Updated: March 22, 2019
I asked some of my friends if they have a checking account and most of them said they have none. This doesn’t surprise me because opening a checking account is not usually a priority among people.
However, as your journey in the world of personal finance continues, chances are you’ll eventually need to open a checking account. It might be to pay for a loan, to manage the cash flow of your business, or for many other reasons.
And when that time comes, it helps if you have some basic knowledge about checking accounts. Specifically, what are the advantages of having one and how do you choose where to open a checking account.
Other important things to know are your obligations as a checking account holder and what are the best practices when maintaining a checking account.
I opened my first checking account many years ago. Back then, my bank offered me this free checking account that’s tied to my savings account. Initially, I thought it was just “cool” to have one so I agreed. Months after, I realized that having a checking account was “more than cool”.
Advantages of having a Checking Account
- It’s safer and more convenient to carry around checks than large sums of money.
- Your cleared checks can serve as proof of payments.
- It allows you to pay obligations (bills, subscriptions, etc.) through the mail.
- A checking account helps you establish a good credit score.
- It helps you keep track and budget your money.
- It establishes trust, specially with your business relations (suppliers, creditors, etc.)
A few years after, I closed my savings account in that bank because I wanted to transfer to another bank. Unfortunately, my free checking account needed to be closed too.
During that time, I was already starting my first business and I thought it would be necessary to open a new checking account for the business, which I did.
Things you need to ask when Oopening a Checking Account
- What’s the maintaining balance?
- Does it earn interest? Is there a minimum balance for it to earn interest?
- Is there a monthly service fee or other checking account rates and charges?
- Is there a limit on how many checks I can write per month?
- How much is the cost of ordering new checks?
- What are the rules and charges when requesting a stop payment?
- How much is the fee for bounced checks? Does the bank offer overdraft protection?
If there’s only one thing you need to remember about having a checking account, then it would probably be to avoid bouncing a check. Doing so will not only cost you, but it will also hurt your credit history.
Can you go to jail for issuing a check with insufficient funds? The short answer is YES. So better be safe than sorry. I’m not a lawyer so if you want more information about this, I suggest you consult one to know your rights and options.
However, here’s what I can advise to all checking account holders:
- Balance your checkbooks as often as needed.
- Avoid writing checks that are payable to CASH.
- Cross your checks (which means it can only be deposited to a bank account) whenever possible.
- Keep your checkbooks in a secure place and don’t leave blank checks lying around.
- Ensure that everything is correct (date, amount, etc.) before signing and issuing a check.
Is there anything else you can add? Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.
Moreover, you might also be interested to read my previous articles about banking, specifically on how to choose the right bank and the list of Philippine banks that offer online banking.
What to do next: Click here to subscribe to our FREE newsletter.
saktong sakto tong article na to para sa akin ah 😀 tamang tama mag o open ako ng checking account ngayong katapusan 😀
sa questions above, eto lang mga natanong ko:
# What’s the maintaining balance?
# Does it earn interest? Is there a minimum balance for it to earn interest?
Hehehe. .sa BPI yung may interest ay 25k, tapos may checking account din sila na lower than 25k pero walang interest 😀
Woooot.. itatanong ko pa yung ibang mga tanong. Yay! 😀
I only opened a checking account kasi kailangan para ma-issue dun sa binibili kong bahay. Other than that, wala ng ibang reason. But now I really appreciate the fact that I have this account. Kahit na hindi interest bearing, this adds to my ‘financial mgmt experience’ (in short pagba-budget 🙂 .
ang checking account ba at current account ng BDO ay pareho lang??? gusto ko sanang mag-open ng current account last month pero di ako pinayagan ng manager. dapat raw savings account muna then after 3months pa pwede ang current account. ask ko lang kung ano ang mga bangko na pwede mag-open ng current account kahit walang savings account?
Great writeup Kuya Fitz. Based on your experience, which bank do you recommend to have a checking account?
@Donald
Yes, a checking account and a current account is just the same. I was able to open a checking account in Metrobank eventhough I had no savings account there. But this was years ago. I think banks are now more strict because the incidents of bounced checks are going up.
