high interest savings account | Financial Crooks

When I first opened my savings account EQ Bank I deposited a cheque and they created an electronic link between my EQ Bank savings account and that chequing account at another bank. I like to spin a spider web of electronic links between my bank accounts, however, so I decided to create another link between my EQ Bank savings account and my chequing account at a different bank, specifically my PC Financial no-fee chequing account. Here’s how I linked the EQ Bank Savings account to my other chequing account so that I could make electronic transfers of money from one to the other.

What Do You Need Before You Start to Create the Electronic Link Between Your EQ Bank Savings Account and Your Chequing Account?

Everything will be easiest if you fill out your cheque before you begin this process. That ensures you have

picked which other bank’s chequing account you want to link to and from
picked how much money you want to transfer in to EQ Bank to create the link (it must be at least $1)
makes sure you have all the bank and cheque information EQ Bank will need before you place a call

You may also need some patience. A speaker phone and something to do while on hold is recommended!

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

As of February 19, 2016, to make a link between your accounts, you need to phone EQ Bank BEFORE you deposit your cheque.

It’s possible in the future they may create an easier way to link accounts.

How To Link a Second (or Third) Account to Your EQ Bank Account for Electronic Funds Transfer

When you first opened your EQ Bank savings account by sending in your personal cheque, they probably linked that chequing account to your EQ Bank account. That allows you to “pull” money into your account from your chequing account or “push” money out of your EQ Bank savings account to your chequing account at another bank.

You may decide you want this type of electronic “push” and “pull” link with another chequing account. If so, you can ask EQ Bank to set it up. To do so, BEFORE you send in a cheque for this other chequing account, you should phone EQ Bank and ask them to link the two accounts.

Then, after you send in the cheque by mail or by photos taken with the EQ Bank App, they will eventually link the two accounts. They try to link them within 5 business days of receiving your cheque, but right now, in February 2016, they are so swamped it can take much longer than that. (Your money will still be deposited fairly promptly, it’s just the linking that can take extra time.)

I’m not too sure whether I really want to request a link to a second chequing account we have, because I have been reading online of people waiting 2-3 HOURS to get through to an agent when phoning in, during mid-February 2016. I don’t need the link immediately, so I could wait a few months till things calm down and try then…. But then I can’t write this article accurately…..Well, I guess I should take a chance and try phoning in and see how long I wait on hold! Wish me luck.

How Long Did It Take Me to Speak to an Agent at EQ Bank After I Phoned In On Friday February 19 2016?

First, I armed myself with a phone with Speakerphone, a fresh cup of hot tea, and a computer booted up to read my favourite online nature sites. Then

On Friday February 19, 2016 at

10:01 a.m. I dialed the number for EQ Bank

10:02 a.m. I selected 2 to talk to an agent because I have an activated account.

10:14 a.m. The agent picked up the line and we spoke about what I wanted to do.

10:22 a.m. The agent authenticated me by asking a variety of questions because I do not have a smart phone so she couldn’t send me a code of some type to authenticate me. During this time she apologized for the delay several times and told me she will send a note to the “back office” to change a toggle in my account so that it will not try to email me authentication codes to a phone I do not have.

10:29 a.m. I said goodbye after we agreed on the details of my transaction and she had submitted a request to the “back office” to link my accounts after the cheque is received.

What Information Does EQ Bank Need By Telephone to Link a Second (or Third) Account for ETF?

To allow electronic funds transfers to and from another external bank account from my EQ Bank savings account, EQ Bank needed some info.

They asked

what bank I was linking to (for example, what bank was the cheque coming from)
what cheque number would be on the cheque I was submitting to link the accounts
what amount would the cheque be payable for
whether I would be sending in the cheque by mail or by photos taken using the EQ Bank app

This information helps them capture the correct cheque to get the bank account information to make the electronic link between the accounts.

It’s all reasonable information to ask for, but I’m glad I had my cheque prepared and ready to describe BEFORE I called EQ Bank to ask for the link!

How Did I Link the Bank Accounts at EQ Bank and PC Financial?

I phoned in first to request they create the link
I used the EQ Bank App to send in photo images of the front and back of the cheque to be deposited from the chequing account to be linked

Then I waited for the link to be made.

When Did My Second External Chequing Account Get Linked to My EQ Bank Savings Account?

Well, since I just submitted the necessary cheque five minutes ago, I’m sure it hasn’t happened yet! I’ll have to update this article when the accounts get linked.

Related Reading

How to Deposit a Cheque to an EQ Bank Savings Account By Taking Photos Using Their App
How to Open More Accounts at EQ Bank to Sort Out Your Savings
How to Open an Account at EQ Bank
What Is EQ Bank and Should I Open an Account There?

Join In
Have you linked an EQ Bank Savings account to more than one chequing account? Did the process go smoothly? Please share your experiences with a comment.

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

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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.

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Tag Archives: high interest savings account

How to Link an EQ Bank Savings Account to a Second External Chequing Account at Another Bank for Electronic Funds Transfers