UML class diagram depicting a customer with accounts
A transaction account, also called a checking account, chequing account, current account, demand deposit account, or share account at credit unions, is a deposit account or bank account held at a bank or other financial institution. It is available to the account owner "on demand" and is available for frequent and immediate access by the account owner or to others as the account owner may direct. Access may be in a variety of ways, such as cash withdrawals, use of debit cards, cheques and electronic transfer. In economic terms, the funds held in a transaction account are regarded as liquid funds. In accounting terms, they are considered as cash.
Transaction accounts are known by a variety of descriptions, including a current account (British English), chequing account or checking account when held by a bank, share draft account when held by a credit union in North America.[1] In the Commonwealth of Nations, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa and a number of other countries they are commonly called current or, before the demise of cheques, cheque accounts. Because money is available on demand they are also sometimes known as demand accounts or demand deposit accounts. In the United States, NOW accounts operate as transaction accounts.
Transaction accounts are operated by both businesses and personal users. Depending on the country and local demand economics earning from interest rates varies.[2] Again depending on the country[3] the financial institution that maintains the account may charge the account holder maintenance or transaction fees or offer the service free to the holder and charge only if the holder uses an add-on service such as an overdraft.[4]
History
1967 letter by the Midland Bank to a customer, informing on the introduction of electronic data processing and the introduction of account numbers for current accounts
In Holland in the early 1500s, Amsterdam was a major trading and shipping city. People who had acquired large accumulations of cash began to deposit their money with cashiers to protect their wealth. These cashiers held the money for a fee. Competition drove cashiers to offer additional services, including paying out money to any person bearing a written order from a depositor to do so. They kept the note as proof of payment.
This concept spread to other countries including England and its colonies in North America, where land owners in Boston in 1681 mortgaged their land to cashiers who provided an account against which they could write checks.
In the 18th century in England, preprinted checks, serial numbers, and the word "cheque" appeared. By the late 18th century, the difficulty of clearing checks (sending them from one bank to another for collection) gave rise to the development of clearing houses.
Features and access
The cheque was the traditional mode of payment for a transactional account.
All transaction accounts offer itemised lists of all financial transactions, either through a bank statement or a passbook. A transaction account allows the account holder to make or receive payments by:
Online banking (transfer funds directly to another person via internet banking facility)
Banks offering transactional accounts may allow an account to go into overdraft if that has been previously arranged. If an account has a negative balance, money is being borrowed from the bank and interest and overdraft fees as normally charged.
Country specific differences
In the United Kingdom and other countries with a UK banking heritage, transaction accounts are known as current accounts. These offer various flexible payment methods to allow customers to distribute money directly. One of the main differences between a UK current account and an American checking account is that they earn considerable interest, sometimes comparable to a savings account, and there is generally no charge for withdrawals at cashpoints (ATMs), other than charges by third party owners of such machines.
Transfer systems
Certain modes of payment are country-specific:
Giro (funds transfer, direct deposit in European countries)
In India, NEFT and RTGS services are available to clear funds in a day.
In the European Union
The Regulation (EU) n. 655/2014 has introduced the European Account Preservation Order, a new procedure of asset freezing in order "to facilitate cross-border debt recovery in civil and commercial matters."[5]
Customers may need to attend a bank branch for a wide range of banking transactions including cash withdrawals and financial advice. There may be restrictions on cash withdrawals, even at a branch. For example, withdrawals of cash above a threshold figure may require notice.
Many transactions that previously could only be performed at a branch can now be done in others ways, such as use of ATMs, online, mobile and telephone banking.
Cheques
Cheques were the traditional method of making withdrawals from a transaction account.
Automated teller machines
Automated teller machines (ATMs) enable customers of a financial institution to perform financial transactions without attending a branch. This enables, for example, cash to be withdrawn from an account outside normal branch trading hours. However, ATMs usually have quite low limits for cash withdrawals, and there may be daily limits to cash withdrawals other than at a branch.
With the introduction of mobile banking; a customer may perform banking transactions and payments, view balances and statements, and use various other services using their mobile phone. In the UK this has become the leading way people manage their finances, as mobile banking has overtaken internet banking as the most popular way to bank.[6]
Internet or online banking enables a customer to perform banking transactions and payments, to view balances and statements, and various other facilities. This can be convenient especially when a bank is not open and enables banking transactions to be effected from anywhere Internet access is available. Online banking avoids the time spent travelling to a branch and standing in queues there. However, there are usually limits on the value of funds that can be transferred electronically on any day, making it necessary to use a cheque to effect such transfers when those limits are being reached.
Telephone banking provides access to banking transactions over the telephone. In many cases telephone banking opening times are considerably longer than branch times.
A financial institution may allow its customers to deposit cheques into their account by mail. Mail banking can be used by customers of virtual banks (as they may not offer branches or ATMs that accept deposits) and by customers who live too far from a branch.
