Nowadays, a lot of landladies/landlords requires their tenants to issue post-dated checks (PDC) for their monthly rentals (i.e. 12 PDC’s for a one-year lease or rental contract) and one of the requirements when you avail a housing loan either thru bank, HDMF (Pag-Ibig) or in-house financing is issuing checks as well. Either for equity and/or for the monthly amortization itself, or for any other reason you need to issue checks, there are two (2) top things to consider in looking for a bank: first, one that requires the smallest amount possible upon opening the account or the lowest initial balance and next, a bank that will need the lowest maintaining balance to avoid future problem–lack of funds or worst, a bounced check!
Here are a few other things to consider:
Interest
This is actually a major consideration if funds availability or budget is not or will never be an issue. Though not all banks offer interest in a current account, and some other banks let you choose whether you want your account to earn some interest or not, there are some banks that offer interest in 3-in-1 account (ATM, passbook, and checking account in one), others require a higher maintaining balance in exchange of a higher yield as well.
Bank location & branches
Accessibility is the key–nearest to your home (or future home for home loans) or nearest to your work for your convenience where you can at least rush during a lunch break.
Check for a bank that has lots of branches to avoid long waits and/or short travel. This way you may be more secure, especially if you’re trying to deposit a huge amount of cash. You may also get less hassle for mall branches and can do some multitasking by going to the grocery or pay some bills, etc. while waiting for your turn.
Banking hours
For mid shift employees, the earlier they are open for the transaction, the better and for the early morning shifters, the later they close, of course, the better. For account holders who are only free and available during weekends, those banks that are open during Saturdays would be a great pick.
Pre-requisite account
Almost all banks now require a savings account kept or well-maintained for at least six (6) months before opening the account. Some bank officers give a little consideration by conducting a brief interview and approval depending on the purpose, and/or source of funds, employment history, etc. This requirement can be waived if you have a guarantor with you (usually an account holder there) or carrying an endorsement letter from a developer (for home loan purposes) that made special arrangement with them being their accredited banks. Still, there are few banks that do not have this pre-requisite and you just have to search for them or call their customer service hotline one-by-one before going there directly.
Online accessibility
As a general rule, it would be a nice idea to watch closely the checks you are issuing by keeping track of the amount and the date it will be due but it will be more convenient and helpful to you if the account can be accessed online where you can also transfer funds and do other transactions remotely.
Credibility and status
It’s also important to check the status of the bank you’re eyeing to transact with. Check for some news circulating around the industry to know the number one (1) in ranking based on your preference and once you have an account with them already, make sure to have a regular update(s) about them.
Customer support
As much as you need an excellent customer support from any product or services you availed, more so when it involves your finances. They should have a lot and easy access customer hotline numbers and dedicated lines for specific concerns.
If they cannot provide an account officer directly assigned to your account, make sure to have the direct numbers of those account officers if not for the manager handling the branch.
What an informative post! You have shared some great points to look out for when opening a checking account. I’ll keep these in mind!
Great tips for opening a checking account. For me, one of the most important criteria is online access. I need to know I can transact at any time and from anywhere.
Yes! These are important aspects to consider when opening a checking account!
I’d always go for a bank that is affordable plus has a good network of branches. Not so much on interest rates since you will regularly disburse money if you have a checking account.
These are all important things to look out for, customer service and opening hours are big ones for me
Nice list, I love that you included customer support on this. It really does matter
These are great things to look out for. We’ve been happy with our bank and have been with them for about 15 years now.
These are such good things to check, I’ve ended up in the position before where my local branch closed and there was none left nearby! Checking out locations is definitely a must.
You have some great tips here. I had to close an account because they started adding fees and that ticked me off.
This post is really informative, thanks for sharing these tips.
And learn all their fees. So important to know.
These are some great tips. Sometimes we miss focusing on a few points. One should have a checklist before going to bank so that we don’t miss out on anything
Great advice. Online banking is particularly important in the current world climate. Unfortunately in Japan, contrary to what you would expect, online banking is not very popular and not readily available either. So the banks have had to stay open despite Covid-19. Best, Lynda H
These are all really great things to watch for. I worked in banking for over a decade, for three different companies. Some are definitely more customer focused!
