Unlike savings accounts, checking accounts primarily give the users a place where they could make transfers, deposit funds, pay bills, write checks, rather than just store money. All the money that you put in your checking account is safe. We say so because your checking accounts are secured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for a maximum sum of $250,000 for every depositor. However, given the myriad options available for checking accounts, which one do you pick? Well, we’ll get there, but before that let’s understand what checking accounts really are.

What is a checking account?

It is a deposit-based account that is held by financial institutions, which allows both deposits and withdrawals.

How to pick the right checking account?

Before you open a checking account, it is advisable to be aware of all the options available. You must first know that not every checking account is the same, and similarly, your financial condition is not the same as those of others.

• Requisite balance every month
  What is the average amount that you desire to set aside every month toward your checking account? This factor plays a vital role in helping you pick the right checking account. Now, is this balance going to be consistent all through your life? Or would you have a humongous balance at a few intervals during the years? There are a few accounts that have a requirement of a certain minimum account, and that’s where a checking account brings in some marvelous perks. So, be aware of this before choosing your account type. 
• Fees
  Next, you need to know about the applicable fees on every account. If you can maintain a minimum balance on a monthly basis, you wouldn’t have to bear this fee. You can check if the account that you are interested in levies an additional amount for in-branch transactions and the debit transactions. You can also avoid some fees by allowing automatic deductions of payments related to the utility bills. Service charges can also be avoided via direct deposits. Thus, you need to know about your bank, as well as its fee structure. Your choice will determine whether you save a couple of dollars every month, or you lose unnecessary money on the fees.   
• Interest
  Although you might not get a lot of interest, there are certain checking accounts, which do pay a substantial amount of interest. So, those who wish to earn some more should know that this is your go-to technique for earning the surplus. You need to look for a bank, which not only gives you a place to manage your day-to-day transactions but also interest. The interest that you fetch is calculated on an everyday basis, and the banks will deposit the amount of interest directly into your checking account towards the month-end. 
• Convenience
  If you are somebody who enjoys a lot of personal interaction, then you should go for one that comes with a couple of branches of their bank. However, if that’s your least concern, then you could rather opt for a checking account with any online bank. The thing with online banks is that they do not have any physical location. However, that does not mean that they compromise in any way when it comes to giving you services. These banks come with the ease of mobile and interest banking via your debit cards. Please know that you do not get teller services for these accounts, but a lot of the online banks let you use the ATMs of different banks too. This not only makes the cash withdrawal cheaper but also very convenient.  

Now, all of the minimum requirements with regards to picking the right checking accounts have been put forth; let us discuss the several types of checking accounts that you can easily find with your banks. 

Types of checking accounts
Here are the various types of checking accounts a bank can offer:

• Regular
  First in our list of checking accounts is a simple and regular account that allows you to do everything that you normally would expect out of your checking account. So, in a regular account, you can both withdraw and deposit money via an ATM, pay the utility bills, write checks, and purchase anything using the debit card. For being a regular checking account holder, you might have to bear a small monthly fee. However, most banks usually tend to waive off this fee to nudge the account holders to maintain a minimum balance every month in their accounts. In a regular account, you might not get any interest on the balance, and even if you do get some interest, it will only be very little. So, the account holders who need some surplus income can opt for companion savings account along with a regular one. 
• Premium
  Those who have an amount equivalent to 5-figures or more in their checking account can consider opening a premium account. If you have such a massive amount in your checking account, you’ll not have to bear any fee. Furthermore, such a checking account comes with a multitude of perks, like the reimbursement of the ATM fee, interest on the balance, and free checks. Some of the banks will also offer you discounts on the services that you avail of your bank, like free financial assistance and a mortgage at a lower rate of interest. However, that in no way means that this premium account is the perfect choice for your checking account, even if it is easy for you to maintain the required minimum balance. Of course, the additional perks do sound amazing, but there are other options in checking accounts available that might work out better for you.  

