No Fee Checking Account Chase

You are often in America or planning a move and want to open a bank account in the USA? This guide explains what you need to consider and helps you choose the right bank. Close Open Table of Contents

Open a US bank account: Who is it worth it for?

If you travel to America regularly or stay in the United States for a longer period of time, it is worthwhile to open a bank account in the USA. This will save you, for example, credit card fees for foreign transactions and fees for international transfers. In general, opening a US bank account is recommended for the following people:

Entrepreneurs who regularly work in the U.S.
pupils, students and au pairs in the USA
recent green card holders who are in the process of moving their center of life to the United States
Individuals who travel frequently to the U.S.

The main banks in the USA

If you want to open a bank account in the US, you can choose from a huge selection of financial institutions. The U.S. banking system includes four major national banks, ten major regional banks, and over 5,000 local credit unions. Especially if you are new to the States, we recommend that you open your first US bank account at one of the established national banks. These offer many advantages, such as a large branch network and experience in advising international customers. The “Big Four Banks” of the United States are:

1st place: JPMorgan & Chase

According to the business magazine Forbes, the New York City-based bank JPMorgan & Chase is the most important in the United States. The world’s third-largest company listed on a stock exchange could boast total assets of more than $2,821 billion in 2020.

Rank 2: Bank of America

Bank of America, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, was the most important financial institution in the U.S. until 2006. Today, the second oldest U.S. bank ranks second behind JPMorgan & Chase.

3rd place: Wells Fargo Bank

Wells Fargo Bank, headquartered in San Francisco, California, ranks third among major U.S. banks. The bank in its current form was formed through the merger with Norwest Corporation and the acquisition of Wachovia.

Rank 4: Citibank

Citibank was the first major American bank to have a foreign division. With total assets of $1,634 billion, the New York City-based bank ranked fourth among U.S. banks in 2020.

What documents are required?

To open a bank account in the U.S., you’ll need a number of documents. Before you make an appointment with a bank, check that you have all the documents together. These are:

Proof of identity (e.g. green card, driver’s license, passport, ID card)
Residence permit (e.g. visa, green card, work permit)
Proof of address (e.g. rental contract, utility bill)
Photo
Starting balance (amount varies from bank to bank)
Social security number, if applicable
if necessary, documents proving that your money comes from legal sources

In principle, it is possible to open a bank account in the USA via online registration. However, some U.S. banks refuse the online application option for people who have not lived in America for long and have only a short credit history. Therefore, it is recommended to make an appointment with the bank where you want to open an account. This way you can also clarify possible discrepancies in the application or questions directly on site with a consultant.

Pitfalls when opening an account

In the U.S., the credit history is of great importance: it provides information about how reliably a person has paid his bills and installments in the past years and helps the banks to assess the risks associated with a potential customer and the conditions under which they can offer to open an account. Those who have not lived in the U.S. for long have the major disadvantage of having a credit history that is still relatively short and not very informative. For this reason, as a new American, it is unlikely that you will receive a credit card or that the bank will give you a credit limit. However, it is possible to get a reloadable credit card.

Open a US bank account remotely

Some international banks such as HSBC, Barclays or Credit Suisse have branches or correspondent banking relationships in the US. It is best to check with your local bank to see if this is the case. They may be able to help you open a bank account for the USA. Citibank is known to have branches all over the world. If there is a Citibank branch in your hometown, you can get advice and open a bank account before you travel to the US.

What are the fees?

While prices for banking in the U.S. vary from bank to bank, the following fees are generally to be expected:

Account maintenance fees

A monthly account maintenance fee is charged by most US banks. Generally, this ranges from $10 to $15. There are exceptions and discounts for students, for example. Some banks also waive account maintenance fees if a set minimum amount is received in the account each month.

Withdrawals

This depends on whether you want to withdraw money from an automated teller machine (ATM) at your own bank or at a third-party bank. If you have an account at a U.S. bank, you do not have to pay any fees when withdrawing money. Here you are at an advantage with a bank account from a major national bank, because they have extensive branch networks. You can find an ATM in virtually every state in the U.S. where you can withdraw money for free.

Checks

Checks are still the preferred method of payment for many Americans when it comes to paying larger amounts or regular expenses such as rent, electricity or the gym. You get your first checkbook when you open a bank account in the United States. When you run out of checks, you can buy more from your bank for a fee. Depending on the bank, there are large differences in the number of checks and the price per booklet.

Foreign bank transfers

If you want to make a foreign transfer to or from America, you can expect long transfer times and high fees of more than €10. Online services such as TransferWise or WesternUnion can help you reduce these costs significantly.

