Recheck Your Checking Account
When was the last time you thought about the cost of your checking account, other than bounced check charges?
Do you know if your account is an interest bearing checking account, non-interest account, or (truly) free checking? Not knowing can cost you money.
Interest Checking
Although interest rates charged for mortgages and other types of credit are rising at a fairly steady pace the average yield for an interest checking account has not. Courtesy of bankrate.com, here is a list of 56 interest rates offered on reward checking accounts.
| High-yield checking offered by banks | ||||
| Institution name | Is it offered nationwide? | APY | Number of monthly debit transactions required | Balance cap |
| Institution name:All America Bank | Is it offered nationwide? Yes | APY: 1.5% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 10 | Balance cap: $10,000 |
| Institution name:Amegy Bank | Is it offered nationwide? Yes | APY: 0.2% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 10 | Balance cap: $25,000 |
| Institution name:American Bank of Huntsville | Is it offered nationwide? No | APY: 0.99% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 10 | Balance cap: $15,000 |
| Institution name:Arizona Bank & Trust | Is it offered nationwide? No | APY: 1.51% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 15* | Balance cap: $20,000 |
| Institution name:Avidia Bank | Is it offered nationwide? No | APY: 1.06% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 10 | Balance cap: $25,000 |
| Institution name:Bank of Blue Valley | Is it offered nationwide? Yes | APY: 1.25% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: Tier 1: $1,000 per monthTier 2: $300-$999.99 per month | Balance cap: $15,000 |
| Institution name:BankGloucester | Is it offered nationwide? No | APY: 1.51% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 10 | Balance cap: $25,000 |
| Institution name:BTH Bank, NA | Is it offered nationwide? No | APY: 2.25% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 10 | Balance cap: $7,000 |
| Institution name:Capital Bank | Is it offered nationwide? No | APY: 0.75% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 10 | Balance cap: $10,000 |
| Institution name:Citizens Community Federal | Is it offered nationwide? No | APY: 2% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 15 | Balance cap: $20,000 |
| Institution name:City National Bank (TX) | Is it offered nationwide? No | APY: 1% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 15 | Balance cap: $10,000 |
| Institution name:Community Bank of Pleasant Hill | Is it offered nationwide? Yes | APY: 1.01% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 10* | Balance cap: $10,000 |
| Institution name:Community Bank of Raymore | Is it offered nationwide? Yes | APY: 1.01% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 10* | Balance cap: $10,000 |
| Institution name:Coulee Bank | Is it offered nationwide? No | APY: 2.55% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 10 | Balance cap: $15,000 |
| Institution name:Cross Keys Bank | Is it offered nationwide? Yes* | APY: 2.05% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 12 | Balance cap: $10,000 |
| Institution name:Farmers Bank & Trust | Is it offered nationwide? No | APY: 2.01% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 10 | Balance cap: $25,000 |
| Institution name:First American Bank | Is it offered nationwide? Yes | APY: 1% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 15* | Balance cap: $15,000 |
| Institution name:First Bank & Trust (MN) | Is it offered nationwide? No | APY: 1.01% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 10 | Balance cap: $24,999.99 |
| Institution name:First Security Bank & Trust | Is it offered nationwide? Yes | APY: 1.05% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 15 | Balance cap: $15,000 |
| Institution name:Heartland Bank | Is it offered nationwide? No | APY: 2% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 10 | Balance cap: $15,000.99 |
| Institution name:Heritage Bank | Is it offered nationwide? Yes | APY: 1.26% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 10 | Balance cap: $25,000 |
| Institution name:Jeff Davis Bank | Is it offered nationwide? No | APY: 3.25% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 10 | Balance cap: $10,000 |
| Institution name:KANZA Bank | Is it offered nationwide? No | APY: 2% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 12 | Balance cap: $10,000 |
| Institution name:Lee Bank | Is it offered nationwide? No | APY: 2.5% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 12 | Balance cap: $15,000 |
