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mobile banking Access your money & bank almost anywhere with our top-rated mobile app. No fees to open, keep & use so your money stays where it belongs—with you. 70,000 + fee-free ATMs in more places where you already shop. Checking at your fingertips  Keep your checking account secure Misplaced your debit card? No sweat—you can lock (and unlock) it from our mobile app. 360 Checking Account BenefitsBank securelyYour online checking account is safe with FDIC insurance and fraud coverage. Get paid earlyAccess your money up to 2 days sooner than payday with early paycheck. Get help in personVisit our branches & Cafés to bank with our friendly Ambassadors. Move money easilyGet your money on its way—pay bills online or send cash with Zelle®. Find an ATM or Capital One location near you.When you need us, we’ll be there. Visit a Capital One ATM or branch near you or experience Banking Reimagined® at a Capital One Café. Enter a location near you FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS - 360 CheckingWhat is an online checking account? 360 Checking is a checking account that comes with everything you need and without everything you don’t. Pay your bills, get cash, make deposits, and transfer money–all without monthly fees and extra trips to the bank. You can open a checking account online and manage your account securely by signing in on your phone or computer, instead of waiting for the bank to open first. And if you ever need help with your account, a real person is just a phone call away. There are no fees to open, keep or use your Capital One 360 Checking account, or for foreign transactions. But let’s be totally upfront here: There may be some things you want or need to do with your account that will result in charges. If you request overnight check delivery or overnight delivery of a replacement card or request a stop payment, you may be charged a fee for these extra services. What if I overdraw my account? You have several options to choose from: Auto-Decline, Free Transfer and No-Fee Overdraft.
Learn more about all of your options. How do I earn interest with a checking account? It’s easy—you’ll earn interest just by having money in your account. As of 10/24/2022, if your online checking account balance is $49,999.99 or less, you'll earn an annual percentage yield (APY) of NaN. If your balance is between $50,000–$99,999.99, you'll earn a NaN APY on your entire balance, and if your balance is $100,000 or more you'll earn a NaN APY on your entire balance. Manage your money like a bossarticle | May 18, 2022 | 5 min read article | September 28, 2022 | 5 min read article | April 13, 2022 | 5 min read Best No-Fee Checking AccountsWe’ve compared 157 checking accounts at 66 nationally available banks and credit unions to find some of the best accounts available. Read on to learn more about why we picked each account, the pros and cons, and to access individual bank reviews. Annual percentage yields (APYs) and account details are accurate as of Sept. 30, 2022. FEATURED PARTNER OFFER Axos Bank Rewards CheckingAnnual Percentage YieldUp to 1.25% on balances up to $50,000 Minimum Deposit RequirementMonthly Maintenance FeeAnnual Percentage YieldUp to 1.25% on balances up to $50,000 Minimum Deposit RequirementMonthly Maintenance FeeWhy We Picked It The Axos Bank Rewards Checking account offers a winning combination of features: Not only can you expect no monthly maintenance fee and no minimum balance requirement, but the bank also provides unlimited reimbursements for domestic out-of-network ATM charges and does not charge a non-sufficient funds fee for overdrafts. However, if you do not link a savings or money market account to your Rewards Checking account to cover overdrafts, they will be covered by an overdraft line of credit, which is not exactly free (see Details). The Rewards Checking account pays up to 1.25% APY, which outstrips many interest-bearing checking accounts. Note that Axos has several rewards tiers, each requiring certain transaction or direct deposit qualifications within a statement cycle. You can open an account with $50, and there is no minimum balance requirement for either earning interest or maintaining a fee-free account. Read our full Axos Bank Review. Pros & Cons
Details Axos Rewards Checking account holders who do not link an Axos savings account or money market account to handle overdrafts will receive an overdraft line of credit. There is no annual fee for this line of credit, but you will be charged 18.00% APR from the date of the overdraft until it is paid. There is a $25 fee if you are 10 days late after the due date to repay the overdraft line of credit, and unpaid balances will start accruing a penalty APR of 23.90% after 45 days past due. The Rewards Checking account offers five rewards tiers that allow account holders to earn up to 1.25% APY on balances of $50,000 or less. Balances greater than $50,000 will not earn interest. In order to achieve the highest APY offered, the following requirements must be met:
