Bank Shopping

Looking for a bank to open a checking account? The banking industry is very competitive today, however, there are still banks operating like it is 1980. You don't have to settle for a crummy bank that charges extra for features that are free most everywhere else. Shop around and find a bank that best suites you. Here are some things to consider:

Opening a Checking Account?

* Free Checking with no minimum balance requirement

A checking account is not a savings account. The interest banks offer for a checking account is so ridiculously insignificant that you should not even consider it interest. You need to have access to all your money that is in your checking account. If you are interested in saving money and drawing interest, look to opening a money market account.

* Free Online Banking with the ability to see transactions and images of your checks

All of the major banks today offer an online interface for you to login and check your account balance and review your transaction history. Many banks are adding the ability to view a graphic of checks you have written and that have cleared. The bank scans in the check and puts the image with the transaction item in your online transaction history. These services should come as value added features at no cost to you.

* Free Online Bill Pay

There are a couple major online bill pay providers that all the banks in the United States tend to use. You should not be charged by your bank to use online bill pay. Online bill pay is different, but often associated with your online banking.

* Free Money Orders drafted from your account or directly from cash

This is a less common feature of holding a checking account with a bank. However, some banks will allow you one free money order as a courtesy for being a customer of their bank.