Best Checking Account Overall

How we picked the companies to evaluate:

We evaluated over 90 financial institutions, including the largest U.S. retail banks based on assets and internet search traffic; the nation’s largest credit unions, based on assets and membership; and other notable and/or emerging players in the industry. We rated them on criteria including annual percentage yields, minimum balances, fees, digital experience and more. Some of the providers are NerdWallet partners, but this did not influence our selection of the winner.

How we chose the winner:

When a financial institution offered multiple checking accounts, NerdWallet based its evaluation on the account that made the most sense for the most consumers, primarily based on cost. We rated checking account providers on the following factors: monthly fees (contributed to 45% of the rating), domestic ATMs (28.2%), interest rate (13.2%), required minimum opening deposit (3.6%) and the Overdraft category’s star rating (10%). Also, up to 15% extra credit was given for a sign-up bonus. In case of a tie, financial institutions were compared by category in the following order until one institution remained:
  • Overdraft fees.
  • Banking experience, including factors like ease of website use, branch availability, customer service hours, chat support, mobile app ratings and regulatory penalties.
  • Monthly fee.
  • ATM access.
  • Checking or spending account interest rate.
  • Minimum opening deposit.

How we verified our data:

NerdWallet writers and editors confirmed fees, rates, policies and other key features on each financial institution’s website. If an institution’s website was missing information, we contacted a representative directly for confirmation.

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