This is super useful! It’s annoying how hard it often can be to find a checking account with what is needed in all of the above…. I think it’s something that many of us don’t think about when opening a bank account, but there are so many little things that can become problematic down the road if we don’t choose wisely.
Great post, the information is very much supportive and good for bank customers..
True! I had a bad experience with BPI. My trusted banks are Metrobank and BDO. Aside from the good reviews, they are almost everywhere. <3
These are all super important points when seeking a new bank! when I moved to idaho i had chase bank and I had to leave them because the closest branch they had to where we where living was 80 miles away… so sadly i had to leave them. However my husband and I have a pretty great bank so it is worth it!
thanks so much for sharing the information it will be very useful
When we moved to Cavite, bank location and online accessibility are the two important things we consider aside from the lowest initial balance and maintaining balance.
I agree Jem, convenience and accessibility should also be considered
Haven’t had the need for a checking account recently but these are good tips!
thanks Louisa!
Don’t have a checking account yet, since there is no necessity yet. But thanks for these tips. It will really be helpful in the near future! 🙂
You’re welcome Josephine!
I didn’t know that there is a pre requisite account before you can open a checking account. Thanks for these tips!
xoxo
MrsMartinez
You’re welcome! Yes, banks now are stricter than before.
I agree. The online accessibility and credibility is a must for me. Some banks come and go kasi it turns out puro scam lang pala, And aside from what you mentioned, customer service is also a must for me. I’ve been a loyal depositor to this bank affiliated with SM and most of their tellers are super sungit. Nakakairita. My husband and I withdrew our money with them and they kept on asking why. Sabi ko “ayusin nyo pano kayo makipagusap sa mga customers niyo.” Ha! Serves them right.
Is it the 3 letter name hehehe
Very good tips here. Thank you. These are pretty much what everyone needs to do.
Thank you Pinoy Daddy!
Issuing PDC has been quite a norm with regard to house rent and other housing transactions. Kakastress lang ang fine ng banks kapag di mo naupdate at walang pondo ang account. Haha. Thanks for this helpful blog post.
Correct! You’re welcome
Can you give an idea of how much is the usual range of maintaining balance for most banks? Thanks, Sol.
Thank your reading my post Miss Hana! For checking accounts, usually whatever is the amount required to open one, that is the maintaining as well. The range is from Php 1,000 to 20,000 under the personal account. There are other banks as well that requires high maintaining balance if you prefer your money to gain some interests, too. Hope that helps 😉
Nice read. Though wala akong checking account makakadagdag to sa financial intelligence ko. Thank you!
You’re welcome Jho Anna
When I was first starting to write my own checks, I had so much to learn like what are the terms used- on us, cross check, etc.
Same here Renz!
and online banking is really really a must these days lalo na sa mga mompreneur and online based works 🙂
I agree AciGirl, it saves us more time and energy 😉
I agree with everything on this list! The only criterion my bank doesn’t meet is online accessibility, which is okay as it is not my primary bank account.
Thank you Maan, most banks now are currently updating their systems and services. I’m pretty sure one of these days, you’re bank will also offer online access to your accounts!
waley ako checking account, how i wish ma feel ko din ung pipirma na lang ng cheque mode lol 🙂 pero on serious note, i like yung banks branches inside malls, lalo na if open always 😀
Rich girl! Congratulations for maintaining your business without the need to issued checks. With the bank branches inside the malls, I agree with you. I also wish that these banks since they’re in the mall, will also extend up to Sunday hehehe
I opened checking account when we avail housing loan too. I prefer good customer service so I chose BPI.
Yes, BPI offers good customer service 😉
I agree! For me, I always look on online accessibility and customer support for hassle-free transaction.
Thank you Que!
Banks offering is mostly the same, I think in the end what matters is customer service.
I agree, and yes most of the times we are looking for those who provides the best customer service
I agree. Most of the time naman, jan lang nagkakatalo ang banks.