Green Card CheckCan you participate? Sources: statista.com, justlanded.com, uni-konstanz.de, bezahlen.net, wise.com, geldtransfer.org

Chase to launch no-fee checking account that combines budgeting features with cashback rewards for daily debit card spending
Chase customers will be able to access their bank through an intuitive mobile app and contact customer support 24/7 without having to use chatbots
New customers can register at chase.co.uk

JPMorgan Chase today launched its new digital bank in the UK under the Chase brand. Chase is the largest retail bank in the U.S., providing a diverse range of financial services to more than 60 million American households. New customers can register at chase.co.uk and are then invited to download the Chase app. Using the simple and intuitive app, customers can open a checking account in minutes. The account has a range of features to help people manage, spend and save their money. A British-led support team will be a key component of the Chase banking experience. With just a few taps in the Chase app, customers will be connected to an expert – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Sanoke Viswanathan, CEO at the bank, comments, “We’re offering people in the UK the opportunity to experience Chase for the first time as a checking account owner or holder based on clarity, a straightforward rewards program and superior customer support.” The Chase checking account launches along with a rewards program that offers Pays 1% cash back on all qualifying debit card spending for 12 months*.. The rewards program has been specifically tailored to the spending habits of U.K. consumers, so all customers can benefit from rewards on a variety of everyday expenses, including groceries, travel, dining, entertainment, fashion, household goods, electronics, and flights and vacations. There are no fees for opening the Chase checking account and earning cashback rewards. Customers can benefit from cashback rewards without having to change their primary bank, maintain a minimum account balance, or set up direct debits. The 1% cashback accrues every time a Chase debit card is used to make a face-to-face or online payment to merchants in Germany or abroad.

In addition to the simple and straightforward rewards program, Chase offers numerous other benefits:

Customizable additional checking accounts for easy budgeting, which can be configured in seconds through the Chase app to help customers budget, set aside, save or spend money according to their needs. Each Chase account has its own account number and can be linked to the Chase debit card so that spending is debited from the selected account.

Rounding up change, on which 12 months 5% interest is paid. Customers can spend and save at the same time by rounding up their debit card purchases to the nearest full British pound and transferring the change to a separate account where it will earn interest at 5%** for 12 months. Rounding up will be offered to all customers in the coming weeks.

Fee-free debit card use abroad. Chase does not charge its customers for card use while traveling, including cash withdrawals from ATMs abroad.

Numberless debit card. Card information is stored behind a secure login in the Chase app, so account information is not compromised if the physical card is lost. Customers can then continue to use their Chase card through their digital wallet. The debit card is made from recycled plastic (rPVC), and the card’s packaging is made entirely from recycled materials and is fully recyclable.

“From extensive conversations with consumers across the UK, we know that people expect value for money combined with a superior customer experience from a trusted bank. With cashback rewards on everyday debit card spending and an interest rate surcharge on rounded-up amounts, we can help our customers save money on their day-to-day spending,” Viswanathan said. Looking ahead, Chase plans to introduce a comprehensive range of banking products, including new features for checking accounts, savings and investment accounts, and loan products. *Exceptions apply – see terms and conditions on chase.co.uk **5% AER (4.89% gross, variable)

About Chase in the UK

Chase is the U.S. retail and commercial banking business of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), a leading global financial services company with $3.7 trillion in assets and operations worldwide. The new UK site in Canary Wharf, London, is specifically tailored to the requirements of customers in that country. From there, Chase will offer its customers banking products and functions – in particular a checking account. In the United Kingdom, Chase is a trading name of J.P. Morgan Europe Limited. J.P. Morgan Europe Limited is authorized by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. For more information, see chase.co.uk. The source language in which the original text is published is the official and authorized version. Translations are provided for ease of understanding. Only the language version published in the original is legally valid. Therefore, match translations with the original language version of the publication. View original version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210921005860/de/

