Good opening question to ask students who have checking accounts as well as those who will be opening their first account shortly.  Having asked this question before in class the answers tend to be along the lines of “I use the same bank as my parents” or “I bank at our local bank.”  Provides a useful opportunity to discuss the pros/cons of such an approach and introduce the concept of comparison shopping (see this recent post about How to Select a Checking Account which shows differences in checking account fees).

Once students have provided their answers, this research from Financial Brand shows what matters to online shoppers looking for a new bank account:

Ask the students to interpret the results from this chart.  Here are some takeaways they might have:

• Even in era where mobile banking is becoming more prevalent, customers still want convenient locations.
• Just over a quarter seem to care about fees despite the wide variation in  fee schedules among banks.
  • Why might this be?  Perhaps the challenge of interpreting the checking account fee disclosures (see our lesson on Beware of Checking Account Fees)
• While only 19% identified recommendations as being important, I would bet the number is higher for younger consumers who can be strongly influenced by parents and peers.
• Why do banks spend billions on advertising?  Over a 1/4 were influenced by these marketing messages.

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Check out Next Gen Personal Finance’s Checking Account Lessons here.

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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