Axos compounds interest daily and credits it monthly. FEATURED PARTNER OFFER PenFed Credit Union Access America CheckingAnnual Percentage Yield0.15% to 0.35% on balances up to $50,000 Minimum Deposit RequirementMonthly Maintenance FeeAnnual Percentage Yield0.15% to 0.35% on balances up to $50,000 Minimum Deposit RequirementMonthly Maintenance FeeWhy We Picked It Though PenFed’s Access America Checking account has a monthly maintenance fee of $10, the credit union makes this fee easy to avoid. If you either set up at least $500 in monthly direct deposits or maintain a daily balance of at least $500, then your account is maintenance-fee free. Additionally, account holders have access to more than 85,000 surcharge-free Allpoint and CO-OP ATMs, many of them within several common retailers, such as Target, CVS Pharmacy and Safeway, among others. PenFed also charges no fees for U.S. out-of-network ATM usage, although you will still be subject to any third-party fees those ATMs charge, and PenFed does not offer reimbursements. You will receive your first 50 checks for no charge from PenFed, and additional checks cost $5 for 50. The credit union offers a fee-free overdraft line of credit to Access America Checking account holders. This line of credit provides $300 or more in overdraft protection, with a fixed 17.99% APR. There is no fee for the line of credit or for individual overdrafts.When an incoming payment bounces, PenFed charges a $30 non-sufficient funds fee, or a $10 uncollected funds fee if the money is in the payer’s account but is on hold. PenFed also offers a decent APY of either 0.15% or 0.35% for checking account dividends (the credit union term for yield) that are compounded daily and credited monthly. Account balances of between $20,000 and $50,000 earn the higher APY. You can open an account with a $25 minimum opening deposit. Read our full PenFed Credit Union Review. Pros & Cons
Details The yields earned on credit union accounts are referred to as dividends rather than interest. PenFed’s dividends are compounded daily and credited to your account monthly. To receive dividends, you must have recurring direct deposits of $500 or more, on a daily balance of up to $50,000. Amounts over $50,000 don’t earn dividends. PenFed charges a $10 monthly maintenance fee that can be waived by either maintaining a minimum $500 daily balance or receiving at least $500 in monthly direct deposits. To join PenFed, you must open a savings account and deposit at least $5. You can’t access the checking account without also having a PenFed savings account. The overdraft line of credit is subject to credit approval. After opening an Access America Checking account, there is a waiting period of three business days before you can receive an overdraft line of credit advance. FEATURED PARTNER OFFER Discover Cashback Debit CheckingAnnual Percentage YieldNone but earn 1% cash back on up to $3,000 in debit card purchases each month. Minimum Deposit RequirementMonthly Maintenance FeeAnnual Percentage YieldNone but earn 1% cash back on up to $3,000 in debit card purchases each month. Minimum Deposit RequirementMonthly Maintenance FeeWhy We Picked It Discover Cashback Debit Checking has no monthly maintenance fee—and no minimum balance or activity requirement to maintain a fee-free account. Additionally, customers can access more than 60,000 surcharge-free ATMs across the country. Standard checks, official bank checks and a replacement debit card are provided at no charge. There’s also no charge for expedited delivery of a replacement debit card or standard or official bank checks. Stop payment orders are free as well. There is no non-sufficient funds fee for overdrafts even if you sign up for the option overdraft protection (see Details). There is no deposited item return fee if a payment you receive from a third party bounces. In addition to largely lacking fees, Discover also offers a flexible rewards structure: Account holders receive 1% cash back on up to $3,000 per month of eligible purchases using the Discover Bank debit card. Read our full Discover Bank review. Pros & Cons
Details Discover offers optional overdraft protection by linking a second Discover account to your checking account to fund any overdrafts, other than those caused by an ATM withdrawal or POS debit transaction. Those will simply be declined if there are insufficient funds. Without this protection, or if you have insufficient funds in your secondary account, the bank will simply decline or return transactions that overdraw your account. Discover does not charge an out-of-network ATM fee, but you may be subject to a third-party fee, which will not be reimbursed. FEATURED PARTNER OFFER nbkc bank Everything AccountAnnual Percentage YieldMinimum Deposit RequirementMonthly Maintenance FeeAnnual Percentage YieldMinimum Deposit RequirementMonthly Maintenance FeeWhy We Picked It This bank based in the Kansas City area (where the “kc” part of the name comes from) offers customers a low-fee checking experience with its Everything Account. There is no monthly maintenance fee and no minimum monthly balance or activity requirement. Everything Account holders also get access to more than 37,000 fee-free ATMs in the MoneyPass network, and nbkc will reimburse up to $12 of U.S. out-of-network ATM fees per month. Nbkc bank charges no fees for overdrafts, returned items, cashier’s checks, money orders, stop payments or foreign transactions. The account comes with optional overdraft protection, which requires you to link a money market savings account to your Everything Account. If you overdraw your checking account, the bank will automatically transfer funds from your money market savings account to cover the overdraft, at no charge to you. Another benefit is nbkc’s low outgoing domestic wire fee of $5—although the fee for outgoing or incoming international wires is $45. As a nice added bonus, you earn 1.01% APY without having to meet any qualifications and with no minimum balance. Read our full nbkc bank Review. Pros & Cons
