Comparison Chart
Totally Free Checking
| Bank | Minimum Balance Required To Avoid Service Charges | Maximum Penalty For Failure To Maintain Minimum Balance (per month) |
Save Up To:^ (per year) |
| BancorpSouth | $800 | $8.00 | $96 |
| Amouth | $500 or $1,000 Avg. | $8.00 | $96 |
| Regions | $750 | $10.00 | $120 |
| Colonial | $500 | $7.00 | $84 |
| Suntrust | $500 or $1,500 avg. | $8.00 plus $0.20 per check/debit! | $221 |
| CB&T | $500 or $1,000 avg. | $7.00 plus $0.30 per debit! | $271 |
| Capital City | $500 or $1,000 avg. | $12.00 | $144 |
| Capital City | $800 or $1,500 avg. | $12.00 plus $0.30 per check!! | $288 |
| CharterBank's Totally Free Checking* | NO MINIMUMS | NO SERVICE CHARGES | Switch To CharterBank and Save Up To $288 or More! |
50+ Free Checking with Interest
| Bank | Qualifying Age | Interest | Other Requirements |
| BancorpSouth | 65 | Zero | |
| BancorpSouth | 50 | Yes | Must keep $500 minimum or pay $8.00! |
| AmSouth | 62 | Zero | Must keep $500 minimum or $1,000 average or pay $8.00, but low price checks are free! |
| AmSouth | 62 | Zero | Must pay $6.00 plus $0.50 per check over 8, but low cost checks are free! |
| Regions | 50 | Zero | Must keep a $750 minimum or pay $8.00! |
| Regions | 50 | Yes | Must keep $5,000 in low rate deposits or $20,000 in CDs or pay $15.00! |
| Colonial | 50 | Zero | |
| Colonial | 50 | Yes | Must keep $1,000 or pay $8.00! |
| Suntrust | 50 | Yes | Must keep $1,000 minimum or $2,500 average or pay $7.00! |
| Suntrust | 50 | No | Must keep $1,000 minimum or $2,500 average or pay $6.00! |
| CB&T | 50 | Yes | Must keep $50 minimum or $100 average or pay $1.00! |
| Capital City | 48 | No | Must have Electronic Funds Transfer. Must pay $5.00 per month to obtain cancelled checks! |
| CharterBank's 50+ Free Interest Checking | JUST 50! | YES! | NO STRINGS ATTACHED! |
* Customer purchases checks.
Offer good on personal accounts only. Minimum opening deposit is only $50.
^ Competitive pricing information was obtained directly from banks through diligent effort during the week of July 30,2001. For illustrative purposes, accounts with minimum balance requirements or no per check charges were assumed to average 40 checks per month; accounts without minimum balance requirements and with per check charges were assumed to average 20 checks per month. All accounts were assumed to have four teller transactions, four automatic teller machine withdrawals, four automated clearing house withdrawals,and four point of sale purchases. The price of checks was assumed to be $12 for 200. Some banks pay higher interest rates on larger balances; some banks allow minimum balance requirements to be met with alternative, linked, or combined balances. Some banks use interest forfeiture as an element of pricing; for those banks the minimum balance was assumed to be the point of interest forfeiture and the opportunity interest rate was assumed to be 2.00%. All accounts were assumed not to have direct deposit. Some banks may have introductory offers including first order of checks free or discounted; comparisons are for on-going costs. Prices shown are for the checking service, although some banks may include other services in their checking prices. Compared accounts are standard checking accounts (cancelled checks returned) without regulatory limitations on the number of checks which may be written. All savings figures are annualized.
