Well, as I said in earlier articles, I applied to open a savings account at Zag Bank for their temporary 2.5% interest rate and then at EQ Bank for their 3% for-a-while interest rate. I’m not actually able to use the accounts yet, though, and I’m starting to wonder exactly how long it will take to open my accounts at Zag and EQ Banks.
What’s Happened With My Application to Zag Bank?
OK, I’ll admit that part of the delay with Zag Bank was self-inflicted. Because I did not receive an email telling me how I could deposit my first cheque using their app, I decided to mail in my first deposit cheque. Unfortunately, I made a fatal error: I made the cheque payable to myself, not to Zag Bank. (I didn’t read their instructions carefully enough.)
I applied to open the account on January 12 and mailed the cheque on January 13.
On Friday January 22 I received an email saying they had not received my cheque and giving me a link to use their app to make a photo cheque deposit. It said if I had mailed a cheque to ignore the message, which I did, although it had been 7 business days already.
On Tuesday January 26, Zag phoned me in the evening. They explained how I had not sent in a cheque they could use so I would have to start over again.
On Thursday January 28, I called them back to ask for more information, specifically:
What were they going to do with the cheque I sent in payable to myself?
If they were mailing it back to me, I would wait, correct and initial it, and send it back in.
Well first they said they don’t return the cheque unless I specifically request that. Second they said they wouldn’t accept a corrected cheque anyway. Bizarre! I’ve never had a problem with fixing and initialing a cheque with any other bank. Third they said they weren’t even sure if my cheque had already been shredded or not, although they were sure images of the cheque would be available if the cheque had been destroyed.
So I asked if they would keep the cheque and deposit it in my account once the account was properly activated by sending in a second cheque properly made payable to Zag Bank. Nope. They wouldn’t do that, even though the cheque sent in was payable to me.
Sigh.
So I used their app and the photo cheque deposit feature to submit a new cheque on Thursday January 28.
It has not cleared my bank account as of February 2. Nor as of February 19.
UPDATE 2016 02 19: Something is seriously wrong with my deposit to Zag Bank. They have no record of the cheque images so they cannot deposit the cheque. But I cannot use the App to send in new photos because it says I have already submitted the photos. For now, I believe this account will never be opened.
What’s Happened With My Application to EQ Bank?
I sent my first deposit cheque to EQ Bank using their photo cheque app. I sent it in on Monday January 25.
On Friday, January 29, I received an email from EQ Bank advising me that due to the huge demand from new customers processing of new accounts was slower than expected.
Then, on Tuesday, February 2, the cheque cleared my bank account. In theory that means in 5 business days, the time they need to be sure the cheque is fully cleared by my bank, they will complete opening my account. So early next week I should be able to tell you what happens when I try to deposit or transfer more money into the account.
UPDATE: On 2016 02 10, I received an email from EQ Bank saying my account is now fully active. I signed in, set up my security questions, and I’m now successfully using the account.
Which Bank Is Easier to Set Up a New Savings Account At: Zag or EQ?
Overall, my impression of EQ Bank is more favourable than my impression of Zag Bank but that’s possibly coloured by my own stupidity in sending in the wrong cheque to Zag. I did like that EQ Bank wrote to advise customers of a possible delay. Anyway, time will tell if either bank is significantly different than each other.
UPDATE: 2016 02 19 So far EQ Bank is way, way superior. It’s set up and I’m using it in various ways. I still have not got an account at Zag Bank because the images of my cheque for deposit did not arrive successfully at Zag and they don’t seem to have any way for me to send new images.
Related Reading
- How to Open a Savings Account at Zag Bank for 2.5% Interest
- How to Link a Second Account to an EQ Bank account for cash transfers
- How to Open More Accounts at EQ Bank After Your First Account is Activated
- How to Open a Savings Account at EQ Bank for 3% Interest
- What Is EQ Bank?
Join In
Did you recently open an account at Zag and/or EQ Bank? How did the process go for you? Please share your views with a comment.