More U.S. Banking questions

So ING is basically a great place to store your savings or investments, liquid or non..

But for regular day to day banking, I should have another bank to link to it.

P.S.

This is totally different from Canada because here, you can open an account with PC Financial that is basically… a bank.

They have a contract with CIBC (a major Canadian bank here), and I use CIBC ATMs for free, and get no fees with PC at all… etc. And PC offers investments, savings and a credit card.

I have never used any other bank other than PC as my personal bank ever since I turned 16 so I’m a bit like a banking virgin…

Hence all the questions.

Great!

So now for my next question: What are some good major U.S. banks I should be researching into?

I am looking for the following (basically, this is what I get with PC)

  • No fees paid on the account just to have it open
  • Free unlimited debits
  • No charge if I withdraw money from the bank’s own ATM machines
  • At least a $500 allowed withdrawal a day
  • Fast cheque clearing (less than 8 days, which is what I’m getting with my PC Bank right now.. ARRGH! Good thing I don’t get many cheques)
  • No minimum cash balance required
  • Online bill payment is possible and is free
  • Free cheques
  • No hidden fees
  • Anything else I should consider????????

The only major bank I know of in the States is Washington Mutual (being bought by Chase I hear) a.k.a. WaMu….

So, help again! And thanks in advance.. again 🙂

About the Author

Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver. I cleared $60,000 in 18 months earning $65,000 gross/year. Now I am self-employed, and you can read more about my story here, or visit my other blog: The Everyday Minimalist.