EQ Bank Card Review

The EQ Bank Card is one of only a select few prepaid cards that offer rewards for your everyday spending made on the card. This card is virtually open to anyone since there are no credit checks necessary as you have to fund it prior to using it. Technically, you are opening a a bank account with EQ that comes with a reloadable prepaid Mastercard card.

Overview

The EQ Bank Card is prepaid which means you don't have to have good credit to have it in your wallet. You simply fund it before using it and you can only spend as much as you have loaded onto the card. The card offers cash back rewards for the spending you complete with it and they pay you interest for the funds you hold in your account. The most compelling feature however is that it comes with no Foreign Transaction fees. That means if you use the card to shop online outside of Canada or travel outside of Canada you won't be dinged with that 1.5% to 3% extra that most cards charge on non C$ purchases.

Costs & Sign up Features

There are no monthly or annual fees associated with the EQ Bank Card, and as the card is prepaid there are no interest rates that are applied since you cannot run a credit balance.

There is no welcome bonus at this time for getting an EQ Bank Card.

Earning

The card earns cash back as follows

• 0.5% Cash Back on all eligible purchases made on the card

 

Redeeming

Redeeming is simple via EQ Bank as you aren't actually redeeming. The cash back you earn based on the rates above is simply applied to your account balance once per month.

Features and Benefits

Most prepaid credit cards don't offer any benefits at all but that's not the case with this card. Granted the benefits and features list won't be as long as those that you see on premium credit cards but it is nice that they actually offer something extra.

Firstly and this an important feature - they don't charge Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases made in currencies outside of Canadian dollars. As it stands there are only a handful credit and prepaid cards left in Canada with this feature. So this is big bonus for this card and it will save you the 1.5% to 3% that most cards in Canada charge when you make purchases in foreign currencies. So whether you are travelling or shopping online this is a nice benefit to have to save a bit of cash.

Recommended reading: No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Cards for Canadians

The next feature the card comes with are free withdrawals from any ATM in Canada. Not only does EQ Bank not charge any fees but they will reimburse any fees charged by the bank or operator of the ATM.

Finally, you'll also earn interest on whatever amount of money you have loaded onto your card. The interest rate is the same as your EQ personal bank account, which is required for this prepaid card but don't worry the account is free and there are no monthly or transactional fees associated with the account.

Insurance

Like most prepaid cards, the EQ Bank Card does not provide any insurance coverage.

What is good about this card

The no foreign transaction fees of course! Saving that 1.5% to 3% can be mean some extra cash in your wallet if you shop online a lot or want to save while travelling outside of Canada.

The free withdrawals from ATMs across Canada! This card is a good way to circumvent the fees normally charged by big banks by moving funds from your big bank account over to EQ for withdrawal.

 

What is not so good about this card

It is essentially a debit card with rewards - you cannot run a credit balance as it is not a true credit card. You need to make sure you always have it loaded before utilizing and if you forget you might be sitting at the till with you purchase declined.

No insurance coverage - not a big deal for everyday things like sundries but you definitely don't want to be buying expensive travel on the card (day of travel like train tickets, ferries etc. would be fine to buy) or items such as electronics that benefit from purchase protection and extended warranty offered on many standard credit cards.

Who should get this card

• People who don't have a great credit file but want to be able to shop online or at merchants who only take Mastercard and want to earn rewards for doing so versus just using a debit card
• People who don't want a credit card or need additional credit cards but want access to No Foreign Transaction fees and/or cash back rewards

 

Conclusion

With the Canadian market losing the HSBC World Elite Mastercard and the recent addition of Foreign Transaction fees to the Brim Mastercards, there are very few Mastercard options left with No FX Fees. In fact, the only No FX Fee Mastercard options available are all prepaid cards and the EQ Bank Card is one of those. So while it may not be a true credit card, it can fill the Mastercard hole that may have been left in your wallet with the recent changes in the market.

And if you do have a standard Mastercard credit card in your wallet, it may not hurt to add this card since there are no fees associated with it and it will save you a little bit of money on transactions you make in foreign currencies.

Latest card details:

The review was first posted on April 2, 2024 and is updated on a regular basis

 

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