How do I choose a checking account?
A checking account is the most basic banking product, and for good reason: it's the place where you conduct most of your day-to-day financial transactions, the workhorse of your financial accounts. From ATM withdrawals to billpay, it's no stretch to say you'll have many, many encounters with your checking account. So it pays to choose wisely.
When you're shopping for a checking account, here are some features to consider:
- Low fees for maintaining the account (many banks offer free checking in exchange for certain financial transactions on your part each month or a certain average balance)
- Low fees for basic transactions such as ATM withdrawals
- Overdraft protection or the ability to link a savings account for overdrafts
- Reputation of the bank for customer service
- Online or mobile banking options, if you like to do your banking at home or on the go
- Special features or services such as automated billpay, email alerts to guard against fraud, check deposits by mobile phone or "green" checking practices
- Interest rates (yes, Virginia, there are checking accounts that offer interest)
As you can see from this list, one size certainly doesn't fit all. You may want free checking for a low balance and award-winning mobile banking features, while your neighbor may care about better interest rates for a high-balance checking account.
What Should I Consider If I Set Up A Checking Account With An Online Bank? >>
What should I consider if I set up a checking account with an online bank?
Having an online checking account offers you many benefits--including the potential for better terms because of lower operating costs of the bank--but there may be some limitations too. Some things to consider before setting up an online checking account include:
- Ease (and cost) of accessing your money. Is there an ATM network you can use for free withdrawals, or does the bank refund you ATM fees incurred?
- Ease of transfers between your checking account and linked savings accounts. Ask the bank how long it takes for transferred funds to be available.
- Ease of depositing funds. Do you have to mail in checks for deposit? If that's not quick enough for you, does the bank offer alternate ways of making deposits that are faster?
Online banks aren't necessarily for everyone, but if you're comfortable conducting financial business online (on a secure network, of course) and wouldn't miss your local branch, they are an attractive option. As long as it's FDIC-insured, don't dismiss some of the smaller (and sometimes wackier) banks offering great deals.
What are rewards checking accounts? >>
What are rewards checking accounts?
You've heard of rewards credit cards, but did you know that there are also rewards checking accounts? These are checking accounts that offer you interest rates that may be comparable to the best savings rates in the market.
To obtain the interest rate rewards, you usually have to meet certain requirements. Typical requirements might be completing a certain number of "signature-based" transactions with your debit card each month, accepting paperless statements, setting up direct deposit or maintaining a certain minimum average balance.
Particularly if the terms of the rewards checking deal are activities you would see yourself doing anyway, rewards checking can mean having your cake and eating it too.
How Can I Avoid Checking Account Maintenance Fees? >>
How can I avoid checking account maintenance fees?
Even a great rewards checking account is useless if you accrue a lot of fees when you use it. Luckily, smart consumers can avoid many of the fees that kick in with checking accounts--monthly maintenance fees, ATM fees, overdraft fees and more--by maintaining basic financial good habits and making sure you're honest with yourself about your banking habits.
For instance, kick those monthly maintenance fees by adhering to the bank's terms for the account. If you're worried even before you sign up whether you can jump through the hoops every month to get free checking, don't choose that checking account in the first place. Sooner or later, you're bound to slip up and get hit with a fee, and there are lots of free checking deals out there.
What is Overdraft Protection? >>
What is overdraft protection?
Overdraft fees, which banks charge when a customer swipes a debit card for more than the checking account balance, can be shockingly high.
The Federal Reserve has curbed the worst of the abuses in overdraft fee practices among banks--for instance, banks cannot charge more for the overdraft fee than the amount of the overdraft itself. Moreover, you must opt in to overdraft protection in the first place; if you haven't opted in and try to overdraft, your purchase is simply declined.
A better option is to link your checking account with your savings account, allowing your bank to transfer funds automatically from savings to checking when you overdraw your checking balance. You might still pay a fee, but it'll likely be substantially less than the usual overdraft protection fee.
Even better, though, is to avoid overdrafts entirely with stronger financial habits. After all, overdrafts happen when you forget to keep track of your expenses. Choose a bank that lets you check your balance however you feel most comfortable, easily and with no fee: by logging in online, by calling a toll-free number or with your smartphone.
Where Can I Find the Best Checking Account? >>
Where can I find the best checking account?
Now that you now what to look for in a checking account, where can you find the one that is right for you? Compare checking accounts online at SavingsAccounts.com--the right one for you is out there.
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