Equitable Bank struggling to keep up with demand for 3% interest savings accounts

Equitable Bank has already established to add staff to the account opening operations and call centre after being overwhelmed with people trying to make the most of a new checking account that pays three per cent interest.

Equitable Bank is creating a splash using its 3% rate of interest – here’s the way they do it

High-interest savings accounts are one method to grab attention within the financial services world, and Equitable Bank may be the latest to embrace the process with an eye-popping three-per-cent rate.

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“Processing account openings did get backed up just after launch,” Andrew Moor, Equitable’s leader, told the Financial Post.

He said the extra staff had “just about caught up” using the backlog Wednesday night.

Now, efforts are turning to trying to explain to customers when they can expect their new accounts to be opened.

“Our call centre continues to be not able to cope with communicating with our customers and providing the service we feel our customers deserve and really should expect,” Moor said.

Additional call centre staff is being deployed “to ensure we can deal with concerns because they arise,” he said, adding that there’s a lag of approximately five business days to process an inspection and open a new account even if the operation is working smoothly.

“We have to do a more satisfactory job in becoming absolutely clear on these timelines and are working on that,” Moor said.

“This is not an immediate process but we’re focusing on it tough.”

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Equitable launches ‘digital bank’ with 3% interest checking account to lure deposits from Canadian rivals

Debra Powell, a Kamloops, B.C., resident, said she place a stop payment on her behalf cheque earlier this month after waiting about two weeks for a new account at EQ bank to become opened.

“I thought, I’m not feeling that comfortable,” Powell said within an interview, adding that they sought out an email address online and contacted the bank.

“They responded a few days later that they were so overwhelmed that they couldn’t keep up,” she said.

Equitable, an established player in the alternative mortgage space, launched the new online banking venture in January underneath the banner EQ Bank.



The target would be to open 10,000 accounts this season by tapping approximately $400 billion relaxing in Canadian bank accounts that pay very little or no interest.

Still, Moor allowed that interest in EQ Bank’s high-interest savings account “surprised us a little.”

Most high-interest savings accounts are marketed as promotional, or short-term, but Equitable didn’t place a timeline on its offer to pay for more than traditional accounts.

Moor told the Financial Post recently that the bank can make cash on multiplication between your high rate paid around the savings accounts and also the interest charged on many of its mortgages, that are extended to clients whose credit profiles are extremely thin or weak to secure lower-interest loans from traditional banks.

Still, he explained EQ Bank’s savings account rate could possibly be reduced sooner or later.