Best totally free online checking account source?

[freescotland]

I want to set up an online checking account for my son that is free, no minimum balance and no hidden fees, or at least very minimal and transparent fees.

Any recommendations?

[tahoedrew]

Start here to compare rates: http://www.money-rates.com/checking.htm

~A

[onthedownlow]

http://www.ingdirect.com - Electric Orange

[dwayne_bradley]

BB&T has a free checking account with no minimum balance and no fees. You also get free online banking with bill pay, free mobile banking and a VISA checkcard. You can sign up for it online and it should only take about 10 minutes or so.

Including the link:

http://www.bbt.com

[graylocks]

don't know how old your son is. many banks will not do a checking account for a minor even if the parent is co:owner of the account.

Chase does have a High School Checking account that is free but it has to be linked to a parents Chase account. that's what my son has had since he was 15. my Chase account is free because i use direct deposit. the catch was that you had to open the HS Checking at a branch; you couldn't do it online. at least not in Georgia. this was 2 years ago so maybe things have changed.

when i checked locally, Wachovia (now Wells Fargo) would have allowed my son his own account at 16.

[Speedy]

Back in the good old days we had savings through school. Kids would deposit .$25 a week or even a dime. And I had a checking account when I was 11 to use for my paper route. Now they have to run a credit check on you...

[graylocks]

btw, if you can't find a checking account, VISA has a program called VisaBuxx. it's a pre-paid debit card that the parent deposits money into. the receiver can track their use online just like a checking account except there are no checks; all transactions are done by debit card. the parent can monitor usage and set withdrawal parameters. my son did this for a year before he was old enough for Chase High School checking. it was a useful tool for learning simple money management skills.

i think PayPal also has some sort of youth debit card like program.

[Michael]

graylocks wrote:
btw, if you can't find a checking account, VISA has a program called VisaBuxx. it's a pre-paid debit card that the parent deposits money into. the receiver can track their use online just like a checking account except there are no checks; all transactions are done by debit card. the parent can monitor usage and set withdrawal parameters.

We set up a VisaBuxx for our daughter when she was in high school. At that time, the Wachovia-branded version was the cheapest in terms of the various fees charged. The card worked very well for us.

[ztirffritz]

I like ING. But there no actual checks involved. It is entirely online electronic transactions. I have an acct with a local bank and transfer funds to it if I need an actual check. ING will also print and mail a check for free but it is slow. I like that I can transfer funds directly to a friend's account with their accct # and routing#. The higher interest rate is worth it though.

[wurm]

I guess it depends on how old your son is. Both my kids' first (and only as of right now) checking accounts are with BoA. There are local branches, no fees since they're still students. I think they had to pay for checks after the first batch, but they wanted particular ones anyway. http://www.bankofamerica.com/deposits/ch...ck_student