The digital challenger bank offers small business owners a high-interest account with no monthly fees.
Equitable Bank (EQ Bank) is targeting Canadian small businesses with its new business banking offer.
The challenger bank has added a business account with high interest rates, free transactions and no monthly fees to its all-digital banking experience. The new account has been launched nationwide, outside of Quebec.
EQ Bank surveyed 461 small business owners, and the top concerns in the banking business were high costs and low interest rates.
The EQ Bank Business Account has no minimum balance requirement and a 2.25 percent interest rate on deposits with access to Guaranteed Business Investment Certificates (GICs) that can provide interest rates of up to 3.3 percent. The bank will also soon release its own prepaid business card, which will have no annual fees and will give you cash back on monthly spending over $10,000.
The business account offering includes up to 10 sub-accounts where you can set aside money for things like taxes, expenses and payroll, as well as dedicated customer support in Canada.
EQ Bank said it surveyed 461 small business owners and found that the top problems with business banking were high costs and low interest rates, while 25 percent said their single biggest problem was high or unexpected fees.
CONNECTED: OpenText CFO Chadwick Westlake will succeed the late Andrew Moore as CEO of Equitable Bank
“This is about catalyzing positive, long-term change and bringing real competition to an underserved market that deserves better options,” EQ Bank Senior Vice President Dan Broten said in a statement.
EQ Bank follows other contenders looking to solve small business banking pain points. Last month, Toronto-based Float launched own business accounts. The fintech startup's first dedicated checking account offers zero fees, has no minimum balance requirements, and doesn't require companies to connect to its ecosystem to access funds. Another fintech startup from Toronto, Venn (formerly Vault), was aimed this market from 2023 and has just introduced simplified registration.
EQ Bank recently hired OpenText CFO Chadwick Westlake adopt as President and CEO after unexpected death Andrew Moore. Moore has been CEO of EQ Bank since 2007 and has made it one of the largest challenger banks in Canada. During his tenure, assets under management grew from $4.4 billion to $134 billion.
Image courtesy of EQ Bank through X.
