Any one who claims to be the customer of a bank has surely subscribed to one of the services that the bank has put on sale. There are different kinds of such products that can be gotten, it all depends on the type of bank and the kind of service you are looking out for. These products come in the form of accounts most times. But sometimes it can be beyond that.
When it comes to retail banking as in bank product and service offering, there are basically two kinds of accounts that one can get to choose from. The choice to make will be dependent sometimes on social class, age and the real requirements of the prospective bank customer. The two broad categories are: the checking account and; deposit accounts.
Transaction account
The checking account is basically a transaction account. It allows the holder the privilege of transferring money by check or by means of electronic payment to a person or organization that you so indicate. A checking account is one that will enable you to handle different financial transactions that would have been difficult to manage alone if not for the presence of this kind of account. It is possible for you to write on your bank check, a specified amount of money to be paid to whosoever you desire.
Checking account can come in different shades. Apart from the normal checking accounts, there are some other varieties of checking accounts that one can get from banks these days. Some might attract lower costs than what is normally obtainable; some might even be attached to a savings account, investment product or a line of credit. Checking accounts available in banks today include: The basic checking account; lifeline checking account; relationship checking account; express checking account; student or senior checking account; rewards checking and; interest bearing checking accounts. Different banks will give these accounts different names and attach privileges or charges that might be different when compared with the same kind of account in another bank.
Deposit accounts
The other type of account which is the deposit account is practically a very simple and convenient way to make savings from your income. Deposit accounts can be in the form of the regular savings account. The savings account, among other types of bank accounts has the lowest minimum requirements for deposit and it is one that the restrictions imposed as per funds withdrawal are the fewest. You can enjoy compound interest on your savings with this kind of account. Then there is another deposit account that is termed as an emergency fund account. This account is advised to be maintained as one account that is different from the regular savings account so as to cater for unexpected events in case they happen.
Another type of deposit account that pays higher interest, in most occasions, than a regular savings account is the money market accounts or mutual fund. The last type of deposit account we will mention here is what some call a fixed deposit account. As the name implies, they are deposits made for fixed terms. Interest on the account is that which will be paid on the maturity,that is the agreed time for withdrawal.
