Updated: January 6, 2021
I am at the quota for invites to EQ’s offer, so I’ve removed the referral link. Thank you to everyone who took part in the EQ Bank $20 promotion!
If you have an EQ Bank refer a friend link, please leave a comment below with the link. Help others and yourself also take advantage of the $20 promotion.
Hi everyone. EQ Bank is back with another promotion! Woo hoo!
Sorry folks, if you’re south of the border. This promotion is available only for Canadians.
If you missed the promotion in 2019, I want to make sure you don’t miss out in 2020!
The biggest difference in the promotion is in 2019 new customers received $25. Sign of the 2020 pandemic times, new EQ clients will get a $20 bonus. But hey it’s better than nothing!
The big condition is that you have to deposit $100 into your new EQ bank account within 30 days to receive the $20.
Unfortunately, EQ Bank dropped its 2.45% interest rate a couple of months ago to 2% because banks all follow what the Bank of Canada is doing. The great news is, that’s still the highest interest rate in Canada.
Edited October 6, 2020: Effective Thursday, October 8, 2020, EQ has dropped the interest rate again, this time to 1.5% interest. So that’s about 1% interest rate drop in 2020. Yuck! Here’s what they have to say:
We wanted to let you know that on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020, the interest rate for the Savings Plus Account will change from 1.70% to 1.50%.*
We understand that getting the most value for your money is a priority, and our commitment to offering a high interest rate hasn’t changed in the last six months, despite growing economic pressures—an interest rate that’s not just for new customers, but for ALL customers on ALL of their money.
We’re proud of that, and while we would always like to avoid lowering our interest rate, sometimes it’s necessary because of the relationship between savings account rates (i.e. growth rates) and lending rates.
Our new rate will continue to give you earnings that make a difference—an ‘up to 30x** more interest than other banks’ kind of difference—and remember, you can still make as many free transactions as you like, with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
Edited August 6, 2020: Effective today, the EQ interest rate has dropped again to 1.70% interest, which is much higher than all the other banks out there.
Seriously, look at the interest you’re making on your savings account at your bank or credit union.
Right now (May 29, 2020) at Coast Capital Savings, the interest on savings accounts is a big whopping (ha ha!) 0.15%. The other big online bank in Canada, Tangerine, is offering 0.25% interest on their savings account.
If you have money languishing in a savings account that you want to keep as cash instead of investing, you should consider moving the money to EQ where your money will make a little more for you.
If you have $100 that you can spare to open an account at EQ Bank, you’ll get a $20 bonus. Maybe that will keep you motivated to transfer another $20 in every pay day and start saving for a new bedroom set or vacation or whatever is on your mind.
Look at your bank accounts
Seriously, go online and check your bank accounts. The paltry interest will be posted somewhere on your bank’s web page. Shocking, isn’t it? But now’s your chance to do something about it!
I don’t keep a lot of money in my saving account with the whopping 0.15% interest, about $1500 as part of my emergency account is there. So it gets a squiggly little amount of interest, but more importantly I can access it immediately if I have to.
The rest of my emergency fund is in my EQ Bank account. That’s not so easy to access. It’ll take a couple of days (longer if a weekend is involved) to transfer money out to my bricks and mortar Coast Capital. That’s the point of an emergency fund – not dipping into it for non-emergencies. Tucked away in an online bank, it takes longer to access. Long enough to change my mind about whatever I was thinking of splurging on!
I can pay bills from my EQ Bank account. If I have an emergency, I’m probably using my credit card because most emergencies are hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. I pay right away with my credit card, and when the bill comes in, I log onto EQ Bank and pay the credit card bill from my emergency account.
In my post Nobody Cares More About My Money Than I Do, I mentioned I’m working on repaying $2000 to my emergency fund after dealing with two large vet bills in a 6 month span.
Do your research
Don’t jump into financial obligations lightly. You should read up on financial products you’re interest in and search online to see what other’s are saying about their experiences.
To find out more about EQ Bank, check out their FAQ page: https://www.eqbank.ca/common-questions
You will also see more information about the refer a friend program.
When I first thought about signing up with EQ Bank, I looked at my savings accounts at Coast Capital earning a measly interest rate.
An emergency fund, a savings account for next year’s TFSA, and my vacation fund.
Those specific accounts all found a home at EQ Bank making more money for me!
Do you have savings accounts earmarked for something specific? You should think about transferring the funds to EQ Bank and let them earn more interest for you, too.
And yes, we can all agree that 2% interest still stinks, but it’s a better rate than everywhere else, and it’s a sign of the times. Hopefully EQ Bank will be able to raise its interest rates when the pandemic subsides and the economy recovers.
Last year, the interest rate was 2.3%, and then it bumped up a little to 2.45% a few months ago. Sadly, short lived, but let’s hope it’ll bounce back!
What’s in it for me?
I always want to provide full disclosure and be honest with my readers. The EQ Bank FAQ has more information on the refer a friend program. What’s in it for me and what’s in it for the people I refer. https://www.eqbank.ca/common-questions
If you click on my sign up link for EQ Bank, we’ll both get $20 deposited into our bank account – thank you very much!
This year EQ Bank has a slightly better referral program. Last year there was a cap of 5 people I could refer with a cut off date in early July, and I hit the max. There is no end date for EQ Bank’s current referral program, though it’s my guess it will close after a few months.
However, there is a cut off for how many people I can refer – 15 people. So if you missed out last year, and you’re still thinking about opening an account with EQ Bank, hopefully you can get the bonus this year!
Also, as you can see on the FAQ on EQ Bank’s website, the bonus I receive for referrals increases. The first three referrals, we both receive a $20 bonus. Then my bonus increases to $30 for the next four referrals. After that, my bonus increases to $40 until I reach the cap of 15 new clients referred.
I’m not hiding anything here. The information is on EQ’s website. Once you’re a client at EQ Bank, you also can send out a refer a friend link and be part of the bonus referral program.
Always grab free money
That $20 bonus is just another little step to get more money into your savings account. We’re all about baby steps around here to get us closer to our financial goals.
And just like when I wrote a similar post about a current EQ Bank bonus, on a Friday one year ago – TGIF!
Have a great weekend!
