking platform that offers a range of banking products through its website and mobile app.

Who owns EQ Bank?

EQ Bank is wholly owned by EQB Inc. and is not affiliated with any of Canada’s other big banks.

Is EQ Bank safe?

Yes, EQ Bank is safe. It is a member of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC), which means your eligible deposits are insured up to $100,000 per insured category.

Does EQ Bank have a credit card?

EQ Bank offers its customers the EQ Bank Card, which is a prepaid Mastercard product. It is a credit card in that you can use it where Mastercards are accepted, but, unlike most credit cards, you don’t need to apply and be approved for this card.