@Sonn
From observation, all checking accounts are just the same. So it would be best to just open it where your savings account is. But in any case, I would recommend a bank that has online banking so it would be easier to monitor your account and balance your checkbooks. 😀
thanks for putting this articles. this can help me to know what is the advantage and what is good upon opening my account.. thanks again.. god bless
[…] Villafuerte presents Things To Know Before You Open A Checking Account posted at Ready To Be Rich, saying, “Are you opening a checking account? Then read this short […]
wow. good read. galing neto. wala talaga aku idea dito sa checking account. kelangan ko lang mag open dahil housing loan..TYVM
is it allowed to debit from a checking account if your ADA has insufficient fund, without first informing the account holder?
hi po.. wants to open a current account sana sa BDO.. pro as i know savings muna then current. ilang months pa ba pwedeng mag current after I open the savings? and how much po ba ang maintaining balance? salamat
Wow ! This is great for an individual like me who is just starting to plan out and manage his little financial Blessings.Sana with this blogs may all the more increase our ability to improve life by having right perspective handling little we have financially and eventually have our own business and get rich in order to help others too.Congratulations po and God Bless!
i only have payroll account in bdo, can i apply for a checking account for future use?will they/bdo allow to have checking account?thanks
i was not able to open a checking acct. using my payroll acct. it’s required to have at least 30k maintaining balance in previous 6mos.plus ung initial deposit p, n un lng cash ko on hand hehe. of course how come it will have such amt e payroll nga un sympre wwtdrwhin un every payday. well wla ako alm s mga requirements nla kya nsayang lakad ko hehe open n lng dw muna ng personal acct or they advice me to have my personal acct n lng kya lng 6mos p bago mkpg open ng checking acct.
May i know if what is the needed maintaining balance for checking account. I have an old savings account and the required total saving to reqiure to open a checking account? Is not safe kasi kung magdadala ko na malaking cash in public.
I am planning to open an account as well for house and lot procurement purposes. I think banks are really now requiring a 3-6 months of savings account first before they can issue you a checking account. Thanks for the great article. I learned the pros and cons of having a checking account. Long before, I thought na bigatin na talaga or mga mayayaman lang ang nag sa-sign ng checks, like in the old pinoy/enlgish movies. hehe
Good thing nakita ko to as I am looking online which banks should I open a checking account. “Thinks You should ask” very helpful. Now ndi nako inosente later pagpunta ko. Thanks for posting this! Mabuhay ka =)
I just wanna ask something, Can I file a case against the bank “The Real Bank”. They told me that they will call me pag meron ngpapasok ng checke sakin, and lalo na pag insufficient ung funds ko at mg-bbounce ung checke. Pero hnd nila ko tinawagan man lng or ininform. Kaya ngaun mgbabayad ako ng penalty sa bank and penalty pa sa company na binigyan ng check. I read some articles na it is included on the BP 22 law na dapat iniinform ng banks ung Checking account owner pag ganun.
Please reply.
Dati na po ako mmakakuha pa po ba ulit ako ng checking account sa ibang bangko kahit na may unpaid credit card ako? Kase need ko ulit kumuha checking account para sa housingloan.pls help po.
Ask ko po kung pwede po ba mag-open ng checking account sa ibang bank? Ganito po un may kabayan savings account ako sa isang banko pero gusto ko naman sa ibang banko ako mag-open ng checking account. Gagamitin kase namin sa pagkuha ng bahay dahil requirements po sa isang subdivision,kailangan na may maipakita kaming checking account. Ung sa banko kase na may savings account ako mahirap naman kumuha at mas mataas ung pag-open ng cheke kaya naisip nmin sa ibang banko naman. Pwede po ba un? Thanks sa pagsagot kuya.
