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  • About EQ Bank TFSA Savings Account
    • EQ Bank TFSA Savings Account features
  • EQ Bank TFSA Savings Account product rating: 4.1 stars
  • The pros of the EQ Bank TFSA Savings Account
  • The cons of the EQ Bank TFSA Savings Account
  • Your savings calculator
  • EQ Bank TFSA Savings Account alternatives
  • FAQ
moneyGenius Team
Written and Edited By

The EQ Bank TFSA Savings Account is an easy way to take advantage of tax-free savings without having to worry about complicated investments or accounts. All you have to do is deposit your money as you normally would, and you'll earn a modest amount of interest that won't be taxed upon withdrawal.

You'll currently get a cool 1.5%* interest on every $1 you deposit into your TFSA, with no minimum balance and no fees to worry about. The downsides are that you could potentially earn a much higher interest rate in other investment options, though you'd also be at more risk.

EQ Bank TFSA Savings Account features

Here are the features of the EQ Bank TFSA Savings Account. As you can see, there's not much to get excited about, besides the competitive interest rate. Just note that you first have to open a regular EQ Bank Personal Account before you can proceed with getting the TFSA.

EQ Bank
4.1
Genius Rating
Why You Want It
Earn 1.5% interest + Grow your money tax free + Unlimited free withdrawals.
Special Features
  • Transfer to linked accounts via Electronic Funds Transfer
  • Competitive interest rate
Eligibility
  • You must be a Canadian resident
  • Be the age of majority in your province/territory
Provinces
ALL
Interest Rates
Any balance
1.5%
Features
# Of Free Transactions
Unlimited
# Of Free Interac E-Transfers
N/A
Max Promotion Rate
N/A
Welcome Bonus Value
N/A
Promo End Date
N/A

* Interest is calculated daily on the total closing balance and paid monthly. Rates are per annum and subject to change without notice.

EQ Bank TFSA Savings Account product rating: 4.1 stars

The EQ Bank TFSA Savings Account provides a convenient way to take advantage of your available TFSA room. A 1.5% interest rate is pretty impressive for a savings account, but it's important to know that you could see much better return with more risky investments. That's the main downside of this account.

It's also important to point out that you can only contribute a certain amount to your TFSA every year. This is regulated by the government of Canada and is currently $6,000 per year.

Rating methodology

To calculate our Genius Ratings, we compare the features of the account or product in question with other similar products in Canada. We give each feature a score out of 5 based on that comparison. Once we’ve rated all the features, we run them through our proprietary algorithm to produce a final rating out of 5.

Learn more about our rating methodology.

The pros of the EQ Bank TFSA Savings Account

The best features of the EQ Bank TFSA Savings Account have to do with its convenience and relatively high interest rate.

Pros

pro 1.5% interest on every dollar

A 1.5% interest rate is very impressive if you compare it against other banks, especially the big banks (like Scotiabank, RBC, and BMO – that currently struggle to offer more than 0.1%).

pro The tax-free benefits of a TFSA

Since this is a registered account, you don't have to worry about paying taxes on any gains made within this account. When you go to withdraw your money, you'll get everything you see back – and won't be hit with huge fees.

pro No minimum balance or fees to worry about

Every $1 you deposit will earn you interest, so you don't have to worry about saving up thousands of dollars just to start making any money. You also won't need to think about monthly fees or even withdrawal fees with this account.

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The cons of the EQ Bank TFSA Savings Account

But there are some downsides to consider when using such a low-risk investment for your TFSA.

Cons

con Low risk means low reward

Though it can be attractive to know exactly what kind of return you're going to get on your investment, it also means you're not going to get a very big return. This is because of a simple rule of thumb in investing – low risk = low reward. You could potentially get much higher returns than 1.5% by trading stocks and other more risky endeavours.

con Though convenient, still have some registered-related hoops to jump through

This isn't a knock against EQ Bank in particular (since it applies to all TFSAs), but it's worth noting. You can only contribute $6,000 a year to your TFSA, and anything extra is subject to a 1% over-contribution penalization fee.

con Everything is done online

Because EQ Bank is digital, you can expect to do most of your banking completely online. This is super convenient for some people, but also a nightmare for others.

Your savings calculator

Interested to see how much your stockpile of cash would be worth after a couple months with a 1.5% interest rate?

Play with our instant calculator below to find out:

Savings Info

EQ Bank TFSA Savings Account alternatives

Here's how EQ Bank stacks up against TFSA options from other digital banks in Canada.

EQ BankScotiabankScotiabankScotiabank
AccountEQ Bank TFSA Savings AccountScotiabank MomentumPLUS Savings AccountScotiabank Money Master Savings AccountScotiabank U.S. Dollar Daily Interest Account
Genius Rating4.14.13.82.4
Why You Want ItEarn 1.5% interest + Grow your money tax free + Unlimited free withdrawals.Get up to 4.75%* interest on your money + No monthly fees. $50 GeniusCash + Automatically save with every debit purchase through Bank The Rest.Earn up to 0.05% with minimum balance + Save on currency exchange fees.
Interest Rates
  • Any balance - 1.5%
  • Base interest rate - 0.4%
  • Money left in for 90 days - 0.6%
  • 180 days - 0.65%
  • 270 days - 0.7%
  • 360 days - 0.85%
  • Ultimate Package interest rate boost - 0.1%
  • Preferred Package interest rate boost - 0.05%
  • Any balance - 0.01%
  • $5,000 - $9,999 - 0.025%
  • $10,000+ - 0.05%
  • $0 - $1,000 - 0%
  • $1,000 - $4,999 - 0.01%
# Of Free TransactionsUnlimited002
# Of Free Interac E-TransfersN/A00N/A
Max Promotion RateN/A4.75%N/AN/A
Welcome Bonus ValueN/AN/AN/AN/A
Promo End DateN/A See Issuer for Details N/A N/A
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FAQ

What's an EQ Bank TFSA Savings Account?

The EQ Bank TFSA Savings Account basically works like a normal savings account, except it's registered with the government of Canada. Because of that, you'll get access to tax savings on anything you put in your TFSA – but there are limits you should be aware of.

What's the EQ Bank TFSA Savings Account interest rate?

The EQ Bank TFSA Savings Account interest rate is currently 1.5%. That said, this rate is subject to change, so it's best to visit their site directly for the most up to date rates.

How do I withdraw money from an EQ Bank TFSA Savings Account?

You can withdraw money using your standard options of transferring to your Savings Plus account, your Joint Savings Plus Account, or using an Electronic Funds Transfer (which is just transferring to your connected bank accounts). Click here to learn more about this account.

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Editorial Disclaimer: The content here reflects the author's opinion alone, and is not endorsed or sponsored by a bank, credit card issuer, rewards program or other entity. For complete and updated product information please visit the product issuer's website.

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Ratings & Reviews

4.1
Genius Rating
 
1.0
1 total review(s)
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1 Star
100%
100%
Steve | January 19, 2021
Waiting
Did a transfer back on November 28th of 2020, EQ bank took along time to initiate the transfer from my other financial institution, then when they finally did my other financial institution took awhile to release my funds. To make along story short, my other financial institution finally released my funds on January 6th 2021 to this day no interest no funds in EQ account yet. Keep calling there customer service just to be told sorry that there’s nothing they can do Seriously with electronic transfers these days makes no sense, and let’s stop blaming Covid for this delay. Just would like to give everyone a heads up that you will be waiting along time before the transfer actually happens and you will be losing out on internet.

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