Most stores and merchants now have to accept debit card access for purchasing goods if they want to continue operating, especially now that some people only use electronic means of purchase.[citation needed]
Cost
Any cost or fees charged by the financial institution that maintains the account, whether as a single monthly maintenance charge or for each financial transaction, will depend on a variety of factors, including the country's regulations and overall interest rates for lending and saving, as well as the financial institution's size and number of channels of access offered. This is why a direct bank can afford to offer low-cost or free banking, as well as why in some countries, transaction fees do not exist but extremely high lending rates are the norm. This is the case in the United Kingdom, where they have had free banking since 1984 when the then Midland Bank, in a bid to grab market share, scrapped current account charges.[7][8] It was so successful that all other banks had no choice but offer the same or continue losing customers. Free banking account holders are now charged only if they use an add-on service such as an overdraft.[4]
Financial transaction fees may be charged either per item or for a flat rate covering a certain number of transactions. Often, youths, students, senior citizens or high-valued customers do not pay fees for basic financial transactions. Some offer free transactions for maintaining a very high average balance in their account. Other service charges are applicable for overdraft, non-sufficient funds, the use of an external interbank network, etc. In countries where there are no service charges for transaction fees, there are, on the other hand, other recurring service charges such as a debit card annual fee. In the United States, there are checking account options that do not require monthly maintenance fees and this can keep costs down. While a majority of U.S. checking accounts do charge monthly maintenance fees, about one-third of accounts do not charge those fees. A survey of monthly checking account maintenance fees shows the average cost to be $13.47 per month or $161.64 per year.[9]
Unlike savings accounts, for which the primary reason for depositing money is to generate interest, the main function of a transactional account is transactional. Therefore, most providers pay little or no interest on credit balances.
Formerly, in the United States, Regulation Q (12 CFR 217) and the Banking Acts of 1933 and 1935 (12 USC 371a) prohibited a member of the Federal Reserve system from paying interest on demand deposit accounts. Historically, this restriction was frequently circumvented by either creating an account type such as a Negotiable Order of Withdrawal account (NOW account), which is legally not a demand deposit account or by offering interest-paying chequing through a bank that is not a member of the Federal Reserve system. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, however, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama on July 21, 2010, repealed the statutes that prohibit interest-bearing demand deposit accounts, effectively repealing Regulation Q (Pub. L. 111-203, Section 627). The repeal took effect on July 21, 2011. Since that date, financial institutions have been permitted, but not required, to offer interest-bearing demand deposit accounts.
In the United Kingdom, some online banks offer rates higher as many savings accounts, along with free banking[2] (no charges for transactions) as institutions that offer centralised services (telephone, internet or postal based) tend to pay higher levels of interest. The same holds true for banks within the EURO currency zone.
High-yield accounts
High-yield accounts pay a higher interest rate than typical NOW accounts and frequently function as loss-leaders to drive relationship banking.
Lending
Accounts can lend money in two ways: overdraft and offset mortgage.
An overdraft occurs when withdrawals from a bank account exceed the available balance. This gives the account a negative balance and in effect means the account provider is providing credit. If there is a prior agreement with the account provider for an overdraft facility, and the amount overdrawn is within this authorised overdraft, then interest is normally charged at the agreed rate. If the balance exceeds the agreed facility then fees may be charged and a higher interest rate might apply.
In North America, overdraft protection is an optional feature of a chequing account. An account holder may either apply for a permanent one, or the financial institution may, at its discretion, provide a temporary overdraft on an ad hoc basis.
In the UK, virtually all current accounts offer a pre-agreed overdraft facility the size of which is based upon affordability and credit history. This overdraft facility can be used at any time without consulting the bank and can be maintained indefinitely (subject to ad hoc reviews). Although an overdraft facility may be authorised, technically the money is repayable on demand by the bank. In reality this is a rare occurrence as the overdrafts are profitable for the bank and expensive for the customer.
Consumer reporting
In the United States, some consumer reporting agencies such as ChexSystems, Early Warning Services, and TeleCheck track how people manage their checking accounts. Banks use the agencies to screen checking account applicants. Those with low debit scores are denied checking accounts because a bank cannot afford an account to be overdrawn.[10][11][12]
An offset mortgage was a type of mortgage common in the United Kingdom used for the purchase of domestic property. The key principle is the reduction of interest charged by "offsetting" a credit balance against the mortgage debt. This can be achieved via one of two methods: either lenders provide a single account for all transactions (often referred to as a current account mortgage) or they make multiple accounts available, which let the borrower notionally split money according to purpose, whilst all accounts are offset each day against the mortgage debt.
A debit card, also known as a check card or bank card, is a payment card that can be used in place of cash to make purchases. The card usually consists of the bank's name, a card number, the cardholder's name, and an expiration date, on either the front or the back. Many new cards now have a chip on them, which allows people to use their card by touch (contactless), or by inserting the card and keying in a PIN as with swiping the magnetic stripe. Debit cards are similar to a credit card, but the money for the purchase must be in the cardholder's bank account at the time of the purchase and is immediately transferred directly from that account to the merchant's account to pay for the purchase.
A commercial bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make a profit.
