The world of finance is ever-changing; the product that has probably changed the most is the checking account. According to our friends at NerdWallet, “Checking accounts are financial accounts that are used for day-to-day cash deposits and withdrawals. You can access your money with a debit card, through online transfers, or by writing checks.”
Most of us would agree writing checks has become a thing of the past, but back in the day, there were only two options to pay for groceries: you could pay with cash or write a check. With the advancement of payment options, such as debit cards and pay apps, paper checks are passe.
The good news is checking accounts are no longer simply associated with paper checks. Today, checking accounts are critical to your financial foundation.
Speaking of which, let’s start with the foundation. Typically, the first account you open at a credit union is a savings account. The savings account establishes membership to the credit union. For a nominal amount, which goes into your savings, you gain access to the portfolio of products and services of the credit union.
Usually, the second account opened is a checking account. When you open a checking account, you will get a few physical checks– these are called starter checks. You don’t need to use them, but if you do then you will want to order additional checks which can be ordered through your financial institution or online.
As NerdWallet mentioned earlier, the checking account is where your daily financial activity (or what we refer to as transactions) takes place. To put money into your checking account, you need to make a deposit. The most common form of deposit is from your paycheck.
There are two ways to deposit your paycheck into your checking account. One way is through direct deposit, which is when your employer electronically transmits your paycheck into your account. The second way to deposit your paycheck is with a physical check. You can take that physical check to your local branch to have it deposited, or, if you have mobile banking, you can deposit through Remote Deposit Capture (RDC). RDC is when you take photos of the check in the Triangle Credit Union mobile banking app and deposit the check without ever needing to step into the branch.
Once your checking account is funded, you can withdraw money from it to pay people or bills. You can also link payment apps, like Venmo, to your checking account. Triangle’s version of Venmo is PayItNow—but you can use whichever payment app you prefer.
When you use these apps, your checking account is debited for each payment transaction. You can view your account online or through your mobile device to monitor your transactions. You can also pay bills online which can be linked to your checking account—online bill payment is a huge time saver and super convenient.
Checking accounts come in all shapes and sizes so you really want to do your homework before you sign up for one. For example, some checking accounts earn a higher interest rate based on the balance in your account. At Triangle Credit Union, we offer two types of checking accounts: Basic and Better.
The Basic account is free and has some limitations in terms of how many checks you can write against the account per month; whereas the Better Checking account has a nominal fee with no restrictions of how many checks you can write, plus it offers you identity theft protection, fraud protection, AND cell phone protection if you have auto payment to your cell phone provider from your Better Checking.
New members can try Better Checking for FREE from now until the end of 2023!
While you may never write out a paper check, you should have a checking account that offers bill payment options, money transfers, and a debit card (at a minimum).
