Lindsey Desmet
Many banks require a deposit to open a checking account, but there are some checking accounts you can open for free, with no deposit.
Online and brick-and-mortar banks that offer free checking with no opening deposit include Ally, Citi, Fifth Third Bank, and Varo, among others.
Below, we have more details on where you can open a checking account with no deposit, either online or at a branch.
We compiled this list by finding account information and disclosures on each bank’s website and by contacting each bank’s customer service department.
Keep in mind that although you do not need to make a deposit immediately, you may be required to fund the account within 30 to 45 days.
What We Recommend
All of the accounts on our list offer no opening deposit or minimum funding amount. However, Discover Cashback Debit and Fifth Third Bank Express Banking offer the best terms.
Both allow you up to 45 days to fund your account and, in addition to no minimum funding amount, have no monthly service fees or minimum monthly balance.
Ally Interest Checking, Capital One 360 Checking, Huntington Bank Asterisk-Free Checking, and Varo also have no monthly fees or minimum balance, but require a slightly less flexible new account funding period of 30 days.
Comparison Table
See the basic details of each checking account with no deposit required in our table below. Note that you can sort the table by any column using the arrows at the top of the column.
Select each company name or scroll to the list below for more details about each account.
| Account | Funding Period | Minimum Funding Amount | Monthly Service Fee | Minimum Balance to Waive Service Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ally Interest Checking | 30 days | $0.01 | None | N/A |
| Discover Cashback Debit | 45 days | None | None | N/A |
| PNC Virtual Wallet | 30 days | None | $7 | $500 |
| PNC Virtual Wallet with Performance Select | 30 days | None | $25 | $5,000 |
| PNC Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend | 30 days | None | $15 | $2,000 |
| Varo Bank Account | 30 days | None | None | N/A |
| Capital One 360 Checking | 30 days | $0.01 | None | N/A |
| Citi Access Account | 30 days | None | $10 | $1,500 |
| Citi Basic Banking | 30 days | None | $12 | $1,500 |
| Citigold | 30 days | None | None | $200,000 |
| Citi Priority | 30 days | None | $30 | $50,000 |
| The Citibank Account | 30 days | None | $25 | $10,000 |
| Fifth Third Bank Enhanced Checking | 45 days | None | $20 | $20,000 |
| Fifth Third Bank Essential Checking | 45 days | None | $11 | $1,500 |
| Fifth Third Bank Express Banking | 45 days | None | None | N/A |
| Fifth Third Bank Preferred Checking | 45 days | None | $25 | $100,000 |
| HSBC Advance | 30 days | $25 | $5,000 | |
| HSBC Basic Banking | 30 days | None | $1 | N/A |
| HSBC Choice Checking | 30 days | None | $15 | $1,500 |
| HSBC Premier | 30 days | None | $50 | $75,000 |
| Huntington Bank Asterisk-Free Checking | 30 days | None | None | N/A |
| Huntington 5 Checking | 30 days | None | $5 | $5,000 |
| Huntington 25 Checking | 30 days | None | $25 | $25,000 |
The List
Our list is in order of lowest to highest monthly fees and waiver requirements.
For each bank, we’ve listed how long you have to fund the account after opening it, the minimum funding amount, monthly service charges, and minimum balance or deposit to waive the monthly fee.
Note that none of the banks in our list require a minimum credit score, but banks may pull your consumer report or check your banking history when you apply.
Free Online Checking Accounts With No Opening Deposit
The following banks let you open a free checking account online with no deposit required.
Discover Cashback Debit
Note: After opening an account, you’ll need to register for an online account at Discover.com within 15 days, or Discover will close the account.
- Funding period after opening: 45 days
- Minimum funding amount: None
- Service charges: None
- Open an account
Varo Bank Account
- Funding period after opening: 30 days
- Minimum funding amount: None
- Service charges: None
- Open an account
Ally Interest Checking
- Funding period after opening: 30 days
- Minimum funding amount: Any amount over $0.01
- Service charges: None
- Open an account
See our research on whether or not Ally offers business checking accounts.
PNC Virtual Wallet
- Funding period after opening: 30 days
- Minimum funding amount: None
- Service charges: $7 per month; waived with a $500 average monthly balance
- Open an account
PNC Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend
- Funding period after opening: 30 days
- Minimum funding amount: None
- Service charges: $15 per month; waived with a $2,000 average monthly balance
- Open an account
PNC Virtual Wallet with Performance Select
- Funding period after opening: 30 days
- Minimum funding amount: None
- Service charges: $25 per month; waived with a $5,000 average monthly balance
- Open an account
Brick-and-Mortar Banks With Free, No-Deposit Checking Accounts
The following brick-and-mortar banks offer free checking accounts with no opening deposit. You can apply at a branch or online.
