EQ Bank’s U.S. Dollar Account changed the landscape for foreign currency bank accounts in Canada for the better.
If you earn income in USD or have searched for places to park your US dollar vacation fund or savings, you understand the struggle.
Some options the big banks offer include opening a USD chequing account and paying a monthly maintenance fee when you don’t keep a minimum balance. For example, I pay $4.95 monthly for my USD account when the balance falls below $3,000.
It’s not just the fees, though. I also don’t earn interest on this balance. It paid 0.01% interest for a bit before being scrapped entirely. Not much of a difference, eh?
Even when you open a dedicated U.S. Dollar Savings Account, the interest rates are generally in the 0.01% to 0.50% range. And you better be prepared to pay a fee for most transactions.
This combination of dismal interest rates and transaction fees goes hand-in-hand with the big bank offerings that make the EQ Bank US Dollar Savings Account exceptional.
This EQ Bank US Dollar Account review covers what you need to know.
What is EQ Bank?
EQ Bank is an online bank that was launched in 2016. It is owned by Equitable Bank, a Schedule I bank with over $63 billion in assets.
EQ Bank has more than $7 billion in deposits and offers its customers access to innovative financial products, including:
- Personal Account: A hybrid account (chequing + savings) that pays high interest on every dollar and has no monthly fees. This free account also includes free Interac e-Transfers, unlimited bill payments, and free Electronic Funds Transfers.
- TFSA Savings Account: Pays a high interest rate that is tax-free and has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirement.
- RSP Savings Account: You can easily set up a retirement savings account and earn a competitive interest rate.
- Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs): You can invest your money at guaranteed rates for a length of time that suits your needs (3 months to 10 years).
EQ Bank U.S. Dollar Savings Account
Similar to the CAD-denominated Personal Account, the EQ Bank US Dollar Account offers a high interest rate.
You will earn 2.50% interest on every dollar and pay no monthly fees.
This means that you no longer get to just hold USD (and avoid FX conversions and markups), but you can also watch your money grow over time.
Below is a summary of what you can expect from this account:
- 2.50%* interest rate
- No monthly account fees
- Free and unlimited USD to USD transfers within Canada
- Easy process to fund your USD account using Canadian dollars
- Fast and competitively priced international money transfers using USD dollars via Wise (no hidden fees)
- Eligible for CIDC protection
How To Open an EQ Bank US Dollar Account
Opening an EQ Bank US Dollar account is straightforward and takes only a few minutes.
To start, you must first open a free Personal Plus Account online.
The requirements for this account are that you must:
- Be a Canadian resident
- Be at least the age of the majority in your province
- Have a Social Insurance Number
Once your EQ Bank Personal Account is set up, you can easily open your US dollar Account directly from your dashboard.
EQ Bank is available using a web browser or their mobile app.
Benefits of an EQ Bank US Dollar Account
The main benefit of this account is that you earn interest rates that beat the big banks hands down.
Think 2.50%* vs. 0.25%!
In addition to this, transfers from your account to other accounts within Canada are free.
You can also send US dollars to recipients in the United States or abroad using Wise (formerly TransferWise), one of the cheapest ways to send money abroad.
Lastly, funds deposited in this USD bank account are eligible for Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) protection.
Downsides of an EQ Bank USD Account
This account only applies to personal savings, which is a bummer as it would be nice to get similar great rates for USD business savings accounts.
Related: USD Account Options for Canadians.
EQ Bank USD Account FAQs
You need to first open a free Personal Account. When this is fully set up, you can then open your US Dollar Account. None of these steps involves a fee – nada!
You can deposit USD or CAD from your linked Canadian financial institution and move CAD or USD between your EQ Bank savings accounts.
When you transfer US dollars from your EQ Bank US Dollar Account to a US dollar account abroad, you use the Wise international money transfer service and pay a highly competitive fee.
The USD money in your EQ Bank account is eligible for coverage up to $100,000 per category. The coverage combines the deposits you have across your individual Personal Account, GICs, and US Dollar Account.
3.00%* interest rate is controversial.
You need to keep depositing regularly to maintain this rate, or you will end up earning the base rate which is way lower.
@Tazz: No, this only applies to the CAD savings account. For the USD, you don’t need to make regular deposits.
Could I withdraw $US at ATM in US & CA? Thank you in advance.
@Max: No, I don’t think it links to your USD account.
If I want to move my USD to a CAD account, what are the fees associated with that type of transaction?
@Scott: I believe your USD will be converted to CAD at their prevailing rate which will be slightly worse than the mid-market rate. No transfer or conversion fees.
EQ Bank USD account is not available to all Canadians since it is not yet available to Quebec residents.
question….I am a Canadian that has $ in a Royal Bank account in the US.
I use it to purchase US $ when the rate is favourable so I can golf and pay bills in US currency when I am there.
Please tell me the benefits by switching to EQ….thx- B
@Bill: The main benefit of EQ is that if you have extra US funds (more than what you would normally spend within a certain timeframe e.g. when you are in the US/year) in your RBC account, you could move it to EQ and earn some interest. Moving the money back and forth would involve some work though.
How can I access the US $? If I wanna withdraw the US cash do I have to transfer it to another institution US dollar account? It seems like I have to have an account with the regular bank anyway so what is the advantage of it outside of the interest rate?
@De: The main advantage of this US account is that you can use it to grow US funds you don’t need right away. Instead of earning 0.0.05% interest, you get a 1% return. That said, you may also need a US account at another bank for wire transfers, etc. if you are unable to pay your bill or vendor via Wise.
Great review as always. I really appreciate your content. I was wondering, can you deposit US based checks directly into this account? e.g like a US treasury check.
@JB: Thanks for your feedback. Here’s what I found in EQ Bank’s FAQs:
Can I deposit a US dollar cheque into my EQ Bank US Dollar Account?
Unfortunately, you cannot use our remote cheque deposit feature to deposit funds into the EQ Bank US Dollar Account.