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finder.com’s rating: 4.5 / 5.0
★★★★★
With its ability to move money into a brokerage account in a few clicks, this no-frills checking account is best for those involved in same-day stock market trades.
$0 per month
Fee
$0
Minimum deposit to open
APY | N/A |
---|---|
Fee | $0 per month |
Minimum deposit to open | $0 |
ATM transaction fee | $0 |
Foreign transaction fee | 1% |
Overdraft fee | $5 |
Nonsufficient funds fee | $25 |
Review by
Amy Stoltenberg manages newsletters at Finder, gathering the best articles each week to help subscribers save money and stretch their hard-earned dollars. She also handles the Twitter account, dabbling in Instagram and Facebook too. When she's not on the computer, you can find her exploring Los Angeles with a good book in tow. She studied writing at Savannah College of Art and Design and has been featured on the Zoe Report.
E-Trade’s Checking account is best for day traders that already use the E-Trade platform for investing. That’s because it shines in its convenience of moving funds between your checking and brokerage accounts — the funds are available instantly. Plus, as a brokerage customer, you’ll be keeping all your bank and investment accounts in one place.
The checking account itself doesn’t require you to keep a minimum balance or charge a monthly fee, and incoming wire transfers are free. However, you’ll pay to send money via wire outside of your account. Despite E-Trade offering ATM fee refunds, you may pay ATM owner fees because E-Trade doesn’t offer its own free ATM network.
You’ll get the most out of this account if you open a brokerage, checking and savings account. But if you aren’t a trader, you’ll want to look at other checking accounts to find more perks.
You can open an E-Trade Checking account by visiting a local branch or online in seven steps:
All US citizens ages 18 and older with a valid Social Security number are eligible to apply for an E-Trade Checking account.
Keep the following info handy when applying for an E-Trade Checking account:
You’ll receive a free debit card with this account, but E-Trade doesn’t have its own ATMs. There’s no fee to withdraw cash from US ATMs, but independent fees still apply. International ATM withdrawals using your E-Trade Checking account will incur a 1% fee.
E-Trade has been in business for 40 years, and gets high ratings from customers using the app. Customers like the userfriendly app that lets them research stocks, buy them and track their portfolio. Some customers report issues with the app not loading changes in the market or other glitches like not working when logged on multiple devices.
However, E-Trade receives a low F rating from the Better Business Bureau for not resolving complaints filed against the business. On Trustpilot, most reviews lean negative as well. Multiple users report having problems looking at their charts to see trading data. A few also report that it’s hard to get in touch with customer service. Positive reviews say that the platform works smoothly for them and that they’ve had no trouble with getting customer service.
Compare checking accounts by their features, APYs and initial opening deposits, then choose Go to site when you’re ready to apply for an account.
E-trade has a brick-and-mortar presence in the following states:
Deposit funds into your E-Trade Checking account in one of several ways. For reference, 256072691 is the routing number for E-Trade’s checking accounts.
Note that this deposit method can take five business days.
Access funds from your account through:
★★★★★ — Excellent
★★★★★ — Good
★★★★★ — Average
★★★★★ — Subpar
★★★★★ — Poor
We analyze top checking accounts and rate them one to five stars based on factors that are most important to you. These factors include: monthly fees, the ease at which monthly fees can be waived, the breadth of ATM access, ATM and overdraft fees, and customer service.
E-Trade Checking is not currently available on Finder
Have you considered US Bank Smartly Checking?
Take control of your spending with integrated tools such as automated budgeting, upcoming due date alerts, low balance alerts and more, available in the US Bank Smartly Checking mobile app. Easily send and receive funds via Zelle. Waive overdraft fees by depositing money before the forgiveness deadline. Member FDIC.