What Ever Happened to the Simple Checking Account?

Researching checking accounts on the Internet can be enough to make you long for a simpler time.

Appealing offers of $100 for opening a checking account are frequently sullied in the consumer's eyes by 10-15 paragraphs of barely coherent bank-speak. Required minimums and daily balances, direct deposits of certain amounts must be deposited by certain dates, and so on and so forth.

Suddenly, that $100 seems not worth the hassle. Suddenly, simplicity is your number one priority.

That $100 Is Nice if the Only Hassle Is the Bank-Speak

The good news about the various bank requirements to claim your $100 sign-up bonus or receive other perks like free checking is that many bank customers can meet the bank requirements with little or no change to their existing bank practices.

This is especially true of bank customers who are already using the "new age" bank functions such as direct deposit and online billpay. These are the two most common requirements for checking account perks.

If you already use direct deposit and online billpay, chances are that you won't have to change much in order to make the most of your new checking account. All you really have to do is go through the list of bank requirements, check them off one by one, and then open your new account.

The only non-simple thing is that initial evaluation.

That $100 Is Painful if You Have to Work for It

It is understandable why banks don't want to give you $100 or free checking without getting something in return; namely, the assurance that you are going to use this checking account and become a customer of that bank. Nevertheless:

If you have to continuously monitor whether or not you are meeting the requirements of your checking account, if you have to call customer service and haggle about fine print fees, if you have to think about your checking account more than you actually use your checking account....

Find a new checking account!

You didn't apply for a job. You applied for a checking account. There is--or at least should be--a difference.

Checking Account Simplicity Is a Cultural Thing

If simplicity is your chief value when it comes to choosing a checking account, make sure to consider the culture of the bank you're working with. Some banks are much more simplicity-friendly than others. Even from branch to branch, the focus on simplicity can vary substantially.

Find a bank that wants to make your checking life simple. Read through the agreement form. Look at other products it offers, such as money market accounts; are its money market account requirements clear and simple? Call customer service and ask a few questions. Search for customer reviews on the Internet.

Test your bank's commitment to simplicity and see if it matches your own.

Also consider whether or not you, as a customer, are contributing to the culture of simplicity you desire to inhabit. Keeping life simple for your bank helps ensure that you receive simplicity in return.

Source:

Simple Checking • Eagle Credit Union: http://www.eaglecreditunion.com/mainpage.php?PageName=Checking_Accounts

Comerica Sensible Stimulus • Comerica Bank: http://campaign.comerica.com/campaign/summer09?utm_source=vanityURL&utm_medium=SEMt&utm_campaign=Google-PPC-summer09&gclid=CJGG87DehZ0CFRkpawodgSz0aQ