9/21/2022
No matter where you look at it, most US bank accounts can also include some of those fees that we don't want to pay. When you contract savings or checking accounts, you have to be alert about the costs that certain operations imply. Therefore, we will break down some of the most common charges.
If we take the most used accounts as a reference, such as checking and savings, a large part of traditional banking is known for the following fees:
Monthly Maintenance Fee
It is a usual charge for the institution to manage your account. Generally, it is a fixed monthly cost that can range from a few dollars to $20 or more, depending on the bank and the account type.
The easy way to avoid it is by meeting certain requirements, such as automatically depositing a check monthly or having a high balance. If you are thinking of changing entities, consider this in your comparisons and remember that online banks do not usually apply this charge.
Savings account with a
high yield of 4.65% APY, with no monthly service fee, that you can open from a minimum amount of $100.
Fee free online account with interest payments of
up to 3.30% APY and a $300 gift for new customers who sign up for the Rewards Checking Account.
Online interest-bearing checking account with a minimum of
0.10% APY and no fees, with free debit card, free online transfers and use of ATMs without charges.
Savings account with a profitability well above the average, with total availability of your money and with the possibility of requesting an ATM card to withdraw money.
Money market account with a higher profitability than savings accounts, with total availability of your money through checks and transfers.
Paper Statement Fee
Something that in the past seemed inconceivable, is now more frequent in different institutions that "punish" the use of paper. To view a physical statement, the fee is typically $2 to $3.
In this case, you can choose to receive your balances online to avoid it and print them at home if you want to have a backup. In addition, you can choose not to receive them in the mail as a security measure against identity theft.
Escheat Fee
Also known as “Escheat Fee”, it is applied when you do not have any type of movement or interaction with the bank account in a certain period. Depending on the financial institution, it could be between 1 to 2 years. Before the funds are transferred to the US Treasury, they will usually take about $50 USD from you.
The recommendations to avoid suffering from it are simple: check the emails that the bank sends you, connect to your account regularly, enroll services and write checks from time to time. Otherwise, you can close the account if you are not going to use it anymore.
Overdraft Fee
The overdraft fee is often considered an abusive practice by banks because it harms those with fewer resources. It happens when you try to withdraw or pay from your account an amount greater than what you have available. For example, making a $100 trade with $75 USD available.
This little slip can cost you $35 and even more. There are banks that can charge you a fee if you take too long (5 days or more) to have funds, which can be $7 a day and up to $98 in addition to the overdraft surcharge.
To avoid this, you must decline this charge when you contract a bank account, since the entity must ask you if you accept it or not.
Transfer Cost
When we want to send money from our checking account to an account at another bank, whether national or foreign, it is likely that we will have to pay a charge for the operation, especially if we order it from a branch window.
This operation can be cheaper if we order it through the Internet, using the online banking service of our financial institution, even becoming free by this means.
Charge for card replacement
The instruments associated with your account may also be the subject of a service billed by the bank. This usually happens when you want to change a debit card that has not yet expired.
The cost is not the replacement itself, but the payment for receiving it urgently. It can cost you $5 to $10 to get a new one and $15 to $25 to get it the next day (rush delivery or expedited shipping). If your card is lost or stolen, there is no choice but to pay the replacement fee.
Returned Check Fee
This charge works in the same way as the overdraft fee, being applied when you do not have enough funds. This commonly happens with bounced checks, for which you have to pay up to $35 USD each time it happens to you.
To avoid these fees, we advise you to use a low balance alert program in your bank app and keep a detailed record of the expense ratio of your checkbook balance.
Charge for use of online banking
Although in the Internet age it may seem incredible that we still have to pay to access our bank account through the network, there are still quite a few entities today that apply this fee if you want to be able to operate online.
Fee for account closure
In popular culture, people joke about the difficulty of closing an account, but it is not a true portrayal of reality. In fact, it should be a painless process if you have had a long relationship with the entity you are thinking of leaving.
When you barely have 90 to 180 days of having contracted the product, you can apply a fee of about $25 dollars. This charge was created to discourage people from taking advantage of the well-known bonuses for being a new customer. To avoid having to pay it, extend the relationship beyond the time mentioned and then withdraw.
Although these are the most frequent bank fees, it is possible that the entity has some others up its sleeve that you should take care of. If you are not satisfied with the care you receive now, you will always have the option to change institutions.
As specialists in healthy finances and the comparison strategy, at Busconómico we can help you find products with less commissions on bank accounts. Visit us without obligation to check it out.
Español: Comisiones habituales de las cuentas bancarias en USA