Seven Things You Want In Your Checking Account
If you're looking for the right financial institution to set up a checking account with, you have a lot of options. However, not all checking accounts are created equal.
There are certain features you need to look out for that ensure a checking account is convenient, secure, and cost-effective. The following are seven things you want your checking account to have.
No fees
Many banks will charge fees to checking account holders on a monthly basis when they don't maintain a minimum balance or meet some other requirement. These fees add up over time and are significant banking expenses that are best avoided whenever possible.
Be sure to look into the existence of any service fees before you open a checking account. You should ideally find a bank that provides checking accounts without charging any service fees regardless of what your balance is or how much money you deposit into the account in a given month.
Direct deposit
You should make sure that your checking account is capable of direct deposits. This way, you can provide your checking account information to your employer so that your paychecks are automatically deposited into your account. This is convenient and ensures that your pay is available to you as soon as possible.
Convenient transfers
Most consumers periodically need to transfer funds between various checking and saving accounts. This means that it's helpful to have a checking account that offers transfers that are free, fast, and simple.
Overdraft protection
It could happen in the future that your account becomes overdrawn. In this case, it's good to have some form of overdraft protection on your account.
Overdraft protection is commonly offered in the form of a credit card that you can use to charge overdrafts to rather than having your balance go negative and potentially be subject to overdraft fees.
Online banking
Online banking capabilities make it possible for you to check your balance, deposit checks, schedule transfers, and more over the Internet. You should look for a checking account that comes along with many online banking features for maximum convenience.
Email and/or text alerts
A lot of checking accounts come along with email and text alerts. These alerts notify you every time a charge is debited from your checking account or whenever your balance drops below a certain amount.
Automatic payments
Automatic payment capabilities make it so that you can have routine payments like your utility bills, phone bill, or mortgage payments automatically deducted from your checking account. This way, you don't have to remember to make these payments and they'll be handled without any effort on your part.
For more information, contact a resource like FCCU - First Community Credit Union.
