EQ Bank is buying PC Financial | Page 2 | PC Financial | Discussion forum

Official email from EQ Bank:
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We’ve got news for you! EQ Bank’s parent company, EQB, just signed an agreement to acquire PC Financial® from Loblaw, a move that’s set to level up challenger banking in Canada and bring even more innovation and value to your banking experience.

This means the PC Money Account™ and PC Mastercard® products – one of Canada’s largest credit card portfolios – will become part of the EQ Bank® brand once our agreement receives all necessary approvals. And here’s the kicker: we’ll also become the exclusive banking partner for PC Optimum™, among Canada's largest loyalty programs.

Why are we doing this?

Because we’ve always believed you deserve more. Since 1970, we’ve been shaking up the status quo to make banking work harder for you. As Canada’s Challenger Bank™, we launched pioneering products with high interest and zero everyday banking fees, and many other firsts in Canadian banking, to give you more control, more value and more transparency.

But challenging a centuries-old system isn’t easy. To keep pushing boundaries, we need to scale up, add products you’ve been asking for – like credit cards – and find more ways to help you make the most of your money while earning rewards every time you spend.

Teaming up with PC Financial lets us do just that. In PC Financial, we found the perfect partner: a Canadian brand with the same passion for banking innovation, who can complement our commitment to you in countless ways. With this, you’ll be able to access one of Canada’s largest credit card programs, a more expansive choice of everyday banking products and exclusive access to PC Optimum rewards (who doesn’t love a great deal?). Plus, you’ll benefit from PC Financial’s nationwide 600+ ATM network and retail footprint at 2,500 Loblaws banner stores and 180 in-store pavilions, making your banking even more convenient.

What does this mean for you now?

For now, nothing changes. Your accounts and services stay the same while we work behind the scenes to bring everything together. We hope to receive the necessary approvals within the 2026 calendar year.

Down the line, your banking life is going to get a serious upgrade – we’re just getting started. When we get the necessary approvals, we’ll share exciting updates on how both PC Financial and EQ Bank customers will gain access to more products, more services and more places to earn PC Optimum rewards.

Get the full story here. If you have questions, our team is here to answer them, keep you in the loop and make this transition smooth after we receive necessary approvals – so you can focus on enjoying a better, more rewarding banking experience. Get in touch.

And remember: EQ Bank and PC Financial will never call, text, or email asking for your banking info, PIN, password, or verification codes. Stay informed, stay safe. Learn more.

Thank you for being part of our journey so far.

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EQ Bank is brought to you by Equitable Bank, a Schedule I Canadian bank and the country’s seventh largest bank by assets. Equitable Bank is a member of CDIC (Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation). EQ Bank is a trade name of Equitable Bank.

®/TM PC, PC Financial, PC Money, and PC Optimum are trademarks of Loblaws Inc. Used under License. Mastercard is a registered trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated. Used under license. EQ Bank and Canada’s Challenger Bank are trademarks of Equitable Bank.

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© 2025 Equitable Bank, All Rights Reserved

(See official email from PC Financial here: https://www.highinterestsaving.....inancial-1 )

Briguy said
I wonder in the future if EQ Bank will force you to do ATM withdrawals with the EQ Bank prepaid Mastercard only at the former PC Financial ATMs at Loblaws and SDM stores to save money ?

That would be a negative result of this merger to EQ Bank customers.  

I've never used a PC ATM but the few I've seen are inside Loblaws stores and therefore not accessible 24x7.

That could be a negative to those with frequent ATM use. It wouldn't be a problem for me I go to the ATM once per year, and not every year) to get enough cash to ensure my spouse and I have about $100 each in our wallets.

AltaRed said
Another negative could be eliminating the 'no commission' forex option on the EQ Bank prepaid card for foreign currencies, but a corollary to that could be expanding the 'no commission' forex option to PC Financial credit cards. 

I can't see them eliminating the no forex on their prepaid card as the PC Money card is also a no forex. In respect to them making existing PC CC's no forex - not a chance in hell, however, I could see them launching a totally new no forex card.

