Minimum to open interest-paying accounts soars
The average minimum deposit to open an account
and earn interest jumped a staggering 60 percent,
up from $615.41 a year ago to $986.19 in the current
survey. If you go back to 18 months ago, the average
minimum has more than doubled from the then $429.76.
After remaining steady for a number of years,
the opening balance has kicked into overdrive
since the spring 2006 survey.
Why? While you may be able to open
the account for a more modest sum, banks are raising
the threshold it takes to earn the stated rate
of interest. The number of banks increasing the
minimum outnumbered those decreasing it 17-to-12,
and those that increased it did so in an exponential
fashion. What results is a much higher initial
deposit to earn interest.
Minimum to open an interest account
Minimum to open noninterest account
slides
The average minimum deposit required to open a
noninterest account slid from $87.67 to $83.02
since last year. Although this is still the second
highest ever found in the survey, the amount has
always been a comparatively modest sum relative
to interest-bearing accounts. There weren't many
movers in this survey, with just 10 institutions
changing their requirement since the last survey.
2007 Checking Study 
