With the revolt against bank fees in the news, I thought it was a good time to highlight some no fee online checking account options. The great thing about online banks is that not only are their checking accounts free, but many of them even pay interest. For those that pay interest, online banks can generally beat traditional financial institutions big or small with higher rates because of lower costs. Online banks don’t need to maintain an expensive network of branches, and they can pass those savings on to consumers in the form of higher interest rates and lower fees.
To give you an idea of what’s available, I’ve put together this list of free and low cost online checking accounts. I’ll be adding to the list as interesting offers become available. What I like about these options, however, are the diversity in what is offered. As you’ll see below, for example, PerkStreet doesn’t pay any interest, but offers a cash back debit card and $50 sign-up bonus. EverBank pays one of the highest yields available for a checking account. Its rate is so high, it competes with rates for savings accounts and CDs. And ING Direct has no fees, pays interest, and offers a sign-up bonus.
So here’s the list, and if you know of other free checking account options, be sure to leave a comment.
Online Checking Accounts
FNBO Direct – The top pick for free checking accounts goes to FNBO Direct. With its Online BillPay Account, you not only get a free account, but one that pays interest. The interest rate is currently 0.70% APY. The account comes with a free Visa debit card. And you can even transfer money with a cell phone or e-mail account.
ING Direct – Well known for its Orange accounts, ING Direct offers an online interest bearing checking account. While its yields aren’t as high as EverBank (ING currently pays 0.20% APY for accounts under $50,000), it comes with an ATM MasterCard debit card, free ATM use and free bill pay. Having used an Orange savings account for years, I can personally attest to how easy it is to navigate around the ING Direct website.
PerkStreet Financial – This online checking account gets high marks for innovation. PerkStreet offers a no fee checking account, including free checks. It takes only $25 to open an account, and after that, there are no minimum balance requirements. So long as you use your account, there are no monthly maintenance fees. PerkStreet offers a large network of surcharge-free ATMs, free online banking and bill pay, and customer service 24/7.
One of the most unique features PerkStreet offers is a debit card with up to 5% cash back. Cash back rewards are typically reserved for credit cards. The PerkStreet Financial Visa® Debit Card is the only one we are aware of that offers cash back. Here are the details of the cash back offer:
- You’ll get up to 5% cash back when you make non-PIN purchases in popular categories. Each month we’ll announce these categories at http://blog.perkstreet.com and via our Facebook and Twitter pages.
- 2% cash back on all other non-PIN purchases on days when your Current Account Balance is $5,000 or more.
- 1% cash back on all other non PIN purchases on days when your Current Account Balance is less than $5,000.
You can find more details about this offer in our PerkStreet Review.
EverBank – If you are looking for a checking account that pays interest, EverBank is the answer. The EverBank interest rate on it’s checking account can go as high as 0.66% for big balances but you can see a full table of interest rates below. These rates are higher than many savings or money market accounts. You can also check out our EverBank Review.
EverBank’s interest rate also has another nice feature – the Yield Pledge guarantee. EverBank pledges that its checking account will yield within the top 5% of competitive accounts.
Ally Bank – Ally Bank has won award after award for low fees and customer service. With its checking account, there is no minimum balance required to open an account, no monthly maintenance fees, and free online banking and bill pay. And while some banks are charging to use their debit card, Ally’s debit MasterCard is still free. And there are no ATM fees at any ATM nationwide.
Note that all of the online checking accounts listed above are FDIC insured.
Published or updated January 18, 2012.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
This is a great article for the mass of people who will be moving from Citi once the new account fees go into effect, hopefully ING and the others don’t follow.
Stay away from:
1/ BoA,
2/ Citi
Mike, I’ve used Citi for about 20 years now. I’ve certainly had times when I was frustrated with them, but overall they’ve been a good bank. I don’t have much experience with BofA banking, although I do have one of their credit cards.
B of A still has a free checking account called ECHECKING, just avoid going to a teller and get your statement electronically to avoid the 8.95 fee.
I love ING! They are fantastic. I’ve never heard of the other bank.
ING is great. I’ve used their savings account for years, and really like how easy it is to navigate around the ING Direct website.
Sounds like banks are desperately trying to accumulate some funds to lend out. The US consumer is still on the ropes and unemployment remains high, but much higher than is reported in the media.
Unfortunately, Suntrust is going to be charging fees to small business accounts, so looking for bank with free business banking. My tiny company cannot afford monthly fees.
Becky, I like the Electric Orange account fro ING Direct. It pays interest and the website is very easy to use. Low fees, too.
I am looking for a checking account that I can have my SSI direct deposited to as well as have other moneys transferred to if need be, such as a personal loan or a wire. I am also very interested in trying to build my credit. I have never had a credit card and from what I have been told the way to build your credit is to have a credit card and make the monthly payments. I have applied for credit cards but they always want me to pay an activation fee plus deposit $500 before I can use it. If I had that kind of money I wouldn’t need a credit card. I don’t have the best credit due to my divorce and being the single mom of 4 kids, but if I could just get one chance to have a credit card that is unsecured or a loan that I could pay back then it would give me a fresh start and an opportunity to move forward and build my credit. I hope there is something that your bank can assist me with.
Thank You
Sincerely,
Debbi Romaniuk
Debbie, as for the checking account, any of the accounts here accept direct deposit. As for a credit card, sometimes a secured credit card is the only option when you have no credit or bad credit. As for an unsecured card with bad credit, I’d suggesting giving Orchard Bank credit cards a try. Good luck.
I like small banks,they will work with you more, but most bank will charge you a fee for something, like atm,late charge, low blance charge.
ING Direct gives you a $25 bonus for signing up with them …
Are any of these checking accounts available to non-US residents? Sometimes I find books and other things that are only available there and it would be good to have a US checking account for purchasing goods from stores that don’t accept Paypal or non-US credit cards.
We have found that both Ally Bank as well as ING are both offering some of the highest rates for standard checking deposit accounts. Although there are a few other banks that are now offering free accounts since BofA initiated their new fees on standard checking accounts.