Banks With Free Checking – Are They Really Worth It?
Banks with free checking and no fees are facing more competition year after year; traditional banks are now compelled to come up with inventive ideas in order to stay ahead of others. Regulations about opening accounts were recently loosened for banks with free checking to make them more appealing to potential consumers. Nevertheless, this deregulation did not generate a market where free checking accounts the norm. Checking account depositors used to pay nominal fees associated with the account regardless of what bank they chose.
This changed radically changed with the advent of easy-to-use Internet technology, especially Web 2.0, that made it possible for banks to conduct business online and competition quickly intensified. To the wonder of millions of internet speculators, banks with free checking accounts popped-up almost overnight. These internet-savvy banks succeeded in creating an impression that they offered free accounts in their package of services since the beginning.
Banks With Free Checking And Debit
Banks with free checking almost always offer some protection to their customers and clients. One of these account protection features is overdraft protection, which states that a bank will cover any outstanding charges which would not normally be covered by the account holder’s current balance. In return, the account holder has to pay the bank a fee of around $20. Overdraft protection is a comparatively recent invention. Until the 2000 or so, overdraft protection was not available as an alternative for bank clients. Instead, if an individual tried to write a check that exceeded the existing balance of their checking account, the bank would refuse the check. The individual who wrote the check might then be exposed to fees of up-to $100 or three times the amount of the check refused.
Banks with free checking in Florida often enroll consumers in overdraft protection plans immediately and, should they charge too much or write checks that can be covered by their existing balances (up to certain permissible limit) can rest assured that the charge will be paid by their bank. From that point of view, overdraft protection is a magnificent thing.
How to Find Banks With Free Checking Accounts
It is quite easy to find banks with free checking now that almost everyone has easy access to the internet. Below is a list of major banks that offer free, no-strings-attached checking accounts. These banks with free checking hope to help their customers find the way in this new account landscape by offering free checking now and seeking to recover revenue lost due to new limits on interchange fees in the future:
- US Bank
- Chase Manhattan
- Branch Banking & Trust Company
- Citibank
- Bank of America
- PNC Bank
- HSBC Bank
- SunTrust Bank
- Wells Fargo Bank
- Wachovia Bank
Unless you want to pay for checking, you are left with two options: either meet all the free checking criteria of the banks you use now (this usually means signing up for paperless billing and direct deposit) or find banks with free checking.