Why we like it: Founded in 1852, Wells Fargo has a longstanding history as one of America’s top banks. With more than 13,000 ATMs and 5,200 branches across the U.S., the bank is both reputable and accessible. You need just $25 to open a checking account, making it a great choice for college students, young adults and those new to banking. Low monthly service fees and a robust mobile app set Wells Fargo apart from many smaller banks.
Benefits
- Longstanding reputation
- Multiple branch and ATM locations
- Low minimum deposit to open an account
- Many ways to avoid monthly fees
- Available in many states across the U.S.
- Free checking for college students and those between the ages of 17 and 24
Drawbacks
- No interest on deposits
- No branches in select states, particularly in the Northeast U.S.
- $35 overdraft fee
The winner of our Best Checking Accounts analysis has a lot to offer, and you can discover its features in our full review.
More from GOBankingRates:
Methodology: To discover the Best Checking accounts, GOBankingRates looked at the top institutions in terms of total assets size that had available published data. To determine rankings GOBankingRates looked at the following factors: (1) total assets as sourced from the FDIC; (2) number of branch locations as sourced from the FDIC; (3) minimum deposit to open an account; (4) monthly fees associated with the account; (5) minimum balance needed to avoid the fee; (6) APY on the checking account; (6) overdraft fee amount; (7) the average mobile app rating between the android and apple stores. All factors were then scored and combined, with the lowest score being best. Factor (1) was weighted 1.5 times, factor (2) was weighted 2 times, and factor (6) was weighted 0.5 times. For all Savings and Checking Account data only the basic accounts/products offered at each institution was analyzed. All data is up to date as of November 4, 2020, rates and fees subject to change.
John Csiszar contributed to the reporting for this article.
