| Checking study: A detailed look
at the results |
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Fee to use a
non-bank ATM
If there is one bright spot in the world of ATM fees, it is this:
The average fee your bank charges to use another bank's ATM dropped
from $1.37 to $1.29. This is the first decline seen in two years
as the percentage of accounts charging such fees fell to a new low
of 81 percent.
Annualized cost
of ATM transaction fees
The good news of fewer banks charging for withdrawals at other banks
outweighed those banks' decisions to increase the hit to nonaccount
holders. As a result, the total estimated annual cost to consumers
of withdrawals from ATMs belonging to other banks retreated. Using
General Accounting Office data on the number of ATMs and transaction
volume, Bankrate.com estimates consumers will pay a total of $4.2
billion for such withdrawals in 2006.
Internet
banks
For comparison, Bankrate.com looked at a sampling of checking accounts
offered by Internet banks. Here is a look at how they stack up against
what is available at your local bank. Because interest checking
accounts are offered by each of the Internet banks surveyed, and
because of the limited number of noninterest accounts they offer,
the focus of comparison will be on interest checking accounts where
the starkest contrasts exist.
Minimum to open
The trend of higher opening requirements in order to earn interest
and very modest initial sums for noninterest accounts holds, whether
online or offline. The average amount required to open an account
and earn interest is $429 at traditional banks and $605 at Internet
banks. On noninterest checking accounts, the minimum deposit required
is $72 and $83, respectively.
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