RBC (Royal Bank of Canada)
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Choose RBC if you want one institution for Canadian banking, branch access, cross-border US accounts, and investing.
New check
Comparison
RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) vs EQ Bank
RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) and EQ Bank both land on Depends.
EQ Bank
Depends
Confidence: Medium
EQ Bank is a fit for fee-averse Canadians who want high-interest savings, GICs, and a no-fee card online.
| Compare | ||
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Depends |
| Best for | Canadians wanting branch access plus full-service banking | Fee-averse savers |
| Who it's not for | Fee-averse users . online banks do it cheaper | Anyone needing branch or in-person banking |
| Privacy | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.11 | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed. |
| Support quality | Many Reddit service complaints; formal complaint process exists | Repeated Reddit customer-service complaints |
| Public sentiment | Sentiment is polarized: industry awards and satisfaction reports on one side, many Reddit threads about fees, service, and switching on the other.⁵ | Reddit sentiment is mixed: users like the no-fee model and rates but frequently complain about customer service and cheque holds. |
| Biggest gotcha | A Reddit user reported an RBC employee accessing their information | Reddit users report cheque holds and stopped cheques; risky if you deposit cheques regularly. |
Pick RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) when
- Canadians wanting branch access plus full-service banking
- Cross-border Canada-US banking
- All-in-one bank, brokerage, and wealth clients
- Risk-averse users wanting big-bank stability
When RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) is not a fit
- Fee-averse users . online banks do it cheaper
- Frequent traders . $9.95/trade adds up fast
- Insurance shoppers . reviewers report bad experiences
- Anyone wanting simple, no-frills digital-only banking
Pick EQ Bank when
- Fee-averse savers
- GIC investors
- Big-bank escapees tired of fees
- Canadian small businesses
When EQ Bank is not a fit
- Anyone needing branch or in-person banking
- Heavy cheque depositors (hold complaints)
- People wanting responsive premium support
- US or international primary banking
Sources
- North America's best bank 2026: RBC (Euromoney)euromoney.comnews
- rbc is the worst bank ever (Reddit)reddit.comreview
review
- RBC Reviews: 809 User Ratings (WalletHub)wallethub.comreview
- RBC Reviews (Trustpilot)trustpilot.comreview
- RBC Bank Review (U.S. News)usnews.comreview
- RBC Value Program (official)rbcroyalbank.comofficial
- RBC Direct Investing pricing (official)rbcdirectinvesting.comofficial
- RBC Insurance Auto Insurance Reviews (InsurEye)insureye.comreview
news
- RBC Digital Banking Security Guarantee (official)rbcroyalbank.comofficial
- RBC leads Big Five Canadian banks in customer metric (Yahoo Finance)finance.yahoo.comnews
- EQ Bank: Everyday Bankingeqbank.caofficial
official
- EQ Bank GICseqbank.caofficial
- EQ Bank Card Fees & Featureseqbank.caofficial