| Institution name:Lee County Bank & Trust, N.A. | Is it offered nationwide? No | APY: 1.1% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 10 | Balance cap: $15,000 |
| Institution name:Liberty Bank | Is it offered nationwide? No | APY: 1.01% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 15 | Balance cap: $10,000 |
| Institution name:Main Street Bank | Is it offered nationwide? Yes | APY: 2.25% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 12 | Balance cap: $25,000 |
| Institution name:Meredith Village Savings Bank | Is it offered nationwide? No | APY: 0.4% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 14 | Balance cap: $15,000 |
| Institution name:NorStates Bank | Is it offered nationwide? Yes | APY: 0.5% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 10* | Balance cap: None |
| Institution name:North Country Savings Bank | Is it offered nationwide? Yes | APY: 1.26% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 10 | Balance cap: $25,000 |
| Institution name:Northpointe Bank | Is it offered nationwide? Yes | APY: 5% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 15 | Balance cap: $5,000 |
| Institution name:Ouachita Independent Bank | Is it offered nationwide? Yes* | APY: 3.01% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 12 | Balance cap: $15,000 |
| Institution name:Premier Valley Bank | Is it offered nationwide? No | APY: 0.31% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 10 | Balance cap: $25,000 |
| Institution name:Royal Banks of Missouri | Is it offered nationwide? No | APY: 1.85% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 12* | Balance cap: $24,999.99 |
| Institution name:Security Bank | Is it offered nationwide? No | APY: 2.05% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 10 | Balance cap: $15,000 |
| Institution name:State Bank of Toledo | Is it offered nationwide? Yes | APY: 0.9% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 10 | Balance cap: $25,000 |
| Institution name:Sutton Bank | Is it offered nationwide? No | APY: 1.26% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 11 | Balance cap: $25,000 |
| Institution name:The Bank of Fayetteville | Is it offered nationwide? No | APY: 1% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 10 | Balance cap: $15,000 |
| Institution name:The Provident Bank (Green Checking) | Is it offered nationwide? Yes | APY: 1% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 0 | Balance cap: $1,000 |
| Institution name:The Provident Bank (Smart Checking) | Is it offered nationwide? No | APY: 1.51% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 10* | Balance cap: $15,000 |
| Institution name:TriSummitBank | Is it offered nationwide? Yes | APY: 1.11% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 10 | Balance cap: $25,000 |
| Institution name:West Texas National Bank | Is it offered nationwide? Yes | APY: 0.5% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 10 | Balance cap: $25,000 |
| Institution name:Westfield Bank | Is it offered nationwide? No | APY: 2.01% | Number of monthly debit transactions required: 12 | Balance cap: $15,000 |
The big question to ask here is “Am I paying more in fees for the account than I’m earning from the interest?”
Non-interest Checking
A non-interest checking account will not ‘earn’ you funds – yet the minimum balance to open these accounts is much lower as is the minimum balance required to avoid monthly service charges. (Some accounts, however, charge a standard monthly service charge, but it is much lower than the fee charged on an interest account). Question for yourself: “Is this account enabling me to conduct the type of transactions I need to complete at a reasonable price?”
Free Checking
On the other hand, by law, monthly service charges can not be charged on ‘free checking’ accounts. However, if you overdraw the account, bounced check charges are fair game. And while some banks do eliminate ATM surcharges for their account holders using their own ATMs, if the customer uses another bank’s ATM, both banks may ding your account for an ATM fee.
Reviewing your checking account and the boundaries the bank has set up for fees and charges can save you money. The easiest way? Review your monthly bank statement (good idea anyway) looking for additional fees or charges. Bankrate.com reports, “banks usually will disavow errors if they are reported more than 60days after you received the statement.”
Regrettably, not reviewing your monthly bank statement to keep track of bank charges and balances is just asking for a bunch of new charges – those pesky insufficient funds fees.
