EQ Boost explained: turning dividends into shopping vouchers
EQ Boost turns your dividends into shopping vouchers with extra spending value. Equiniti, which keeps the shareholder records for participating companies, runs it. The dividend money is your own; the extra value on the voucher is the benefit.
How it works
Your dividend goes into an EQ Boost account instead of being paid to you as cash. You then choose which retailer’s vouchers to buy. They need not be vouchers for the company whose shares you own.
Extra value, not a discount at the tillSay a voucher carries a 10% boost. £100 of dividend money buys a £110 voucher: you have swapped £100 in cash for £110 to spend with one retailer. The 10% is an example, not a rate promised for every voucher.
Retailers and rates change, so check EQ’s current list before you buy.
Can you use it?
You must be a UK resident over 18 and hold eligible shares in a participating company. How you hold the shares matters too.
Shares registered in your own name qualify, and you apply through Shareview. Shares a broker or investment app holds for you do not, with one exception: a company-sponsored nominee, a service the company arranges to hold shares for you. Ask Equiniti if you are unsure which you have.
Corporate shareholders cannot join, and nor can a deceased shareholder’s estate. For a joint holding, the first-named holder applies.
Two lists with different jobs
Eligible companies are the shareholdings whose dividends can fund an account. Retailers are the shops whose vouchers you can buy. Being a retailer does not make a company’s shareholders eligible.
M&S is on both lists. Our M&S page covers its current offer and the older shareholder vouchers.
What you gain and what you give up
More to spend on shopping you already planned
The extra value helps if you already shop with that retailer. Still compare prices with other shops and offers, and be wary of a voucher that tempts you to spend more than you meant to.
Cash is more flexible
Vouchers expire and come with spending rules. Once you buy one, your money is tied to that retailer. If the retailer goes bust, you could lose the voucher’s value.
The account has less protection
Money in an EQ Boost account is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. EQ’s terms also say that money moved in from an Equiniti Financial Services account loses its FCA client-money protection.
It does not change your tax
EQ says joining leaves your personal tax obligations unchanged. Turning a dividend into vouchers does not make it tax-free.
A small shopping benefit is no reason on its own to buy or move shares. Read about the investment risks.
Joining and buying vouchers
- 1. Change your dividend instructionIn Shareview Portfolio, choose EQ Boost for the holding. This replaces your cash or reinvestment instruction. Do it at least 15 working days before the payment date, unless EQ gives another deadline.
- 2. Activate your accountFollow EQ’s email to register. You need your email address and date of birth.
- 3. Choose vouchers when the dividend arrivesCheck the rate, the expiry date and where you can spend each voucher.
Keeping cash or leaving
The whole dividend goes in, and so does every later dividend until you change the instruction. You cannot top up the account with your own cash. You can spend part of the balance on vouchers and withdraw the rest to a UK bank account in your name.
To stop future dividends going in, change your instruction in Shareview at least 15 working days before payment, unless EQ gives another deadline. It costs nothing. If you miss the deadline, you can withdraw the money once it arrives.
You can ask EQ to refund an unused voucher within 14 days of purchase. The refund goes back into your EQ Boost account.
Sources
Checked 6 September 2026. We have read the published terms but have not tested a claim.