I already open a checking account in Eastwest bank at maganda naman po siya…. Basic checking account po siya. Maintaining balance is only for 1,000.00 only, pero need mo magmaintain ng savings account sa kanila for 6 months. Kapag nakapagmaintain ka naman po wala na silang tanong tanong kung magopen ka ng checking account granted na un agad.
nice information! I need to have a checking account for my housing loan and i am running out of time because i will work abroad on sept. 15, 2014. I came to BDO earlier since i have savings account there for more than a year but they don’t allow me because according to them I have a month that didn’t met there requirements of 6 consecutive months with minimum 50K savings account. Did other bank requires the same qualifications to open a checking account? Do I have a change to get a checking account before sept. 15? Please reply. Thanks alot! More power….
to open a checking account na walang hassle..go to BPI…just deposit the initial amount na 10,000.00 yon na rin ang maintaining balance nya..if it goes down sa maintaining balance automatic 300.00 pesos deduction sa account..miski 1 araw lang na bumaba bawas agad…of course kailangan nang mga valid ID and the photocopy of it… and updated photo ID..dikit nila sa file mo…ngayon ka pupunta, bigyan ka kaagad nang checkbook…tsaka miski ilang beses kang magclose o maclose ang acount mo pwede ka pa ring mag open sa susunod..as long as my pang opening deposit k a 10,000.00
@Shanghai
I went to one of BPI branches and they told me that I should have at least 6 months savings account from them. Is there any bank “now” that don’t require this? Thanks
@Shanghai
@Ayying
Ano ba yan nagulohan tuloy ako s inyong dalawa galing ao khapon ng BPI ng open ako ng Saving Account ko…and I already asked them kung pano mg open ng checking account ko sabi lng s akin 10k for the maintaining balance same requirements s pag open ko ng savings account…pero my approval p un…at wala nmn cla cnbi n kailngn 6 months my savings account k s knila…its better n babalik ako uli at ask ulit ung need b ng tlga ng 6 months bago mkpg open ng checking account…
Sayang ngayon ko lang nabasa ‘to. Di ko tuloy natanong sa BDO yung mga “things to ask “. Kaka-open ko lang ng checking account kahapon and yes, BDO requires a savings account with ADB of at least 50k for the last 6 months. The request for checking account is subject for approval. But all these happened the same day. Once approved, fill out some documents and the checkbook will be released the same day.
Since this is my first checking account, can someone further elaborate what “cross your check” means? How can it be done?
hello! just last november we shifted our payroll account from HSBC to BDO. In less than a month, I tried to apply for a checking account and fortunately the BDO representative let me open a checking account. I do not have BDO savings account and I even had a closed BDO credit card years ago. I guess it is still on the BDO rep’s discretion if he/she will allow you to open a checking account… I am not sure what made her decide to let me open a checking account. One thing she asked me was how long have I been with my current job. It will be 7 years this coming feb. Maybe i was just very fortunate.
To “cross check” means the issued check is only subject for deposit and can not be en-cashed. I normally put double slant lines on the upper left corner of the check.
Applied for a checking account and got my checkbook today, at BPI. Though yung ATM card (for the checking account) will be released next week. Took me for an hour din sa process. I have accounts with the bank, so I’m not sure dun sa 6 months depositor thing. 10k initial deposit and maintaining balance, no interest acquired for the account. You need to have a 1×1 picture and a valid ID.
could i open a checking account without a saving account???/
Please help me with my recent experience with checking acct in Security Bank. I needed to open a checking acct in connection with my Housing loan with the developer and eventually with Pag ibig Fund. After 2 years, I managed to give full payment of my loan to Pag ibig. Unfortunately,may isa pako cheke na natira for the month of April na pinondohan ko p before I got the ability to pay the loan in full. So there will be no use for the funded cheque. I now will opt to close my checking account but then the bank wouldn’t allow SPA(special power of atty) coz I am abroad and I cannot do it personally. It will take a year before ako makauwi ulit. So pano po ang mangyayari sa dineposit ko sa cheque na dapat sana ay pangbayad sa April due pero nagawa kong bayaran na in full last march since nasa pinas ako that time.
Please help. The bank rep told my Aunt na malabo na daw makuha pa coz nadeposit na ang fund sa developer’s acct.
I don’t quiet understand the logic.
please help, paano ko mawithdraw ang pera ko sa atm landbank through current balance.. please
can i open a checking account without existing savings account? And what are tge requiremnts..i need a bnak which has low maintaining balance or initial deposit
Having a checking account is convenient but you need to be responsible and need to be on top of balancing your money… not because you still have checks does not mean you still have money (LOL).
