Free checking: You can get it if you really want it
MarketWatch
By Jennifer Waters, MarketWatch CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — They may be hard to find, but there are still banks and credit unions out there that won’t charge you a dime for a checking account.
“Its demise has been a little exaggerated,” said Todd Barnhart, director of deposits for PNC Bank. “There are still a fair number of banks with free checking accounts, admittedly not a large bank.”
There are a number of sites to find the best checking account fit for you, including Bankrate.com and Findabetterbank.com. The newest is a comparison tool at NerdWallet (http://www.nerdwallet.com/checking-accounts/) that lets you set the parameters on criteria such as minimum deposits, likelihood of overdrafts and whether you bank online or in the bank, and pulls up lists of accounts that match your needs.
Change the parameters and the list — gleaned from among more than 120 account types offered by banks and credit unions — changes too.