I recently changed banks. I cancelled my CIBC chequing account. I have had it since 2007 when I was…read moreemployed there. You do get some good banking perks when you are working for CIBC. However, once you depart the institution, most of those perks go away. I was paying the standard $4 monthly fee for everyday transactions. I decided to cancel this account and look for something better. Recently, I came across an ad for Equitable (EQ) bank. Dan and Eugene Levy were talking about how EQ Bank offers no fees and high interest on everyday banking. Cool! I signed up online. The process was straightforward to open a chequing account. You do need to order a bank card, which acts like a loadable prepaid MasterCard. You have the option of loading funds automatically when your balance is running low or manually loading funds from your chequing account. It took just over a week for my card to arrive in the mail. I activated it online. I did my first transaction when I fetched lunch at work. I inserted my card in the payment machine and it was activated without entering a PIN. What makes EQ Bank appealing is going to any ATM in Canada to withdraw funds. You may get a transaction fee at first. However, a few days later, this fee gets refunded by the bank. It's neat. There are no fees. There is no overdraft. You don't get dinged for non-sufficient funds fees. It's different and refreshing. My chequing account has an interest rate of 2%. Not too shabby. For savings, I have two accounts: - A regular tax-free savings account (TFSA) that earns 2.5% interest - A notice savings account that earns 3.5% interest The notice savings account yields higher interest. If I do need to withdraw money from it, it takes ten days for the funds to be released. The idea is to save your money with high interest and not have the need to take it out often. There's another level. If you want thirty days for your funds to be released, the interest rate is at 3.65%. You can open two notice savings accounts with different notice periods. I have yet to do it. I'm good with two savings accounts! There are other products that EQ Bank offers: - First home savings account - GICs - US dollar account - EQ Bank RSP I made the change to have my pay deposited to my EQ chequing account. I did the change on a Monday and my funds were in my chequing account on Wednesday night just before 10 pm. My payday is every other Thursday, so it was early. No complaints! To add funds, you can either link an external account to your EQ chequing account or send an Interac e-Transfer. The former takes a lot longer. I recommend the latter, which ranges for instantly to thirty minutes, depending on your external bank. All of my Interac e-Transfers have been immediately. I have yet to deposit a cheque. It's a question of taking a photo through the EQ Bank app. The app has worked well for me thus far. I like EQ Bank. I'm happy that I made the switch. (416)

EQ Bank has been my main squeeze for GICs, I came across EQ a couple years ago after looking at GIC…read morerates online. They are not the highest rate, but seems to be more well-known than other online-only banks. I use EQ specifically to rollover/ladder my GICs with extra savings that I might need in a 6-12 month period (emergency funds) instead of the big banks' terrible "high-interest savings" rates. I also have my FHSA accounts here for that sweet GIC interest so that it makes some money in case I need it within the next 6 to 12 months for a down payment. I don't like the idea of having FHSA funds in the market since the whole point is to have it available at a predictable time/amount. So far, my only gripe with EQ (like most online only banks) is their delays on posting deposits as well as withdrawals. Just be aware of their 5 business days EFT delays, expect longer than shorter scenarios... I've never used EQ's referral before, but apparently its $20 to the party opening an account with a min of $100 for 30 days and the referrer also gets $20 up to a lifetime limit of $500. I'll post an update with any details if it ever gets claimed. My Referral Code: join.eqbank.ca/?code=KELVIN6372

I have several accounts in their bank, I made some GIC .but the return is not very good, and now go…read moreto other banks, it is not recommended for everyone

Tip: You can deposit USD funds at any RBC ATM. It first takes your bills at par. The next business…read moreday, the conversion to CAD happens and the change is reflected in your balance. This RBC Royal Bank branch has been here for eons. Within the last year, it was closed for renovations. Frankly, I feared that it was closed for good. However, my parents do their banking here and their was no change made to their branch. Yay! When my parents bought their current home decades ago, my dad switched banks from TD (before it merged with Canada Trust) to this RBC. Their account is a joint one for expenses, but it's my dad's main one. One main reason why they chose this account is that their mortgage at the time was with this bank. They paid it off many moons ago. They felt comfortable banking here because staff spoke in English and Cantonese. Mandarin-speaking staff are also available. I come here occasionally to use the ATM. There is customer parking around the building. This branch has two ATMs. It can get busy if you're here during peak hours. I tend to be here during off-peak hours and haven't hand any issues. There is a night deposit box. This branch also has safety deposit boxes. You may want to call for availability if you need one. This building has a few floors. This RBC specializes in customer banking services and co-located corporate services, such as RBC Dominion Securities, which is on the fifth floor. It's not a corporate office. It's a cool branch. I'm glad that it's still around. (326)