Rule of thumb – NEVER write a check knowing there is not enough funds to clear the check you wrote. Do not play the “Ghost Check”… meaning do not write a check thinking that by the time the check will hits your bank you should have the money deposited by then… what if the check hits your bank the day before you were able to make a deposit?
(Marigold says:
April 5, 2013 at 10:21 am
I just wanna ask something, Can I file a case against the bank “The Real Bankâ€. They told me that they will call me pag meron ngpapasok ng checke sakin, and lalo na pag insufficient ung funds ko at mg-bbounce ung checke. Pero hnd nila ko tinawagan man lng or ininform. Kaya ngaun mgbabayad ako ng penalty sa bank and penalty pa sa company na binigyan ng check. I read some articles na it is included on the BP 22 law na dapat iniinform ng banks ung Checking account owner pag ganun.)
** The bank is not responsible on informing you that you have insufficient funds when a check tries to clear your bank, this is mainly your responsibility for not having the funds. If the bank told you they will inform you that a check was presented (via bank deposit or cash over the counter), it will only be as a courtesy but they are not obligated to contact you each time there is a check coming in … I honestly haven’t heard of any bank contacting the client to inform them that there is a check that came in and that the funds are not available, but I could be wrong… However, the bottom line is it is your responsibility to ensure you have money to cover the check you wrote and not depend on the bank to contact you when you do not have funds to cover the check… So basically, when you sign your name on the check, you are guaranteeing that you have funds to cover the amount you wrote. Hope this helps.
Just tried to open a checking account in bpi.pero purpose for opening a check account ang main requirement nila!?hindi ka pala pwede mag open kahit may savings ka sa kanila na half mil!
kakaopen ko lang ng checking account sa BPI and luckily they dont mind a savings account bsta may 10k kang pang maintaining balance..bigay nila agad yung checkbook!
Thanks for this article. It’s very helpful.
Tanong ko lang po may alam po ba kayo na banko na pwedeng mag open ng checking account kahit walang savings sa banko na yun for six months. Thank you!
pwede po bang i.enroll sa bdo online banking ang checking acount?
Hi po.. Gusto ko lang sana mag tanong. Kasi nag open ako ng checking account two weeks ago dahil yun ang nirerequired sa akin ng owner ng shop na gusto ko rentahan. But he backed out sa deal namin dahil may mas mataas na offer ang ibang gustong umupa. TANONG KO LANG maiwiwidraw ko ba ang initial deposit ko at maco-close ang checking account ko? Magkano kaya magiging charges ng Metro Bank sa akin?
Thanks!
Hoping for the reply..
Ms. Jhie here
Ask ko lang po if may check ako mag-clear and yung balance sa checking account ko is yung maintaning balance lang, will it bounce? Thank you.
@Guia
Yes, it will clear. But you will go below maintaining balance, so you will incur fees from having that at the end of the month.
Thank you so much for this Blog! May God Bless us all in handling our finances well 🙂
Last Feb. 19, I opened a checking account at East West Bank. Requirements are two 2×2 picture, 2 valid ids, proof of billing and TIN number. I opened a regular checking account for only 5k minimum initial deposit, same with the maintaining balance. I don’t have an account with East West Bank. The process is just submit the documents then they will provide C.I (credit investigation) if you will be approved. Thankfully I got approved. The process only took less than an hour for my experience. I got the check book at the same day.
Just got my Checking account today with BDO.I decided go get one for preparation of paying my Home Loan soon.Youre Info helps a lot.Thank You and God bless 🙂
Hi po.. I have ATM savings acct at BDO, anu po requirements to get Checking acct? thanks po.
Hi! ask ko lang, is there an impact if my unpaid credit card upon applying checking account?
Im really sad about opening a checking account. I have a savings account in BDO for 8 years, but the branch here told me that I need to have a business. Then when I went to BPI, it was said that subject for approval and I should have a big savings. I dont know where I could open a checking account
I’m glad that you mentioned how it is easier to carry around checks than stuff a lot of money inside our wallets. My husband and I are thinking of investing in real estate and we’d like to make every purchase more convenient for us. Maybe it would be better to start with opening a personal checking account before we shop around for properties.