Finding Free Checking

Last spring on my Suddenly Frugal blog, I asked the question, "Would you tank your bank over new fees?" For our family, the answer was, "Yes." Not only was the bank, where we'd held checking, savings, and investment accounts being taken over by another company, but that new company would, in essence, take away free banking.

This topic became top of my mind again last week when yet another bank announced it would start charging debit card users a monthly "activity fee." The Twittersphere lit up with people complaining about rising bank fees, and suddenly lots of people were considering tanking their bank over new fees.

Here's the good news: even though it seems like free banking is going the way of the horse and buggy, it turns out that plenty of financial institutions still offer free checking. A recent Bankrate.com survey showed that in most instances, you can qualify for free checking in lots of easy ways—keeping minimum balances, doing a certain number of transactions a month, using your debit card, getting your paycheck direct deposited, or receiving your bank statements electronically, to name a few "requirements."

I did some research in the past few days and uncovered a handful of local banks, credit unions, financial institutions, even insurance companies that will take your money—in a good way, of course—and not charge you extra fees for doing business with you. (Mint.com can help you track down free checking, too.) Here are some of the highlights of my research and the different kinds of "banks" out there still offering free checking:

Community Banks
In every state you're likely to find a local bank that holds onto its local customers by offering free checking in one form another. Also, with many community banks, because they do not have a nationwide network of ATMs that you can use, they will reimburse you for any ATM fees you incur when using other banks.

Regional Banks
Some regional banks are still offering free checking. If you sign up for a PNC checking account online (as opposed to visiting a branch) and use direct deposit, you'll get free checking. TD Bank also has a few free checking options, including an interest-bearing account for those over age 60.

Online/Virtual Banks
Ally Bank's interest checking offers free online banking, bill pay, debit card use, and unlimited check writing. ING Direct also offers free checking. At the ING Direct Cafes in a handful of cities, you can get a latte and do some on-site banking. Most online banks require scanning software on your computer or a mobile app on your phone to allow virtual check deposits. Otherwise, you have to mail them in. One virtual bank that offers free checking—USAA—allows customers to deposit checks at local UPS Stores.

Credit Unions
Bankrate did a credit union survey and found that 38 out of 50 of the nation's largest credit unions still offer free checking. This credit union locator tool is helpful for finding a credit union near you.

Insurance Companies
State Farm Bank is part of State Farm Insurance and has a mobile banking option that provide free checking. Like with the online banks, you'll need a scanner or mobile app to scan checks to deposit them, or you have to mail them in. Nonetheless, it is free checking.

The one commonality in many of these banks still offering free checking is this: like with the community banks, these financial institutions will reimburse their customers for any ATM surcharges they incur, simply because they don't have the vast ATM network that the big banks do. So in essence the bank pays you for being a loyal customer. I like that in a bank.