A bank account is a financial account maintained by a bank or other financial institution in which the financial transactions between the bank and a customer are recorded. Each financial institution sets the terms and conditions for each type of account it offers, which are classified in commonly understood types, such as deposit accounts, credit card accounts, current accounts, loan accounts or many other types of account. A customer may have more than one account. Once an account is opened, funds entrusted by the customer to the financial institution on deposit are recorded in the account designated by the customer. Funds can be withdrawn from the accounts.
Bank fraud is the use of potentially illegal means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a financial institution, or to obtain money from depositors by fraudulently posing as a bank or other financial institution. In many instances, bank fraud is a criminal offence.
A giro transfer, often shortened to giro, is a payment transfer between current bank accounts and initiated by the payer, not the payee. The debit card has a similar model. Giros are primarily used in Europe; although electronic payment systems exist in the United States, it is not possible to perform third-party transfers with them. In the European Union, the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) allows electronic giro or debit card payments in euros to be executed to any euro bank account in the area.
Cheque fraud or check fraud refers to a category of criminal acts that involve making the unlawful use of cheques in order to illegally acquire or borrow funds that do not exist within the account balance or account-holder's legal ownership. Most methods involve taking advantage of the float to draw out these funds. Specific kinds of cheque fraud include cheque kiting, where funds are deposited before the end of the float period to cover the fraud, and paper hanging, where the float offers the opportunity to write fraudulent cheques but the account is never replenished.
A savings account is a bank account at a retail bank. Common features include a limited number of withdrawals, a lack of cheque and linked debit card facilities, limited transfer options and the inability to be overdrawn. Traditionally, transactions on savings accounts were widely recorded in a passbook, and were sometimes called passbook savings accounts, and bank statements were not provided; however, currently such transactions are commonly recorded electronically and accessible online.
A passbook or bankbook is a paper book used to record bank or building society transactions on a deposit account.
A cheque is a document that orders a bank, building society to pay a specific amount of money from a person's account to the person in whose name the cheque has been issued. The person writing the cheque, known as the drawer, has a transaction banking account where the money is held. The drawer writes various details including the monetary amount, date, and a payee on the cheque, and signs it, ordering their bank, known as the drawee, to pay the amount of money stated to the payee.
An overdraft occurs when something is withdrawn in excess of what is in a current account. For financial systems, this can be funds in a bank account. In these situations the account is said to be "overdrawn". In the economic system, if there is a prior agreement with the account provider for an overdraft, and the amount overdrawn is within the authorized overdraft limit, then interest is normally charged at the agreed rate. If the negative balance exceeds the agreed terms, then additional fees may be charged and higher interest rates may apply.
Payment cards are part of a payment system issued by financial institutions, such as a bank, to a customer that enables its owner to access the funds in the customer's designated bank accounts, or through a credit account and make payments by electronic transfer with a payment terminal and access automated teller machines (ATMs). Such cards are known by a variety of names, including bank cards, ATM cards, client cards, key cards or cash cards.
An ATM card is a dedicated payment card card issued by a financial institution which enables a customer to access their financial accounts via its and others' automated teller machines (ATMs) and, in some countries, to make approved point of purchase retail transactions. ATM cards are not credit cards or debit cards, however most credit and debit cards can also act as ATM cards and that is the most common way that banks issue cards since the 2010s.
A bank teller is an employee of a bank whose responsibilities include the handling of customer cash and negotiable instruments. In some places, this employee is known as a cashier or customer representative. Tellers also deal with routine customer service at a branch.
A bank statement is an official summary of financial transactions occurring within a given period for each bank account held by a person or business with a financial institution. Such statements are prepared by the financial institution, are numbered and indicate the period covered by the statement, and may contain other relevant information for the account type, such as how much is payable by a certain date. The start date of the statement period is usually the day after the end of the previous statement period.
ATM usage fees are what many banks and interbank networks charge for the use of their automated teller machines (ATMs). In some cases, these fees are assessed solely for non-members of the bank; in other cases, they apply to all users. There is usually a higher fee for the use of White-label ATMs rather than bank-owned ATMs.
SMS banking is a form of mobile banking. It is a facility used by some banks or other financial institutions to send messages to customers' mobile phones using SMS messaging, or a service provided by them which enables customers to perform some financial transactions using SMS.
National Financial Switch (NFS) is the largest network of shared automated teller machines (ATMs) in India. It was designed, developed and deployed by the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT) in 2004, with the goal of inter-connecting the ATMs in the country and facilitating convenience banking. It is run by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). As on 31st January’ 22, there were 1,203 members that includes 111 Direct, 1,045 Sub members, 43 RRBs and 4 WLAOs using NFS network connected to more than 2.55 Lac ATM (including cash deposit machines/recyclers).
A credit card is a payment card, usually issued by a bank, allowing its users to purchase goods or services, or withdraw cash, on credit. Using the card thus accrues debt that has to be repaid later. Credit cards are one of the most widely used forms of payment across the world.
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
A deposit account is a bank account maintained by a financial institution in which a customer can deposit and withdraw money. Deposit accounts can be savings accounts, current accounts or any of several other types of accounts explained below.
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