Fifth Third Bank Express Banking
- Funding period after opening: 45 days
- Minimum funding amount: None
- Service charges: None
- Open an account
Huntington Bank Asterisk-Free Checking
- Funding period after opening: 30 days
- Minimum funding amount: None
- Service charges: None
- Open an account
Capital One 360 Checking
- Funding period after opening: 30 days
- Minimum funding amount: $0.01
- Service charges: None
- Open an account
HSBC Basic Banking
Note: HSBC requires a deposit of at least $1 if you open the account online, but will waive this if you open your account at a branch.
- Funding period after opening: 30 days
- Minimum funding amount: None
- Service charges: $1
- Open an account
Citi Access Account
- Funding period after opening: 30 days
- Minimum funding amount: None
- Service charges: $10; waived with an average monthly balance of $1,500
- Open an account
Fifth Third Bank Essential Checking
- Funding period after opening: 45 days
- Minimum funding amount: None
- Service charges: $11; reduced to $8 if you have direct deposits of $500 or more per month and waived with a $1,500 combined balance
- Open an account
Huntington 5 Checking
- Funding period after opening: 30 days
- Minimum funding amount: None
- Service charges: $5; waived with $5,000 average balance
- Open an account
Citi Basic Banking
- Funding period after opening: 30 days
- Minimum funding amount: None
- Service charges: $12; waived with an average monthly balance of $1,500
- Open an account
HSBC Choice Checking
Note: HSBC requires a deposit of at least $1 if you open the account online, but will waive this if you open your account at a branch.
- Funding period after opening: 30 days
- Minimum funding amount: None
- Service charges: $15; waived with a $1,500 average daily balance
- Open an account
HSBC Advance
Note: HSBC requires a deposit of at least $1 if you open the account online, but will waive this if you open your account at a branch.
- Funding period after opening: 30 days
- Minimum funding amount: None
- Service charges: $25; waived with a balance of $5,000
- Open an account
The Citibank Account
- Funding period after opening: 30 days
- Minimum funding amount: None
- Service charges: $25; waived with an average monthly balance of $10,000
- Open an account
Fifth Third Bank Enhanced Checking
- Funding period after opening: 45 days
- Minimum funding amount: None
- Service charges: $20; waived with a $20,000 combined balance
- Open an account
Huntington 25 Checking
- Funding period after opening: 30 days
- Minimum funding amount: None
- Service charges: $25; waived with $25,000 balance
- Open an account
Citi Priority
- Funding period after opening: 30 days
- Minimum funding amount: None
- Service charges: $30; waived with an average monthly balance of $50,000
- Open an account
Fifth Third Bank Preferred Checking
- Funding period after opening: 45 days
- Minimum funding amount: None
- Service charges: $25; waived with a combined balance of $100,000
- Open an account
HSBC Premier
Note: HSBC requires a deposit of at least $1 if you open the account online, but will waive this if you open your account at a branch.
- Funding period after opening: 30 days
- Minimum funding amount: None
- Service charges: $50; waived with a $75,000 balance
- Open an account
Citigold
- Funding period after opening: 30 days
- Minimum funding amount: None
- Service charges: None; however, you must make minimum monthly deposits of $200,000 to maintain this account level
- Open an account
Want to know more about what you need to open a bank account? See our dedicated research on the requirements to open a bank account.
Banks That Require an Opening Deposit
During our research, we found several banks that require an opening deposit of one of the following two types:
Opening Deposit With No Minimum
The following banks do not have a minimum deposit, meaning you can open an account with as little as $1:
Banks With a Minimum Opening Deposit
The following banks require a minimum deposit (which may be anywhere between $10 and $500, depending on the bank and account type):
- Arvest Bank
- Aspiration
- BancFirst
- Bank of America
- Bank of Hawaii
- BMO Harris Bank
- Camden National Bank
- Chase Bank
- Commerce Bank
- E*TRADE Bank
- First Internet Bank
- Glacier Bank
- GoBank
- IBERIABANK
- KeyBank
- Level One Bank
- MemoryBank
- nbkc bank
- People’s United Bank
- Pinnacle Bank
- Radius Bank
- Regions
- Salem Five Direct
- Santander Bank
- SunTrust
- TCF Bank
- Trustmark
- USAA
- U.S. Bank
- Wells Fargo
Cathy Desmet
William Lipovsky