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What to Look for in a Checking Account

It’s always wise to compare your options when opening a new checking account.

Here are the top features to look for and compare:

1. Ease of Setting Up

Your checking account should be where you setup your direct deposit and where you pay bills from. Because of this, it needs to be easy to open an account, set up your direct deposit, and set up payees to pay bills.

All of the checking accounts we recommend have these features.

2. Monthly Fees

Monthly fees can eat into your paycheck fast. You should avoid them as much as possible. That’s why we recommend you focus on no monthly fee checking accounts to keep as much as your pay check as possible.

3. Required Initial Deposit

Does the bank require a large initial deposit? Are you comfortable depositing that much right away? These days, most banks will allow you to open an account with as little as $1 or even $0 dollars.

Some banks may offer a higher yield with a higher initial deposit. You’ll just need to decide whether that higher initial deposit will be worth any increase in yield.

4. Minimum Balance Required

Minimum balance required to maintain your account is another feature to keep a close eye on.

Most of the banks we recommend do not have large minimum balance requirements, if any minimum balance requirement at all.

The accounts we do recommend that have a higher minimum required balance are usually CD accounts, which you don’t want to open unless you want to lock up your money for 6 months, 12 months or longer.

5. Accessing Your Money

Accessing your money is very important with any checking account.

Almost all of the checking accounts we recommend come with a mobile app that gives you 24/7 access to your accounts.

Additionally, banks will issue a debit card for your checking account, that you can use physically, virtually, or contactless payments through your wallet app.

6. Transferring Your Money

As important as it is to access your accounts, you’ll likely need to transfer money in and out of your checking account often.

That’s why its important to pay attention to features like transfer or peer to peer payments with Zelle®.

7. Mobile Check Deposit

If you can’t set up direct deposit, or if sometimes you get paper checks having mobile check deposit will allow you to deposit checks into your account from anywhere.

Most checking accounts we recommend comes with mobile check deposit.

8. Overdraft Fees

Things happen. Sometimes we pay a bill or make a purchase that is more than the money in our accounts. Normally, this would incur an overdraft fee, usually these fees range betwen $25 – $50.

Most of the checking accounts we recommend do not have overdraft fees, because the last thing you need when you don’t have enough money in your account is another fee to pay.

With the above in mind, now you’re more confident to choose the right checking account for you.