Bank Account Types : Free Checkings and Savings Account
Basically there are 2 types of bank accounts here in U.S.
- Checking Account ( No interest )
- Savings Account ( Small interest, say 1% )
There are different varieties of account within checking and savings. But during student life, checking account is more than enough.
Almost the banks ( local, national, credit union banks) offer free checking account.
Local Bank: Banks that will be located only within your state, or just in the town where your school is located.
National Banks: These banks will have branch almost all over the United States. To name a few,
- Bank of America
- Wells Fargo
- Chase
- Citi
- Sun Trust
Credit Unions: Lets talk about that later. Just say its a local community owned bank.
But, it depends on other factors like, how close is that bank to university campus. In some schools, only local bank will have ATM/Branch within the campus. National bank’s ATM/ Branch will be little far to do your banking needs.
In that case you can go ahead and open your account in local bank. If you have any national bank nearby, I strongly recommend to open the account with them.
Checking account doesn’t pay interest on your balance. Open Online Savings account and earn interest income.