For instance, what if you wish to avail of high interest on the surplus cash, and still assure that it is accessible to you during emergencies? Well, that wouldn’t be possible with your premium checking account. So, in this case, you can put your money in government bonds, money market account, or a Certificate of Deposit.  Usually, those people will want to keep a massive amount in the checking accounts who have humongous outflows regularly. It could include expenses, such as huge payments toward student loans, mortgage payments, insurance premiums, and tax payments. But as far as the perks like free advice and mortgages at reduced interest cost are concerned, you can get that easily with other institutions. So, even if you can cater to your required minimum balance, the premium account might not be the most suitable option for you.  

• Interest-bearing account
  In these checking accounts, you’ll get a small interest on your account balance every month. Few interest-bearing accounts get you a flat rate of interest, irrespective of the balance that you have in the account, while others fetch you more if you have a higher balance in your account. In all cases, the rate of interest will be lower than the rate of inflation. However, some banks do provide an interest rate, which is comparable to the interest paid by the savings account. So, yes, in these accounts, you have the dual benefit of both interest payments every month, along with the ability to make unlimited transactions. But if the fees on your interest-bearing account are exorbitantly high, then you should not opt for such a checking account. Always make it a point to see the kind of interest the checking account provides. You are certainly good with low or no interest if it means no fees.   
• Free account
  In the free checking account, you do not have to bear a recurring cost like a maintenance fee charged every month. Moreover, in these accounts, there’s no requirement as such for a minimum account balance for avoiding a fee. However, please understand that not every service that you get with your free account is 100% free. There are services for which you’ll have to bear a small fee. It would include check fees, ATM fees, overdraft payments, fees for a foreign transaction, or fees for stopping particular payments. Since you are availing the advantage of no fees on these accounts, you wouldn’t be getting any interest on them. However, there will be some free accounts that do offer a small interest. So, it is best to confirm this with your bank.   
• Low-balance account
  Lifeline checking account or the low-balance accounts are meant for the users who can just keep a smaller balance in their accounts but wish to avail abundant banking services. However, though the banks let you maintain a low or a zero balance, the bank will also want you to carry out a bunch of things that let it save some funds, such as receiving all your statements electronically only and drafting only a few checks every month. Please know that there will be a few Lifeline Checking accounts that wouldn’t give you the privilege of writing checks. So, in these accounts, you’ll only be allowed to make a debit card or online payments. Also, there are no overdraft privileges even though they allow you to make transactions that would make your account balance zero. However, if in any case, you try making a transaction that is even a dollar over the current balance in your account, the bank will instantly deny it.  
• Second-chance accounts
  If there’s been an instance when the bank shuts your past checking account possibly owing to a negative unpaid balance, and you want to start afresh, and have a checking account one more time, you can opt for a second-chance account. However, if it is your second-chance account, it naturally means the bank does not yet fully trust you. So, in this case, you’ll have to bear a fee every month. Also, your checking account will come with a bundle of restrictions that don’t apply to other people’s checking accounts. For instance, the overdraft facility does not apply to you. You can get a second-chance account in all states of the country through both credit unions and banks. Does this mean you’ll have to live through these restrictions all through your life? Well, not really. If you maintain your checking account well for a stipulated time, in most cases, a year, you’ll be again eligible to go with a regular account.

Now, a lot of you might be wondering, how would the bank find out that you did have one such checking account back in the day, which was closed? This works similar to the credit card. So, just like when you go for the credit card and the issuing agency performs a review of your credit history, the banks review your Early Warning Service and the ChexSystems report before you can start your checking account. In any case, the bank denies your application for the account, and you aren’t sure why this has happened, you could order the copies of the credit report of the bank, and then check the same for any errors.  

Irrespective of your financial condition, it wouldn’t be hard for you to find an adequate checking account to suit your needs. However, for this, you should not only meet the requisite requirements for opening an account, such as submission of all the documents but also must have a no history of any fraud.