Tangerine vs EQ Bank – Comparison for 2026

If you’re searching for the Best Online Bank in Canada in 2026, the conversation usually comes down to EQ Bank vs. Tangerine.

With interest rates starting around 2.75% and higher, both online banks provide strong opportunities to grow your savings. Each bank stands out for its wide range of accounts and products, intuitive online platforms, and minimal fees. In many ways, they don’t just compete with each other; they rival Canada’s traditional Big Banks as well!

Still, only one can claim the title of Canada’s top digital bank.

In this comparison, we’ll break down how Tangerine and EQ Bank stack up across key factors like interest rates, fees, platforms, account options, and overall features.

Tangerine vs EQ Bank Quick Comparison

Tangerine vs EQ Bank Interest Rates

When most people are comparing the best online banking options in Canada, the key number is the interest rate.  What interest rate can I get in a High Interest Savings Account (HISA)?

There is simply no comparison between Tangerine and EQ Bank when it comes to the long-term interest rate.

EQ Bank = 2.75% – 1% + 1.75% when you set up direct deposit

Tangerine – 0.30%

EQ has always prioritized their long term savings rate and made sure that it stays at the very top of the Canadian rankings or within spitting distance.  

Tangerine, on the other hand, used to be a market leader in this field back when they were ING Direct.  Here’s an old school ING Direct commercial that caused some serious nostalgia for me.

The claim in that commercial, “Your account pays the highest rate – always will!”

Needless to say, that has not been the case since ING was purchased by Scotiabank and became Tangerine. The interest rate has steadily edged downwards ever since that point. Now Tangerine relies on short-term teaser rates, typically a flashy 4.50%, to get you in the door, and then hopes you stay when that rate plummets after just 5 months. It must be a profitable strategy or they wouldn’t continue to do it. I just don’t like the whole idea of “tricking people in the door”. 

Massive Winner: EQ Bank

GIC Rates for Tangerine and EQ Bank

It’s not just the high interest savings account, TFSA, and RRSP rates, plus the availability of a FHSA where EQ Bank beats Tangerine pretty soundly. Below is the comparison table for Guaranteed Income Certificates (GICs), where you’ll see EQ Bank pays out a higher interest rate than Tangerine for every single term option.

Winner: EQ Bank

Tangerine vs EQ Bank Account Options

Both banks offer RRSPs and TFSAs. 

Tangerine’s interest rate is the same as its Savings Account: 0.30% for both accounts.

EQ offers a superior interest rate of 2.75% for the Tax Free Savings Account and the Retirement Savings Account.

In addition, EQ also offers a First Home Savings Account (FHSA), also with an interest rate of 2.75%. Tangerine does not yet offer a FHSA. For higher interest rates, you can lock in growth with a TFSA or RRSP GIC. They are offered by both Tangerine and EQ, but as you saw in the table above, the best rates depend on the length of the GIC.

Winner: EQ Bank

Tangerine vs EQ Bank: Fees and Account Charges

Both Tangerine and EQ Bank have built their brands on low fees. You won’t find any Big Bank account fees here. Both Tangerine and EQ have slashed the business expenses associated with physical branch locations, and have passed those savings on to customers.  

While the Tangerine vs EQ bank fee battle is a close one, the edge again goes to EQ, as Tangerine charges an odd inactivity fee as well as a NSF fee, neither of which will probably apply to many people – but looks like a bit of a cash grab. Both companies have zero monthly account fees, free unlimited Electronic Fund and Interac Money transfers, as well as free bill payments.

	EQ Bank	Tangerine
Monthly Account Fees	Free	Free
Inactivity Fee	Free	$10 After One Year, $20 Per Year after that. If your account is still dormant at the 10 year mark, it’s a $40 Per Year charge.
Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)	Unlimited & Free	Unlimited &  Free
Interac Money Transfers	Free	Free
Account Closing	Free	Free
Bill Payments	Free	Free
Cheques	N/A	First 50 cheques free, $50 for cheques after that.
Bank Drafts	N/A	$10
NSF fee (Non-sufficient fund fee)	Free	$45

Winner: EQ Bank

Tangerine vs EQ Bank: Credit Cards and Cheques

When it comes to overall convenience provided by an online bank account, it used to be that Tangerine could not be beat. Their banking package allows clients to use debit cards, credit cards, and cheques.  However, in January 2023, EQ bank launched the EQ Bank Card, helping it catch up to Tangerine in the areas of convenience and making your money work for you.

The EQ Bank Card offers free withdrawals from any Canadian ATM, gives you 0.5% cash back on each purchase, earns customers up to 4% interest on their balance (interest rate is the same as your Personal Account interest rate), and has perks like no foreign exchange fees. These benefits are on par with Canada’s best credit cards, which is pretty impressive for an online bank.

As of early 2026, EQ Bank is in the process of acquiring PC Financial. PC Financial is the seventh-largest credit-card portfolio in Canada, so it will be interesting to see any credit crossover that comes as a result. What we do know so far is that you will now see EQ Bank ATMs at 2,500+ Loblaw locations, making money withdrawals even more convenient for users.

While these are all great offerings, it is not quite as varied as Tangerine’s offerings in terms of credit cards and cheques.

Winner: Tangerine

Tangerine vs. EQ Bank Ease of Use

Being online-only banks, both Tangerine and EQ have prioritized easy-to-navigate websites and customer service.

