checking account

Banks use various methods to calculate average bank balances, which figure in whether consumers get charged a checking account fee.

But all of those methods keep consumers in the dark.

As the battle is joined over fees, the big banks want to make you pay, and the most aggressive of the little institutions want to pay you.

It's been years since consumers have had to worry about checking fees. Most banks have offered free checking, but that may soon change.

A head-to-head-to-head challenge between Chase, a high-yield credit union checking account and an online account from PerkStreet.

Sallie Mae is getting into the retail banking business and just announced an online checking account and online certificates of deposit.

The New York attorney general came to an agreement with Citibank that will allow its EZ checking account to remain free for another year.

Incentives of $100 or more are being offered to open accounts and bring in new business. But budget-conscious consumers should make note of the requirements.

Comments on this week's Your Money column, about whether banks will start charging for checking accounts and whether we should all be paying.

In a digital age, banks still operate under old laws on how quickly they credit accounts when consumers make deposits.

Can procedures be speeded up?

A checking account, an income tax return, a credit card bill or even an eBay listing can hold information that suggests someone is straying.