Best Checking Account With No Monthly Fee

How we picked the companies to evaluate:

NerdWallet took a close look at over 90 financial institutions in 2023, 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:

The winning account provider has a checking account with no monthly fee. If more than one provider charged no monthly fee, financial institutions were compared by category in the following order until one institution remained:
  • Overdraft fees.
  • Checking (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.
  • Banking experience.

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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