This plaza on the northeast corner of Major Mackenzie Drive and Markland Street is one that I enjoy…read morefrequenting. Canadian Tire and Shoppers Drug Mart anchor it. There's a Harvey's-Swiss Chalet combo store that I like visiting. Across from these eateries is this Scotiabank branch. It's a couple of doors down from a Starbucks cafe that I also like to visit now and again. This Scotiabank branch does not have a drive-thru, similar to the Starbucks. This branch does have parking spots in front of it with the Scotiabank logo marking each spot. Each logo is attached to a post that allows folks with bikes to chain and lock them up. There are a couple of ABMs on the left when you enter the branch. The area is clean and the ABMs are available 24 hours a day. The branch is closed on Sundays. Its teller hours are similar to other Scotiabank branches. It's open from 9:30 am Monday through Saturday. It closes at 5 pm from Monday through Wednesday. It stays open an extra hour on Thursdays and Fridays. On Saturday, it closes at 4 pm. I have never needed any teller services. I tend to hit the ABM to either deposit or withdraw money. It's a nice branch to visit. I have never had any issues with the ABM or parking. (366)

For my 100th review, I decided to highlight a bank branch. We came here two years ago to inquire…read moreabout a mortgage, and found the bank officers to be very knowledgeable and helpful. First of all, they helped us obtain a very competitive rate, much better than the rates at other banks. Since I'm an American, it was much more work since I didn't have Canadian credit history, but they were willing to cover the cost of requesting a US credit report. They were also willing to reduce the holding period for US currency transferred in. The bankers that we worked with were always on top of things and were very accommodating. Not everything was smooth sailing, though. One time they lost a bank draft, but were very apologetic and expedited a replacement bank draft. As our mortgage renewal is coming up, Scotiabank was not able to give us as competitive a rate as before, so we'll have to move on. But the bank officer, again, was helpful in answering our questions about how to maximize our payments without penalty. He even asked us to notify him when there are 3 bi-weekly payments in a month because their mortgage payment systems don't properly handle more than 4 payments a month (we decided to start matching our payments). So kudos to the bank officers at this Scotiabank branch for being knowledgeable, customer-centric, and very accommodating. It truly changes the way I perceive banks. Note: All 5 major Canadian banks can be found at this plaza, so shop around!

Well. I don't know…read moremuch about $100,000 fishermen's loans in Nova Scotia. What I do know is that this particular branch of RBC has been very easy to deal with. When I showed up with all of $2k to start an RRSP, they did not laugh in my face. Rather, they set me up with an appointment, a mini finance lesson and a session on choosing the best investment type for my tiny windfall. I've heard a lot of gripes about various other banks holding paycheques and generally causing grief - RBC has spared me much of this. You know what else RBC has going for it? Their ATMs dispense $5 notes, not just 20s. Don't you hate when you go out for a meal with friends and everyone shows up with a wallet full of $20 bills and nothing smaller? I don't have that problem. (Oh, hmmmm. The fisherman remark at the start doesn't make much sense now that the true 'first review' hate SPAM has been deleted.)

This branch has seen many staff turnover the past many years and it just seems to improve over the…read moreyears with newer staff. Of course I have missed some of the employees, but I also welcome the new ones since they've all been friendly and very helpful especially when it comes to my financial needs. One should hope the branch has good employees especially dealing with personal finances as they must all be discreet and professional. Plus the staff really do care and value my business without being aggressive with the many services available through the bank like some other branches. This location has been in the neighbourhood for many years, so I have definitely seen the many changes the branch has gone through. Currently the layout of the branch is very efficient and modern which is quite appealing to the eyes making it a less intimidating experience when walking into the bank. There's even a nice open sitting area by the entrance. With only two ATMs (one located inside and one outside), it definitely is sufficient and I never have to wait in line.