Which Bank Account Type is Right for You?

Choosing the best bank account for you should not be a hasty decision. Contrary to what many people believe, not all bank accounts are the same, and everyone’s needs are slightly different. Take a moment to think about how you bank. Is your income cycle weekly? Fortnightly? Monthly? How about your regular bill payments? Do you have direct debit arrangements? Spend some time considering the various transaction accounts available from banks like BB&T, and make a shortlist of the features you need, those that might be good but are not essential, and those you definitely don’t need or want right now. A few hints are listed below.

A Flexible Account

Try to think at least a year or two ahead. It’s difficult to predict what your needs might be in the future, so try to include as much foresight as possible in your planning. After all, you don’t want to have to change banks every time your situation changes – what a nightmare.

How Do You Bank?

Consider how you do your banking. Is it mostly in person, online, or by phone? Do you need a bank account with widespread branch access? If you need to run in to a branch with deposits of cash on a regular basis (for example if you run your own business), then you might require this feature. You may also need a chequebook. However, you may only be looking for a personal bank account, with loads of ATM access and no chequebook facility required. How do you pay most of your bills – online, by direct debit, or by credit card? Once again, take this sort of activity into account when looking into which bank account might be the right fit for you.

Security

Most people do a lot of banking online and identity theft and fraud is becoming a billion dollar international industry. What sort of protections are in place for the accounts you’re considering? What sorts of proofs are required when large amounts are taken out of your bank account? Do you need to confirm anything via email or SMS? If so, how easy or hard will this be for you to do? You don’t want to get stuck with late bill payments because you live or work in an area with poor mobile coverage, and your confirmation requests didn’t go through. On the other hand, you’ll want to know your transactions are as secure as possible.

Selecting the right type of bank account is not as simple a decision as it sounds. There are so many options that it can take a while to find the product with the features that best suit you. It can make a big difference to your stress levels and the ease with which you’re able to manage your finances if you can find an account that does everything you need easily and smoothly. After all, no one works just for the fun of it, and you want easy, ready, and safely secured access to the money you earn.

What are your criteria for selecting the right bank account? Share your wisdom in the comments box below.