Mahima Poddar - EQ Bank: Canada's Challenger Bank

Newcomer Investor

Welcome to the Newcomer Investor Channel, where we uncover the story behind great businesses and make investing accessible and fun for everyone!

In this episode, I chat with Mahima Poddar, Senior Vice-President and Group Head, Personal Banking at EQ Bank. We explored EQ Bank’s innovative Challenger mindset, their cutting-edge products, and how they are reshaping banking to better serve Canadians with smarter, more efficient solutions.

Please note, this conversation was recorded on September 12th. As a result, any references to specific future dates/events in the episode may refer to a time that has already passed.

Connect:

Newcomer Investor on X: https://twitter.com/NewcomerInvest

Newcomer Investor Email: [e-mail]

Follow EQ Bank on X: ⁠https://x.com/eqbank

Sign up for an EQ Bank Account using my referral: join.eqbank.ca/?code=ANTHONY5814

Sign up for a Small Business Account: https://www.eqbank.ca/business/business-banking/business-account

Episode Highlights:

(0:00) - Introduction

(1:24) - Introducing Mahima

(2:52) - The Challenger Bank Mindset

(5:00) - Building the EQ Bank Brand - early challenges and victories

(9:37) - EQ Bank’s product differentiation compared to the Big 6

(18:45) - Who are EQ Bank’s customers? + customer acquisition/retention strategy

(22:00) - Second Chance campaign with Eugene and Dan Levy

(25:00) - The benefits of technology

(27:45) - Open banking

(30:45) - The Branch vs Branchless debate

(34:25) - Anthony and Mahima’s bank customer experience anecdotes

(35:55) - What Mahima is excited about in the years ahead for EQ Bank

(38:35) - Post-conversation debrief