How to Deposit a Cheque By Taking a Photo Using the EQ Bank App

EQ Bank is a true e-Bank. It does not have any ABMs or ATMs as of February 2016. The only ways to deposit money in to your savings account at this time (February 19, 2016) are to mail in a cheque, use the electronic link to “pull” money into your account from your linked chequing account, or to deposit a cheque by taking a photo of the front and back and sending them in. To send in photos, you use the EQ Bank App on your camera-capable device such as an iPad. Here’s how I deposited the money for our next car by taking a photo of a cheque payable to myself using the EQ Bank App.

Note Before You Submit a Cheque to Deposit into Your EQ Savings Account

If you want to link your EQ Bank account to this external bank chequing account, follow the procedures about phoning EQ Bank *FIRST* or they can’t link the cheque. (I’ve written up the procedures in another article.)

If you want to link the accounts, it’s best to have the cheque written before you call EQ Bank as they will need information from the cheque to complete your request.

Taking Photos of a Cheque to Deposit It Into Your EQ Bank Savings Account

1. Start your device and start the EQ Bank App.
2. Tap on Deposit Cheque. Even though it looks light grey and unavailable, it will work.
3. Tap Front to take a photo of the Front of your cheque.
   The corners of a rectangular “frame” will display to use to centre your cheque and there will be three icons on the right side of the screen which are, from top to bottom, to accept a photo, to take a photo, and to re-start.It’s best to take a photo of your cheque against a dark surface and under even light that isn’t casting shadows across part of the cheque.

   Once you’ve centered the image of the front of the cheque, to take a photo tap the central swirl icon.

   For some reason using an iPad my taken photo suddenly appears very squished but still clear.

4. If you don’t like your photo, tap the dotted swirl at the bottom of the list on the right side to re-start, then tap the swirl icon to take another photo.
5. Once you have a photo you like, to accept it, tap the check mark icon on the right side of the screen.
6. This takes you to the Front and Back screen again. If the EQ Bank App likes the image of the front of your cheque, you should get a check mark.
   Tap Back to take a photo of the Back of your cheque.
7. Flip over your cheque to the back if you haven’t already!
   To take a photo tap the central swirl icon.
8. To accept it, tap the check mark icon on the right side of the screen.
9. If the App likes it,  you should get another check mark.
   To submit the cheque, tap on Continue.

The Confirm Your Deposit Details Page

1. Review the Confirm Your Deposit Details info.
2. If it looks ok, click on Deposit.

The Deposit Confirmation Page

Read the Deposit Confirmation info. If desired, take a photo or otherwise capture the info.

Note there is no confirmation number given at this time (February 19 2016.)

You can now open the menu and tap Sign Out to leave the App or continue banking.

How Long Did It Take to Deposit a Cheque to an Active Savings Account at EQ Bank?

After my account at EQ Bank was fully open and active, I sent in a cheque to deposit using the EQ Bank App.

• Saturday February 13 in the evening: sent in the images of the cheque
  The amount showed up immediately in the EQ Bank account.
• Wednesday February 17: The money actually left my chequing account at the other bank.
• Tuesday February 23: The money is still on hold at EQ Bank. This is the start of the sixth business day since the deposit (Monday the 15th was a stat holiday in Ontario) so it’s still within the expected time frame of a hold of 5-8 business days.

If I notice when the amount goes “off” hold, I will try to update this post. Since the money is in the account and earning interest daily, I’m not too worried about when the hold will lift.

Related Reading

• How To Link Your EQ Bank Savings Account to a Second (or Third) Chequing Account at Another Bank
• How to Open an Account at EQ Bank
• How to Take a Photo to Deposit a Cheque to Tangerine
• How to Take a Photo to Deposit a Cheque to PC Financial

Join In
Were you able to deposit a cheque quickly and easily at EQ Bank using their App? Please share your experiences with a comment.