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finder.com’s rating: 3.5 / 5.0
★★★★★
If you’re looking for a no-frills checking account with no monthly fees, ATM rebates, mobile banking and automatic bill pay, the Umpqua Embark Checking account could be a good fit. That is, if you live in this bank’s limited service area of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California or Nevada.
$0 per month
Fee
N/A
APY
$25
Minimum deposit to open
APY | N/A |
---|---|
Fee | $0 per month |
Minimum deposit to open | $25 |
ATMs | Surcharge-free Umpqua ATMs in all of the network's 5 states, plus up to $10 per month in ATM fee rebates |
ATM transaction fee | $0 |
ATM fee rebates | Up to $10 in fee rebates if you maintain a monthly account balance of at least $2,500 |
Out-of-network ATM fee | $2.50 |
Foreign transaction fee | 2% |
Overdraft fee | $35 |
Nonsufficient funds fee | $35 |
Review by
Shannon Terrell is a writer for Finder who studied communications and English literature at the University of Toronto. On any given day, you can find her researching everything from equine financing and business loans to student debt refinancing and how to start a trust. She loves hot coffee, the smell of fresh books and discovering new ways to save her pennies.
The Umpqua Embark Checking account has no monthly maintenance fees, but it’s only available to residents of California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho or Nevada.
If you plan to travel outside of these five states and you want to bank with Umpqua, you’ll want to consider opening Umpqua’s Access Checking account.
Finalize your application by funding your account with a deposit of at least $25. You can fund your new account from an existing Umpqua account, from an external account or with a credit or debit card.
After approval, you’ll receive your checking account’s debit card by mail.
For Umpqua Embark Checking approval, the bank requires:
As with most checking accounts, your balance is FDIC-insured for up to $250,000. And you can simplify your life with automatic bill pay on utilities and more.
You won’t pay fees to use ATMs in Umpqua network across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California and Nevada. In addition to withdrawing up to $500 in cash from an ATM, you can conveniently check your balance, review transactions, transfer money and change your PIN.
The bank charges $2.50 for each transaction at ATMs outside its network. But if you keep at least $2,500 in your checking account, you qualify for up to $10 in rebates to soften the blow of up to four non-network transactions.
Umpqua offers a strong checking product, though in few states and with many potential fees.
If you’re looking for an account that’s available in more states, you’ll want to keep looking. As always, compare your options when choosing a checking account.
Unlike other banks that require $100 or more to take advantage of a strong checking account, you can open Umpqua Embark Checking in person or online with a mere $25 opening deposit.
In addition to its Umpqua Embark Checking account, Umpqua offers flexible checking options designed to meet specific banking needs:
★★★★★ — 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.