Contact for media Great Britain

– Chase UK – Julian Wadley: [email protected] – JPMorgan Chase – Patrick Burton: [email protected] USA – Chase – Paul Lussier: [email protected] by Simone Gröneweg, Euro am Sonntag There is no way around a checking account. Everyone needs one. All the more annoying, then, that banks and savings banks have been cutting their terms and conditions for years and asking customers to pay more and more. Higher fees, more expensive bookings or an extra charge at the ATM – there are many examples. Some customers are resigned to filing away the bank’s letters, while others are looking for an alternative. After all, there are about 1,700 banks in this country offering about 3,500 different account models. The problem: Although the variety in the world of accounts is great, as a rule the customer has to pay. For €uro am Sonntag, the financial consultancy FMH has selected current accounts for which no monthly fee is due (see table below). Only banks that are active nationwide were considered. “There are only a few unconditionally free accounts,” explains Ania Scholz-Orfanidis of FMH. Most banks tied the free account to conditions, she says. Particularly popular among institutions is the monthly minimum deposit. “This is not surprising, because the financial institutions prefer to act as a house bank for customers,” Scholz-Orfanidis knows. This gives them the chance to refer account holders to other products. Generally speaking, the more analogous the services at the bank, the more expensive it gets. A look at the table below shows that transfer orders on paper (in banking German: beleghaft) usually cost extra. Those who transfer their money online, on the other hand, pay no fee. Players such as the Berlin digital bank N26 or C24, the direct bank of the comparison portal Check24, no longer offer paper-based transfers at all. The Girocard is still part of the banks’ standard product, but that also seems to be changing. At Consorsbank, this card has been costing one euro a month for almost three months. The Deutsche Kreditbank DKB recently caused a stir. It wants to introduce a Visa debit card. The giro and credit cards will remain available, according to DKB. The exact product details are currently still being examined. “Customers have to deal with this issue,” says Scholz-Orfanidis. People who live in a small village depend on a Girocard to pay at the bakery or the newspaper store. Other billing systems are often too expensive for these small stores, he says. Anyone who has been annoyed by fee increases from their bank in recent years should take a look at their contract documents. Customers can in fact benefit from a ruling by the German Federal Supreme Court (BGH). Until now, banks made it easy for themselves when they changed their terms and conditions and usually informed customers in writing two months in advance. If they did not respond, this was interpreted as tacit approval. This was stipulated in the clauses of the General Terms and Conditions (GTC). This practice was a thorn in the side of consumer advocates. The Federation of German Consumer Organizations (vzbv) filed a test case against Postbank and was proven right. At the end of April, the Federal Court of Justice declared the Postbank clauses invalid (Ref.: XI ZR 26/20). The banking industry reacted with unpleasant surprise, while consumer advocates rejoiced. “Bank customers should examine their account contracts for the appropriate AGB clauses , advise David Bode, Rechtsreferent with the vzbv. Bank customers, whose institute increased the fees in the past years, without them having agreed to it explicitly, could reclaim too much paid money. This does not only apply to account management fees, but also to fees for credit cards, transfers or account statements. However, experts point to the statutory limitation period of three years (starts at the end of the year in which claims arose). That means customers could claim back money they have overpaid since Jan. 1, 2018, until the end of 2021. The banks have so far been publicly reticent, with only Deutsche Bank – to which Postbank belongs – announcing that it expects charges in the triple-digit millions in 2021. Otherwise, the word in the industry is that they will examine individually. Ultimately, it depends on how customers react. “The banks will probably not pay back the excessive fees to customers without their intervention,” says David Riechmann, a consultant for banking and capital market law at the consumer center in North Rhine-Westphalia. “Consumers must already become active,” he emphasizes. The sample letters for this are ready. Interested parties can download the relevant forms from the consumer centers’ website (www.verbraucherzentrale.de). “Ideally, you know exactly what you have overpaid,” says Riechmann. It’s relatively easy to trace the whole thing, he says, if only the monthly fee has been increased. It gets more complicated when it comes to individual bookings. You have to look through change notices and account statements. If you no longer have the documents or cannot see through them, you should contact the bank and request a list of the charges. However, there are also sample letters for customers who do not even know how much they have paid too much and still want to reclaim. Whether the effort is worthwhile depends on the amount of the overpaid fees and charges. Stiftung Warentest gives the example of a Postbank customer who can claim back around 190 euros. Isolated law offices want to reclaim money for customers in a highly automated way. The Berlin law firm Gansel Rechtsanwälte cooperates with the service provider Spreefels, which takes over the collection of the claim against the bank. If the customer actually gets money back in the end, he has to hand over 25 percent as a success fee. In any case, the BGH ruling heralds a new era. Fee changes will be much more complex and thus more expensive for banks in the future, says Oliver Mihm, head of the consulting firm Investors Marketing. But the industry is already tinkering with solutions. Commerzbank, for example, is still planning to introduce a new account management fee scheduled for July 1. “The bank is working on a process for this that meets the requirements of the BGH ruling,” explains a spokesman. Increases will therefore also occur in the future. Free accounts of individual providers, however, also, means Verbraucherschützer Riechmann. _____________________________ Selected leverage products on Deutsche Bank AG With knock-outs, speculative investors can participate disproportionately in price movements. Simply select the desired leverage and we will show you suitable open-end products on Deutsche Bank AG The leverage must be between 2 and 20 No data Image sources: Bjoern Wylezich / Shutterstock.com, PhotographyByMK / Shutterstock.com, Finanzen Verlag No Fee Checking Account Chase.

Anna Hein

No Fee Checking Account Chase