Details Interest is compounded daily and credited monthly. FEATURED PARTNER OFFER TIAA Bank Yield Pledge CheckingAnnual Percentage YieldMinimum Deposit RequirementMonthly Maintenance FeeAnnual Percentage YieldMinimum Deposit RequirementMonthly Maintenance FeeWhy We Picked It TIAA Bank offers its checking account holders a Yield Pledge, which guarantees that the interest rate you earn will be among the top 5% of competitive accounts (see Details). At this time, that means you can expect an APY of 0.10%, compounded daily and credited monthly. The Yield Pledge Checking account comes with no monthly maintenance fees, carries no minimum balance or monthly activity requirements, and replacement debit cards are complimentary. But there are fees for wire transfers, stop payments and official checks. Customers can access a network of more than 55,000 surcharge-free Allpoint ATMs or a network of more than 37,000 surcharge-free MoneyPass ATMs using their free TIAA debit card. The bank will also reimburse up to $15 worth of U.S. out-of-network ATM fees monthly for all Yield Pledge Checking account holders, and will reimburse an unlimited number of those fees for account holders who maintain a minimum average daily balance of $5,000. Expect zero non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees with this account, no matter how you choose to handle overdraft protection. If you don’t opt for protection, the bank will simply decline transactions that would overdraw your account. With the optional overdraft protection, you can link another TIAA Bank account that will transfer sufficient funds to your Yield Pledge Checking account to cover any overdrafts. There is no fee for this service. Read our full TIAA Bank Review. Pros & Cons
Details TIAA Bank’s Yield Pledge promise guarantees that interest rates on its accounts stay within the top 5% of “competitive accounts” based on accounts from the 10 largest banks and thrifts in 10 large U.S. markets. Though TIAA Bank charges no typical monthly fees, customers can expect fees ranging from $25 to $65 for domestic and international wire transfers, depending on the location, currency and whether or not there is a currency exchange. The account also comes with a $25 stop payment fee, a $10 returned item fee and a $10 official check fee. Summary: Best No-Fee Checking AccountsMethodologyThe accounts on this list keep fees to a minimum overall. These accounts don’t charge a monthly maintenance fee or they provide the ability to waive the monthly fee easily. They also keep non-sufficient funds, overdraft and third-party ATM fees to a minimum, if they charge them at all. To create a list of the best no-fee checking accounts, Forbes Advisor analyzed 157 checking accounts at 66 financial institutions, including a mix of traditional brick-and-mortar banks, online banks and credit unions. We ranked each account on 17 data points within the categories of customer experience, digital experience, fees, access and minimum requirements. The following is the weighting assigned to each category for no-fee checking accounts:
Specific characteristics taken into consideration within each category included monthly fee, ability to waive the monthly fee, overdraft fee, non-sufficient funds fee, ATM fees, minimum deposit requirements and minimum balance requirements. We also considered customer service ratings, mobile access, online access, mobile app ratings and the national availability of the account. Checking accounts offering no or very low fees and low minimum requirements scored the highest, as did those with high ratings from the Better Business Bureau and Trustpilot. To appear on this list, the checking account must be nationally available. What Is a No-Fee Checking Account?“No-fee checking” often refers to a checking account that doesn’t have monthly maintenance fees. However, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says an account promoted as “free” or “no cost” cannot charge maintenance fees or two other types:
Still, the bureau points out that a “no-fee checking account” might charge other fees, including:
