Common Savings Account Features

Savings accounts are one of the most common types of bank
accounts available today In addition to chequeing accounts,
they make up a very significant portion of any bank’s business
With that amount of competition, different banks may offer
different account features in an attempt to lure in the business
of people who are looking to open new accounts If you’ve been
thinking about opening a new savings account but aren’t really
sure what sort of features you want or need for the account,
then this guide may help you to make your decision
Below you’ll find information on some of the more basic and
features of savings accounts so that you’ll know what you should
be looking for at the core of your savings experience
Savings and Interest
Obviously, one of the most important features of a savings
account is that the account bears interest At the end of each
month, you’ll notice a listing for the interest that has been
paid on your account statement this means that you’ve
received that amount in addition to the previous balance of your
account, based upon the interest rate that is in effect for your
account The higher your interest rate, the more you’re paid
each month
Detailed Statements As mentioned above, the amount that you’re
paid in interest is shown on your account statements In
addition, your statements should show all deposits and
withdrawals that have occurred since your last statement, the
total amount that is in your account, and any fees, fines, or
other costs that occurred within the last statement cycle Any
special features of your account should also be listed on your
statement
Account Transfers
Most savings accounts have the capability to perform account
transfers, meaning that you can have money in your account sent
to another account that either you or someone else owns and the
savings account can receive transfers in this same manner This
is especially useful if you have several different accounts and
are wanting to use a portion of your savings to help pay for
something that is being processed through another account
Links to Chequeing
An increasingly common feature of savings accounts is the
ability to link them to your chequeing account to help prevent
overdrafts If you link your accounts and you later write a
cheque that there isn’t sufficient funds in your chequeing
account to cover, the additional amount is taken out of your
savings account and the cheque is still honored instead of being
returned to the person whom the cheque was written to In most
cases an overdraft fee or other fine still applies, but it is
limited to a one-time only fee and no merchant fees have to be
paid
Online Account Access
A very useful account feature that is offered by many banks is
online account access This enables you to use the internet to
access your account information over a secure connection By
using online account access, you can usually check balances,
transfer funds from one account to another, see if transactions
have processed, and perform many other tasks that you would
normally have to visit a bank branch in person to do
This enables you to free up your time for other activities,
since you don’t have to visit the bank during normal business
hours and can instead perform most banking actions from the
comfort of your own home In many cases, you can even receive
electronic bank statements instead of paper ones with online
account access Online features tend to vary from bank to bank,
however
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