How to choose the right free checking account
by: Gina Ragusa
By now the term “free checking” has become an oxymoron in the American consumers’ vocabulary.
America’s addiction to free checking has become almost as needy as our dependency on foreign oil, as regulatory changes in the financial landscape has created a price inflation.
Today, finding a free checking account at a multinational bank is about as easy as getting a bunch of teenagers to abandon their cell phones for 24 hours; however free checking is not exactly an urban legend.
In a recent Banking Landscape Report, the researchers from WalletHub studied approximately 2,000 checking and savings accounts, concluding that low or no fee checking can still be found online or at a credit union. Features of the study include:
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The average monthly online checking account fee is $3.91 ($2 below the average $5.96 for a bank branch account).
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Online account holders can waive fees with less money in their account versus a bank branch ($2,367 vs. $3,855).
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Non-bank ATM fees average $1, versus average $1.75 at a branch bank.
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Fees are higher at banks–average national bank is around $14.87 in monthly fees or requires you to have an average of $5,747, regional bank fees average $10.38 or a balance of $3,502, small banks are at $6.97 or $3,410, and community banks are at $5.88 or $2,834.
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By comparison, credit union accounts average $1.87 in fees.
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73% of credit union checking accounts have no minimum balance requirement and no monthly fee.
