9 Best Checking Accounts of October 2020

Chime is a mobile checking account that has no monthly fees, minimum balance requirements or overdraft fees, and you have access to more than 38,000 fee-free MoneyPass and Visa Alliance ATMs. Through Chime’s early direct deposit service, customers can get their paychecks up to two days earlier than through direct deposit at most banks.

The Radius Rewards Checking account gives customers two cash-earning benefits: an interest rate and cash back on spending. For the interest rate, if your balance hits $2,500, a 0.10% annual percentage yield kicks in. If you have $100,000 or more, the rate becomes 0.15% APY. For the cash-back benefit, customers can earn 1% on online and signature-based “credit” purchases with their debit card and an additional 0.50% on purchases made with certain merchant categories. Through Dec. 31, 2020, Radius Rewards Checking customers can earn an additional 0.5% cash back on special bonus categories.

It’s easy to apply for Alliant membership. Just agree to support an Alliant-affiliated nonprofit if you don’t meet the other criteria, and Alliant will make a $5 donation on your behalf. Once you open an account, you’ll have access to Alliant’s services, including more than 80,000 surcharge-free ATMs.

You’ll qualify for an annual percentage yield of 0.25% if you opt out of paper statements and have at least one electronic deposit made to your account each month, such as a direct, ATM or mobile deposit or a transfer from another financial institution. Alliant’s digital tools are a step ahead of those offered by other credit unions. Its mobile check-deposit feature, for instance, lets members make daily deposits of up to $50,000. The account also doesn’t charge a monthly fee.

Chase offers new customers who set up direct deposit a welcome bonus of $200 (expires 1/20/2021). You can avoid a $12 monthly maintenance fee by receiving at least $500 in direct deposits each month, keeping a minimum daily balance of $1,500 in your new checking account or maintaining an average daily balance of at least $5,000 across eligible Chase accounts and investments.

Rewards Checking has no minimum balance aside from a $50 balance required to open an account, and no monthly maintenance, overdraft or nonsufficient-funds fees. The account also has an annual percentage yield as high as 1.25%, depending on your account activity. To earn maximum interest, you’d need to have monthly direct deposits of $1,000 or more and use your debit card at least 15 times a month, with a minimum $3 purchase.

Simple's basic online checking account doesn't earn interest, but when customers open a Protected Goals subaccount, they have the opportunity to earn a solid interest rate. This high-yield checking account requires a few additional steps to earn the high APY: Customers have to set an official savings goal in their account and transfer any balance from a Simple Checking or Shared Account. Customers then earn 0.60% APY.

Like most checking accounts, Simple’s online account lets you sign up for direct deposit. But this online-only account’s handy budgeting tool, called Safe-to-Spend, really makes it stand out. It uses your monthly bills and savings goals to calculate how much you can afford to spend on nonessential expenses. Simple also lets you automatically save toward planned, recurring expenses, or planned splurges, and gives you access to more than 40,000 fee-free ATMs.

Varo’s checking account has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements, plus it doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees or fees to use its worldwide network of more than 55,000 Allpoint ATMs. Varo checking customers can receive their paychecks up to two days early with direct deposit, which is faster than most banks.

The Free Rewards Checking account offers an exceptionally high annual percentage yield of 2.09% for balances of up to $10,000, as long as you’re able to meet a few spending and online banking requirements. Jumping through some additional hoops will land you as much as 4.09% APY on balances of up to $10,000. If you can’t qualify for these rates, your APY will be 0.01%, and you won’t get unlimited ATM fee refunds.

Capital One 360 has no monthly fees or opening balance requirement and also pays a bit of interest just for having money in your account. The account also has a variety of options for how to handle overdrafts, including auto-decline, a free savings transfer or a grace period of one day to replace the funds that you’ve overdrawn.