Setting up an account and connecting external bank accounts is quick and easy on both sites. However, EQ bank allows you to connect up to 10 external accounts, while Tangerine only allows for 3.

When it comes to ATM access for Tangerine clients, you’re limited to Scotiabank’s ATM network. With EQ Bank you can use any ATM in Canada free of charge after transferring money from your EQ Bank account to an EQ bank card.

Another preferred characteristic of EQ Bank is that they do not charge an NSF fee (Non-Sufficient Funds Fee). An NSF fee is when you get penalized for not having enough money in your account when making a transfer. If this happens to you as a client of Tangerine, you’ll owe them $45!

Winner: EQ Bank

Customer service

If you need to talk to someone on the phone, you can call Tangerine 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. EQ Bank’s phone lines are open 8am to midnight EST, 7 days a week. Both banks have chatbots on their website that can provide answers to common questions.

Our personal experience with EQ Bank is that they have been responsive and prompt with emails. Tangerine has received top rankings in the J.D. Power Canada Retail Banking Satisfaction Study for over a decade, also signalling top-notch customer service.

Winner: Tie

Mobile App Review

The Tangerine bank app is visually appealing and includes a wide range of banking options, including digital signup, enabling you to complete account creation right from your mobile device.

You’ll also be able to set up your mobile wallet to make payments with ease. In addition, you’ll have access to money management tools, like their Goals tool, to help you stay on track when it comes to saving money.

The Tangerine mobile app currently has an impressive 4.7 star rating on the Apple App Store and a 4.5 star rating on Google Play.

The EQ Bank Mobile Banking app allows you to complete all of your transactions in one convenient app. Everything from transferring funds, to paying bills, to purchasing GICs can be done on the app. 

The EQ Bank mobile app rating is currently 4.8 on the Apple App Store and lower on the Google Play Store at 4.0 stars The more recent 1-star reviews on Google Play are mostly centered around log-in issues, which is something we hope EQ Bank will rectify quickly for users.

While EQ Bank still has improvements to make on its Android app, both banks’ mobile apps are highly rated by users.

Winner: Tangerine

International Banking With EQ Bank or Tangerine

I was quite surprised to learn that as a “full service online bank” Tangerine does not have the ability to receive payments from abroad.  Due to the fact that Tangerine does not have a SWIFT/BIC code, it is useless to people who want to transfer money.

EQ Bank, on the other hand, really shines when it comes to international banking. As the first bank in Canada to partner with TransferWise (the leading international money transfer company in the world), and now known simply as “Wise”, EQ is able to offer its members the cheapest possible way to convert currencies.  

Most people don’t really understand how much banks charge them to convert one currency for another because it’s kind of hidden in the fine print.  The basic idea is that banks take a slice on either side of the “mid-market rate” – which is the actual exchange rate you’ll see if you look it up online. 

The size of those slices depends on the bank, and the currencies being exchanged, but the end result is that most customers end up paying more than 800% more when exchanging through their brokerage than they do with Transferwise!

Massive Winner: EQ Bank (with an assist from Wise)

Tangerine and EQ Bank Current Promotions and Referral Programs

When it comes to promotions, Tangerine loves to give new clients a high interest rate for a few months. This teaser rate inevitably drops off though, leaving EQ with the higher continuing interest rate. They both also offer referral programs. Here are the current offerings:

Tangerine:

• 4.50% savings rate for 5 months for new clients
• 4.60% savings rate for RSP, TFSA, and RIF for 5 months for new clients
• Earn up to $250 and 4.50% savings rate when you open a Chequing Account and move your pay
• Earn an extra 10% cash back (up to $100) with a Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card
• Earn an extra $120 when you spend $1,500 in your first 3 months with a Tangerine Money-Back World Mastercard
• Referrals: Receive a $50 bonus for every new client that uses your orange key to sign up (maximum 3 per year). The new client will also receive $50.

EQ Bank:

• 2.75% interest rate when you add direct deposit to your account
• Earn a cash bonus of up to $200, plus an additional 1.5% interest, when you deposit new funds to a registered savings account (excluding GICs)
• Referrals: Earn $20 per referral, up to $500 total. The new client will receive $20.

Of course, these promos come with fine print and required actions in order to claim the money or activate the rate. For more promo offers, check out our list of Canada’s Best Bank Account Promotions.

Winner: Tangerine

FAQ

EQ Bank vs Tangerine: What’s Best for You?

We took a comprehensive approach in comparing Tangerine and EQ Bank, evaluating them across key categories including account options, product offerings, fees, interest rates, mobile app performance, overall user experience, promotions and referral programs, and more.

So, was it EQ Bank or Tangerine who comes out ahead? While Tangerine stood out in areas like credit cards and cheque access, and may offer a slightly more polished mobile app, those advantages weren’t enough to overtake its competitor, EQ Bank.

The evident overall winner is EQ Bank. With consistently higher interest rates on its high-interest savings account and its prepaid Mastercard bank card, EQ Bank delivers a stronger earning potential. It also offers features such as international money transfers and the ability to open a First Home Savings Account. These are both options that Tangerine currently doesn’t provide.

In recent years, EQ Bank has also proven to be the more innovative of the two, launching Canada’s first 30-Day Notice Savings Account, along with the EQ Bank Card and small business accounts.

After weighing all the factors, we rank EQ Bank as Canada’s top online bank. For a deeper dive into what sets it apart, be sure to read our full EQ Bank Review.