A Fee Free Checking Account is Getting Harder to Find
A free checking account has become much harder to find as “all” the new banking regulations have come into effect as of Oct.1st of this year, leaving fee weary consumers wondering where and when all the new fees being instituted will stop. Once upon a time the “big” national banks vied for consumers to open a free checking account with their branch and even rewarded you with free money, typically $50.00 or $100.00 dollars just for doing so.
Those days have long since passed unfortunately and the number of banks still offering free checking has dwindled down significantly in numbers, but alas there are still some alternatives for bank customers seeking fee free checking and debit card accounts for those who are willing to make the switch. Below is a list of the banks who currently are still offering a free checking account to its customers:
*As this list is ever changing please verify the information below is still accurate before making any changes or decisions on your bank account.* Updated in Oct. 2011
- Ameris Bank – Branches located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, & South Carolina.
- First Bancorp – Branches located in North Carolina, South Carolina, & Virginia.
- Hudson City – Branches located in Connecticut, New Jersey, & New York
- M&T Bank – Branches located in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia.
- PNC Bank – Branches located in Branches in Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. (Have ATMs in most other major U.S. cities).
- RBC Bank – Branches located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.
- Union Bank – Branches located in California, Oregon, and Washington.
- United Central Bank – Branches located in California, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Texas, and Virginia.
- Washington Trust – Branches located in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
- Fulton Bank & Affiliates – This is a network of banks which are effectively operated as one bank (customers may utilize any branch, and all banks offer identical banking products): FNB Bank, Fulton Bank, Lafayette Ambassador Bank, Skylands Community Bank, Swineford National Bank, The Bank, and The Columbia Bank. * The branches are located in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. *
Another alternative to paying for your checking and debit card use is to bank with your local community bank or credit union. Nearly all of your smaller community banks (banks with less than $50 billion in assets) are still offering a free checking account and have not instituted any fees for debit card use, as is the case with credit unions.
There are other advantages these banks are offering besides fee free checking account and debit cards; community banks and credit unions often have lower interest rates on their loan products, higher rates of interest returns on CD’s and savings accounts as well as other banking products. However, because these are community based banks consumers will have to give up the convenience of having a branch available to them when traveling for business or pleasure. For consumers who travel frequently and need bank services for business or pleasure this type of bank may not be a viable option for you.