I read with interest the recent article, “I Asked 3 Financial Advisors To Share Their Favorite Checking Account — Here’s What They Said ” by Cindy Lamothe. I was surprised to discover that Charles Schwab’s High Yield Investor Checking account was the only named recommended checking account.

In my personal finances, I have banked with several different checking accounts, but Charles Schwab has been my favorite as well.

The reasons in support of Schwab cited in the article were:

• No Minimum Balance Requirement
• Competitive Interest Rate
• Free Standard Checks and Bill Pay
• FDIC Insured
• Excellent Customer Service
• Integration With Brokerage

These reasons match the review I provided in my 2016 article, “Streamline Your Finances with Schwab Checking.” The list shared there is:

1. Ordering a checkbook is free.
2. ATM withdrawals and debit cards are free (including abroad).
3. Easy check deposit (including mobile check deposit).
4. You can easily transfer funds to other accounts.
5. Free overdraft from your connected brokerage account.
6. You gain access to Schwab Bill Pay.

One downside of a Schwab checking account is that Schwab is not a local bank account. You can review reasons to keep a local bank account in our 2016 article by the same name. Those reasons are:

• Depositing irreplaceable checks if you don’t have a smartphone or have one and are don’t want to connect it to your finances
• Writing cashier’s checks for a down payment on a house
• Depositing cash
• Notary services

As noted in the article as well though, if you are a client of ours, notary services need not be a reason. We have several notaries public on staff and our qualified clients can schedule a free appointment to use our Notary Services.

Photo by TheStandingDesk on Unsplash. Image has been cropped.