NEW YORK, Feb. 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- 72% of the largest credit unions in the U.S. offer free checking accounts to all customers versus just 38% of the nation's largest banks, according to a new Bankrate.com (NYSE: RATE) report. Five years ago, 78% of credit unions and 65% of banks offered standalone free checking accounts.

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Additional Findings


    --  The average overdraft fee at credit unions is $26.78 (compared with
        $32.74 at banks).


    --  30% of the credit union accounts that Bankrate.com surveyed provide at
        least one free out-of-network ATM withdrawal per week. Of the accounts
        that do charge for out-of-network ATM withdrawals, $1.50 is the most
        common fee (it's $2.50 at banks).


    --  96% of credit unions charge non-members who withdraw money from the
        credit union's ATMs. This is the area of greatest similarity between
        credit unions and banks (both typically charge $3 to
        non-customers/non-members using their ATMs).


    --  None of the credit union accounts requires more than $100 to open, and
        62% have no minimum opening deposit. The average minimum required to
        open an account is just $9.84.


    --  Among the credit unions that charge monthly fees, $2 and $3 are tied for
        the most common fee (about half of the average at banks).


    --  In addition to the credit union checking accounts that are always free,
        another 26% (for a grand total of 98%) can become free if certain
        requirements are met (most commonly e-statements, direct deposit or a
        combination of both).

"When evaluating checking accounts, consumers should definitely include credit unions in their search," said Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrate.com's chief financial analyst. "They have competitive offerings and many participate in large ATM networks that extend the credit union's reach."

Click here to view more information about Bankrate.com's 2015 Credit Union Checking Survey:

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-unions/credit-union-accounts/default.aspx

Bankrate.com surveyed the 50 largest credit unions (by deposits) in the United States from January 6-12, 2015. The survey included one checking (share draft) account at each credit union, along with all associated debit card and ATM fees and waivers.

The bank fee data came from Bankrate.com's 2014 survey of bank checking accounts (released in Sept. 2014).

About Bankrate, Inc.

Bankrate is a leading publisher, aggregator, and distributor of personal finance content on the Internet. Bankrate provides consumers with proprietary, fully researched, comprehensive, independent and objective personal finance editorial content across multiple vertical categories including mortgages, deposits, insurance, credit cards, and other categories, such as retirement, automobile loans, and taxes. The Bankrate network includes Bankrate.com, CreditCards.com, InsuranceQuotes.com and Caring.com, our flagship websites, and other owned and operated personal finance websites, including Interest.com, Bankaholic.com, Mortgage-calc.com, CreditCardGuide.com, CarInsuranceQuotes.com, Insweb.com, CreditCards.ca, and NetQuote.com. Bankrate aggregates rate information from over 4,800 institutions on more than 300 financial products. With coverage of over 600 local markets, Bankrate generates rate tables in all 50 U.S. states. Bankrate develops and provides web services to over 100 co-branded websites with online partners, including some of the most trusted and frequently visited personal finance sites on the Internet such as Yahoo!, AOL, CNBC, and Bloomberg. In addition, Bankrate licenses editorial content to over 500 newspapers on a daily basis including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe.

For more information:

Caroline Farhat
Senior Publicist
caroline.farhat@bankrate.com
917-368-8638

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SOURCE Bankrate, Inc.