Are All Financial Institutions Alike? Do They Charge The Same Fees?
You can find wild differences in checking account charges and fees at two financial institutions next door to each other.
You can even find wild differences in checking accounts at one institution!
And it's hard to make "apple to apple" comparisons when it comes to things like checking accounts because there are literally hundreds of things to make one checking account different from another.
For instance, one account might give you unlimited "free" checking, but require you to keep a very high minimum balance. The bank next door might charge a dime a check, but won't require a high minimum balance.
- If you write tons of checks, the first bank might make sense.
- If you don't write many checks, the second bank might make sense.
For instance, some banks charge for using your ATM and/or debit card, others don't.
Since you'll probably be using those cards a lot, why choose an institution with high fees?