AltaRed said
By PC Cash card, I assume you mean a debit card. Does 'no commission' forex also extend to the PC Financial Mastercard?  

Good catch, had to fix that, yes the debit card. Don't have any PC CC's, so couldn't say, but I think the answer is no.

Here's a good resource on no forex cards:

https://forums.redflagdeals.co.....s-2122295/

AltaRed said
By PC Cash card, I assume you mean a debit card. Does 'no commission' forex also extend to the PC Financial Mastercard?  

PC Financial Mastercard was the only card whose company enforced the 15K per year spending requirement and downgraded myself and many others from World Elite to World card, so I got rid of their credit card years ago. There are many credit cards giving you 3 percent for shopping at their grocery stores, eg. TD Cashback Visa Infinite, Canadian Triangle World Elite ( in CT dollars ) etc.

Briguy said
EQ Bank uses Wise to make global money transfers, and forces you to open an account with Wise to do so.

I hope something changes with this merger to make a better global transfer solution, since many people have been banned by Wise due to their faulty AML algorithm, and are not able to use global money transfer through EQ. Wealthsimple uses Wise for global money transfer as well, but there is no requirement with WS to make an account with Wise.  

That's a super niche request. I doubt that will happen any time soon.

For me, my biggest gripe with EQ Bank is the lack of transaction narrative detail in customer e-Statements and transaction histories, together with no ledger balance update for every transaction on their Notice Savings Account and the Notice Savings Account e-Statement sorts newest transactions at the top! If they'd fix those three minor-ish things, it would be a class act, top tier product and I'd switch from Tangerine. Well, they should also launch an unsecured line of credit product and overdraft protection, too.

Cheers,
Doug

doug said

That's a super niche request. I doubt that will happen any time soon.

For me, my biggest gripe with EQ Bank is the lack of transaction narrative detail in customer e-Statements and transaction histories, together with no ledger balance update for every transaction on their Notice Savings Account and the Notice Savings Account e-Statement sorts newest transactions at the top! If they'd fix those three minor-ish things, it would be a class act, top tier product and I'd switch from Tangerine. Well, they should also launch an unsecured line of credit product and overdraft protection, too.

Cheers,
Doug  

I had a Tangerine account and credit card, and closed up both of them because I had the Tangerine credit card statement set up to be paid from my Tangerine account, but I rarely used both, so the Tangerine account had zero dollars. One day I had a 1.13 charge from freephoneline.ca which I had previously cancelled but there was one more charge I guess due to come through. So Tangerine paid the 1.13 and charged me I think 40.00 NSF fee. I was angry of course and cancelled all my Tangerine products.

I also have EQ Bank and Wealthsimple as digital banking hubs so no loss. I still have Hubert but it's not a banking hub anymore LOL

Briguy said

I had a Tangerine account and credit card, and closed up both of them because I had the Tangerine credit card statement set up to be paid from my Tangerine account, but I rarely used both, so the Tangerine account had zero dollars. One day I had a 1.13 charge from freephoneline.ca which I had previously cancelled but there was one more charge I guess due to come through. So Tangerine paid the 1.13 and charged me I think 40.00 NSF fee. I was angry of course and cancelled all my Tangerine products.

I also have EQ Bank and Wealthsimple as digital banking hubs so no loss. I still have Hubert but it's not a banking hub anymore LOL  

Were you using Tangerine for your payroll direct deposits? If so, I bet you could've had the NSF fee reversed.

They've even reversed their overdraft usage for me a couple times.

Cheers,
Doug

Briguy said

No, I didn't have payroll deposit with them. That's a valuable commodity these days earning you promotion money at different FIs.  

Yeah, that's likely why. It may be a valuable commodity, but at the end of the day, there are only so many FIs and so many payroll deposit promotions, which is about to get substantially fewer. Customer loyalty and increased share of wallet is a valuable commodity, too, when it comes to requesting accommodations and givebacks from your FI.

Briguy, did you see my post # 35 response?

Cheers,
Doug