Financial bank accounts have become so common nowadays that most of us have them. In fact, almost all purchases, items, and services sold are made using a bank account instead of cash. This just goes to show how often it is that we’re using credit and other forms of cashless payment in the modern era. You could even take out loans that automatically deduct from your bank account or credit card. The convenience brought by these types of financial accounts has taken over the world by storm, and hard cash is being used less and less over the years. Because of that, there is also the rise of different types of bank accounts. 

It’s easy to get lost in the complications of them, as there really are varieties upon varieties per type of account. There are savings accounts that could be long-term, short-term, high-yield, and so many more. Multiply that with other different types of bank accounts (investment, certificates of deposit, credit cards) and bank companies, and you have a virtually endless stream of choices. In order to narrow that down, we’ll take a look at one of such bank accounts and explore what they could offer for your life. 

Checking accounts are one of them, and they could be very useful for you. Before diving deep into checking accounts, however, you should also keep in mind that there are promotions and features everywhere. Securing a checking account itself could give you avenues to save, such as availing a Citi Checking Account bonus. That way, you’d take advantage of the rewards from owning an account in the first place.

What are checking accounts?

Checking accounts are a type of financial bank account that lets you deposit, withdraw, and use your money for different transactions. Their main advantage and selling point is that they come with a checkbook and a debit card. You can use the checkbook to write checks, which could be used to get money in the bank. A debit card is more familiar to most of us, as it is basically a type of card that you could give at the counter of a shop to pay for things. You don’t need to bring all of your cash with you, as a debit card and a checking account would do the job in most scenarios.

What are the advantages of checking accounts?

The first advantage is the convenience factor. Since you don’t have to carry around a lot of cash, then you can easily bring everything you need in a wallet. Your debit card could also be used to withdraw money should you really need to, so there’s that. It’s also very convenient to simply use your debit card number to pay for things online instead of other methods. Another advantage of a checking account is that it’s highly secure. Your money is insured, meaning that should the bank go bankrupt, the government will pay you your base deposits. It’s also very hard to steal money from checking accounts. As compared to cash that others could simply snatch or take away from you, checking accounts have security measures that can withhold payment, require further authentication, or even call you to confirm payments in suspicious cases.

What are the types of checking accounts?

There are different types of checking accounts. However, there are two main ones that you should focus on. The first one was already discussed, which is a traditional checking account. The second type of checking account would be an interest-bearing checking account. The difference between the two is that the interest-bearing checking account will yield you more money than you’ve deposited over a period of time, but they also require a higher minimum account balance.