When it comes to managing and protecting your wealth, banking is an excellent (and nearly essential) option. It costs money, though. Major banks’ most popular checking and savings accounts charge a plethora of fees. A monthly service cost is one example of an inevitable one. Some, such as insufficient funds or overdraft fees, only become an issue when you waste money from your account.
If you bank frequently throughout your life, these fees can really add up. Fortunately, there are ways to sidestep a lot of these expenses. Even with the one you can’t escape, it’s still feasible to find the best deal by comparing accounts offered by other banks. A bank account provides a great deal of ease. It allows you to receive direct deposits from your paycheck and pay bills using an app that connects to your bank account online. Be wary of letting these perks rack up a mountain of unnecessary petty bank fees, though.
Account upkeep costs
This is the most basic type of banking fee. You can very well bet on paying a monthly fee for any type of bank account. Monthly fees can be as low as $4 and as high as $25. There are a number of factors, including the type of account, that determine the exact amount of the cost.
The monthly maintenance charge for a savings account, for instance, is usually substantially lower. This is because it was not made to handle a large volume of transactions on a monthly basis, such as online bill payments, direct transfers, or debit purchases. The basic idea behind a savings account is to put away a small amount of money each month and watch it grow.
On the other hand, you actually use a checking account on a daily basis. Most likely, this is the source of your automatic payments. It allows you to withdraw money from an ATM. A checking account typically has a higher monthly service cost.
Fees for ATMs
Using an ATM belonging to the same bank is usually free of charge. If you find yourself compelled to use a machine that isn’t your own, prepare to part with some cash. The machine’s parent company will probably charge you a couple of bucks to use it, and your own bank may throw in extra fees. Withdrawing $20 from some establishments can cost as much as $3 or $4.
Even if you use their locations, some banks still put a limit on how many times you can use an ATM per month. You will incur a fee if you exceed your allotted number of free transactions, such as 10 or 20.
Late payment fines
It is not hard to grasp the concept of overdraft fees. Your bank will probably pay the shortfall if your checking account goes negative. Of course, you’ll have to pay for the service.
Everyone is affected. You finally cashed the check you wrote out for your nephew’s birthday, or perhaps you overlooked its due date on the 15th. All of a sudden, the balance in your account is “-$4.67.” My mistake! Overdraft fees typically range from $35 to $50 each. In the event that you reconsider and attempt to use your debit card again, reusing it can result in additional costs.
Cost of Inadequate Funds (NSF)
There is a lot of overlap between overdraft fees and fees for inadequate or non-sufficient funds (NSF). They usually fall somewhere between $25 and $50, though this can vary by bank and account type. Your account balance will remain positive, unlike with an overdraft fee. You would only decline a debit purchase or other immediate activity, but your account typically incurs a nonsufficient fund (NSF) fee when you write a check that it cannot support. This also applies when an automatic payment becomes untraceable.
Overcharges for Transactions
Most accounts typically have a set transaction limit. The law sets a monthly withdrawal limit of six for savings accounts. Withdrawals of cash, online bill payments, and debit purchases are all examples of transactions that can exceed the limits set for even checking accounts. You can anticipate paying an additional $8 to $20 if you exceed these limits.
Costs of wire transfers
A wire transfer occurs when one bank account transfers funds to another bank account. On occasion, this is preferable to other methods of payment, such as sending a check, utilizing Venmo, or just handing over a large sum of money to a friend or relative. Sending funds to an international bank account is a common use case for wire transfers.
Fees for wire transfers can range from $10 to $50 on average. Regardless of the recipient’s distance or nation, there are more economical alternatives to sending money.
Fees for Non-Usage
The purpose of inactivity fees is just as described. After a certain amount of time has passed with no deposits or withdrawals, your bank may deem your account inactive and begin charging you extra fees. Typically, a year or six months is the bare minimum before they do this. These monthly inactivity costs might range from $10 to $20.
Card replacement costs
Almost everyone will experience the frustration of losing their bank card at some point in their lives. At some point, you will have to request a replacement debit and/or credit card due to theft, loss, or accidental destruction of the original. Unfortunately, there is usually a cost associated with these replacements. A new credit card might cost anywhere from $5 to $30 at most banks. If you need the new cards expedited, you can also expect to pay more.
Costs of Paper Statements
Nowadays, everything is done online! No longer will you receive paper statements detailing your accounts or be able to update your real bank book (remember those?). It’s likely that someone is paying you to keep getting paper statements. Sending physical copies to your address typically costs around $3 per account every month, according to banks.
Account Ending Costs
If you want to close your account with a certain bank, you could have to pay a fee. Thankfully, this often only affects accounts that are under six months old. This cost shouldn’t affect many people because it’s unusual to only require a bank account for a couple of months. But if you wind up having to pay it, it’s still $25 to $40.
We offer insurance for credit cards and foreign exchange charges
Although they aren’t the usual costs associated with a bank account, it’s important to keep them in mind. With the majority of credit cards, you can get balance protection. A monthly charge of a tiny portion of your amount covers a payment insurance plan. The insurance will begin paying out in the event that you become unexpectedly disabled, suffer a covered injury, or die. Your policy’s terms will determine whether it will pay off the majority of your balance, suspend payments and interest, or do neither.
Credit card costs can often include foreign exchange fees. Your credit card company will probably handle the currency conversion for you if you make an international purchase on their website. The convenience, though, will come at a price.
The final analysis
If you use bank accounts and other banking tools, managing your money will be a breeze. Without leaving your sofa, you may deposit your paycheck into your checking account, pay your bills online, and move the rest to a savings or investment account—all through your laptop or smartphone. We’ve made it easy as pie!
These services aren’t free, unfortunately. Banks earn billions of dollars annually by charging clients small amounts for practically everything. If you want to know what fees you’re paying, a fast audit of your bank accounts is worth it. If they are excessively high, you should look into other accounts or a different bank.
