EQ Bank unveils new account for Canadian small businesses

Equitable Bank (EQ Bank) is targeting Canadian small businesses with its new business banking offering.

The challenger bank has added a high-interest business account with free transactions and no monthly fees to its fully digital banking experience. The new account has launched nationwide, outside of Québec.

EQ Bank surveyed 461 small business owners and the top business banking concerns were steep costs and low interest.

The EQ Bank business account has no minimum balance requirement and a 2.25-percent interest rate on deposits, with access to business guaranteed investment certificates (GICs), which can provide up to 3.3 percent interest. The bank will also soon launch its own prepaid business card, which will feature no annual fees and cash back on monthly spending over $10,000.

The business account offering comes with up to 10 sub-accounts to set aside money for things like taxes, expenses, and payroll, as well as dedicated customer service based in Canada.

EQ Bank said it surveyed 461 small business owners and found the top business banking concerns to be steep costs and low interest, while 25 percent indicated that their single biggest pain point was high or unexpected fees.

“This is about catalyzing positive, long-lasting change and bringing real competition to an under-serviced market that deserves better options,” EQ Bank senior vice-president Dan Broten said in a statement.

EQ Bank is following other challengers looking to address small business banking pain points. Last month, Toronto-based Float launched its own business accounts. The FinTech startup’s first dedicated chequing account offers zero fees, sets no minimum balance requirements, and doesn’t require businesses to lock into its ecosystem to access funds. Another Toronto-based FinTech startup, Venn (formerly Vault), has been targeting this market since 2023 and just introduced streamlined incorporation.

EQ Bank recently tapped OpenText CFO Chadwick Westlake to take over as president and CEO following the unexpected death of Andrew Moor. Moor had been CEO of EQ Bank since 2007 and made it one of the largest challenger banks in Canada. During his tenure, assets under management grew from $4.4 billion to $134 billion.

Feature image courtesy EQ Bank via X.