Common Checking Account FeesDepending on which institution you bank with, your checking account fees may include monthly maintenance fees, minimum balance fees, overdraft fees and ATM fees. On top of those typical fees, banks and credit unions may also charge customers for debit cards, additional checks, wire transfers, returned deposits and stopped payments. Since fees can take a big bite out of your finances, banking customers seek an account whose fee schedule fits with their banking needs and habits. How to Choose a No-Fee Checking AccountA number of factors go into choosing a no-fee checking account. Here are some of the questions you should ask before opening an account. What Is the Financial Institution’s Definition of a “No-Fee Checking Account”?A bank or credit union must disclose any fees for a checking account when you open it. Go over the bank’s or credit union’s fee schedule to see whether, for instance, monthly maintenance fees are not charged but ATM fees are charged. How Much Are the Other Fees?If a bank or credit union skips fees that allow a checking account to be considered no-fee, how much are the other fees (such as ATM fees)? Account fees can quickly add up, so you should aim for a no-fee checking account with the fewest fees possible. A financial institution can’t charge a fee that’s higher than you’ve been told, but it can raise fees as long as it informs you that its fees are changing. This notification must be sent to you in writing at least 30 days before the fee hike takes effect. Federal law doesn’t dictate the dollar amounts for checking account fees. What Are the Requirements for Getting a No-Fee Account?In some cases, a bank will not charge monthly maintenance fees or other fees, but only if you meet certain requirements. These may include:
Does the Checking Account Pay Interest?A no-fee checking account that pays interest might be more appealing than a no-fee checking account that doesn’t pay interest. As of Sept. 19, 2022, the typical interest rate for an interest-earning checking account was 0.04%. However, some high-yield accounts offer rates of 1% or more. How Is the Bank’s Customer Service?Sure, a no-fee checking account could save you some money, but those savings may mean nothing if the bank or credit union has poor customer service. Before opening an account, check Trustpilot or the Better Business Bureau’s website to find out about the institution’s reputation. How to Open a No-Fee Checking AccountHere are the steps you typically need to take to open a no-fee checking account:
Bottom LineNo-fee checking accounts don’t charge certain fees, such as monthly maintenance fees. But the best no-fee checking accounts do away with other charges, such as ATM fees and overdraft fees, and they provide attractive features like the ability to earn interest. Featured partnersFrequently Asked Questions (FAQs)Do banks require any minimums to avoid checking account fees?This requirement varies. Some banks and credit unions will ask checking account holders to either maintain a minimum balance or meet certain activity requirements each statement period to have their monthly maintenance fee waived. Make sure you understand how the fee schedule works and the requirements to avoid the monthly maintenance fee. What are non-sufficient funds, or NSF, fees?Non-sufficient funds fees are triggered when the amount of outgoing money from your checking account transactions exceeds the amount of money in your account. In that case, you don’t have sufficient funds to cover all of your transactions. Many financial institutions charge account holders an NSF fee when they overdraw their account. These fees cost an average of nearly $25 for each overdraft, and many banks will issue as many as three per day if there are multiple overdrafts. Even if you have overdraft protection from your bank, confirm whether using it will trigger an NSF fee, since many institutions charge these fees even if they offer protection against overdraft. Which banks offer no-fee checking?In many cases, banks that offer no-fee checking are online-only banks, small banks or credit unions. Axos Bank, Discover and PenFed Credit Union offer three of the best no-fee checking accounts. What is FDIC insurance?The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) offers banking customers protection against bank failure. Specifically, the FDIC insured deposits of up to $250,000 per depositor, for each account ownership category, per insured bank. Should an insured bank fail and be unable to repay its customers’ deposits, your money will be protected. Similar protection is provided by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) for deposits in federally chartered and most state-chartered credit unions. Next Up In BankingInformation provided on Forbes Advisor is for educational purposes only. Your financial situation is unique and the products and services we review may not be right for your circumstances. We do not offer financial advice, advisory or brokerage services, nor do we recommend or advise individuals or to buy or sell particular stocks or securities. Performance information may have changed since the time of publication. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Forbes Advisor adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. To the best of our knowledge, all content is accurate as of the date posted, though offers contained herein may no longer be available. The opinions expressed are the author’s alone and have not been provided, approved, or otherwise endorsed by our partners. |
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