17 Best Free Checking Accounts at U.S. Banks

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find truly free checking accounts. At many banks, you’re now required to pay a monthly maintenance fee for the privilege of keeping your checking account open. Such fees can range from a few dollars to $20 or more, depending on the bank and other associated perks. To avoid these fees, you may need to maintain a high minimum daily balance, make regular deposits of a certain size or frequency, or execute a minimum number of transactions in a statement period.

Fortunately, it’s still possible to find free checking accounts. You just have to know where to look. Many online banks offer legitimately free, FDIC-insured (up to $250,000 per account) accounts with few restrictions and plenty of sweeteners. Some even pay noticeable interest.

If you’re looking for a checking account that won’t eat away at your deposits, take a closer look at these options available to customers throughout the United States.

Best Free Checking Accounts

These are the best free checking accounts on the market today.

1. Simple Checking Account

2.15% APY on Protected Goals Account Balances of $10,000 & Up; 2.02% APY on Protected Goals Account Balances Under $10,000

Simple is a digital banking platform that centralizes banking, budgeting, and saving under one virtual roof. If there’s a headline here, it’s the very competitive yields on balances held in Simple’s Protected Goals Accounts – Simple’s answer to the traditional savings account. Protected Goals Account balances of $10,000 or more earn 2.15% APY; balances below $10,000 earn 2.02% APY.

Simple’s standard checking account doesn’t charge a monthly maintenance fee, regardless of balance, and you won’t find any miscellaneous nickel-and-dime fees at Simple either. The Safe-to-Spend feature is a head-slappingly straightforward tool that automatically accounts for account inflows and near-term expected outflows (scheduled bills out to 30 days from the present), ensuring you always know how much you can safely spend before the next payday. Meanwhile, trackable spending makes budgeting a breeze, and shared accounts empower couples to manage household finances with ease.

• Minimum Deposit and Balance Requirements: There’s no minimum opening deposit and no minimum daily balance.
• Account Opening Bonus: There’s currently no account opening bonus. Check back for the latest offers.
• Rewards and Incentives: With normal use, your account is totally free to use and enjoy, though third-party ATM owners may charge fees beyond Simple’s control.
• Mobile Features: Mobile check deposit, fee-free instant P2P transfers to other Simple users, fee-free third-party transfers and payments using apps like Square and Venmo, mobile payment app compatibility. The mobile app is Android- and iPhone-compatible.
• Overdraft Options: Simple does not charge overdraft fees. Use the app’s Safe-to-Spend feature to monitor your spending and ensure you have sufficient funds to complete the transactions you attempt.
• Possible Fees: Third-party ATM fees (charged by the owner, not Simple).

2. Chime Deposit Account

Get Paid 2 Days Early With Direct Deposit; Virtually No Fees

Chime is a mobile-first banking app that merges the low cost of online checking and savings accounts with the convenience of truly on-the-go banking. The headline here is Chime’s promise – subject to the policies of payers and their banks – that its Deposit Account (checking) customers get paid two days faster with direct deposit. If you’re accustomed to Friday paydays but could really use the money on Wednesday, the Chime Deposit Account may be the free checking account you’ve been waiting for.

Speaking of free: Chime has virtually no fees, save for a $2.50 over-the-counter cash withdrawal charge that’s easily avoided when you use one of the bank’s 38,000 fee-free ATMs. Add in an automatic savings option that rounds up the change on every debit card transaction, and you’ve got a serious contender on your hands.

• Minimum Deposit and Balance Requirements: There’s no minimum opening deposit and no minimum daily balance.
• Account Opening Bonus: None.
• Yield: None.
• Rewards and Incentives: Chime charges virtually no fees. Under normal circumstances, you won’t pay a dime to use your account.
• Mobile Features: Mobile check deposit, fee-free P2P transfers, fee-free electronic bill pay, mobile payment app compatibility (Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Google Pay). The mobile app is Android- and iPhone-compatible.
• Overdraft Options: Chime does not offer overdraft protection. Under normal circumstances, transactions that would result in a negative account balance are automatically declined. Chime deals with special cases that unavoidably result in negative balances, such as pay-at-the-pump gas transactions, on a case-by-case basis.
• Possible Fees: Over-the-counter cash withdrawal.

3. Varo Bank Account

No Account Fees

The Varo Bank Account is a user-friendly online checking account with no minimum deposit or balance requirements and no bank account fees. Open a Varo Savings Account and meet Varo’s three easy requirements (see below) to earn 2.80% Annual Percentage Yield* on balances up to $50,000 — one of the best online savings yields in the business.

That’s not all. If your employer or government benefits provider files to the Federal Reserve to start the direct deposit process, you could receive your funds up to 2 days early.^ And enjoy no-fee overdrafts up to $50 when you qualify for and enroll in No Fee Overdraft. To qualify, complete at least 5 Varo Visa® Debit Card purchases in each calendar month and receive at least $1,000 in total direct deposits into your account in the same calendar month.

• Minimum Deposit and Balance Requirements: There’s no minimum deposit or ongoing balance requirement.
• Account Opening Bonus: There’s currently no account opening bonus. Check back for the latest offers.
• Annual Percentage Yield: The Varo Bank Account does not pay interest, but you can open a Varo Bank Account and then open a Varo Savings Account to earn up to 2.80% APY on your savings account balance. To earn 2.80% APY, meet all three requirements: complete at least 5 Varo Visa® Debit Card purchases in each calendar month; receive at least $1,000 in total direct deposits into your account in the same calendar month; and keep a savings account balance up to $50,000 (the maximum to earn 2.80% APY). Otherwise, earn 1.92% APY* on your Varo Savings Account balance.
• Rewards and Incentives: No Fee Overdraft: Pay no overdraft fees or interest on overdrafts up to $50 when you qualify and enroll. To qualify, complete at least 5 Varo Visa® Debit Card purchases in each calendar month and receive at least $1,000 in total direct deposits into your account in the same calendar month. Plus, enjoy direct deposited paychecks up to 2 days early when your employer files to the Federal Reserve to start the direct deposit process. Terms apply; see Varo’s website for details.
• Mobile Features: Varo has a fully functional mobile app and a mobile-friendly website.
• Overdraft Options: Varo’s No Fee Overdraft feature allows you to overdraft up to $50 without incurring a fee, you just need to repay the deficit within 30 days from when your balance first goes negative. Repayment is automatically taken from your next deposit.
• Possible Fees: Varo has no minimum balance, funds transfer, foreign transaction, or monthly maintenance fees.

*Varo Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is accurate as of December 3, 2019. This rate is variable and may change. No minimum balance required to open an account. Balance in Savings Account must be at least $0.01 to earn interest.

^Early access to direct deposit funds depends on the timing of the payer’s submission of deposits. We generally post such deposits on the day they are received which may be up to 2 days earlier than the payer’s scheduled payment date…….Read More>>

Source:- moneycrashers

Share: