Open a Checking Account Online With No Deposit at These 23 Banks

Man opening a checking account online with no deposit

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 Checking30 days $0.01 None N/A
Discover Cashback Debit45 days None None N/A
PNC Virtual Wallet30 days None $7 $500
PNC Virtual Wallet with Performance Select30 days None $25 $5,000
PNC Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend30 days None $15 $2,000
Varo Bank Account30 days None None N/A
Capital One 360 Checking30 days $0.01 None N/A
Citi Access Account30 days None $10 $1,500
Citi Basic Banking30 days None $12 $1,500
Citigold30 days None None $200,000
Citi Priority30 days None $30 $50,000
The Citibank Account30 days None $25 $10,000
Fifth Third Bank Enhanced Checking45 days None $20 $20,000
Fifth Third Bank Essential Checking45 days None $11 $1,500
Fifth Third Bank Express Banking45 days None None N/A
Fifth Third Bank Preferred Checking45 days None $25 $100,000
HSBC Advance30 days $25 $5,000
HSBC Basic Banking30 days None $1 N/A
HSBC Choice Checking30 days None $15 $1,500
HSBC Premier30 days None $50 $75,000
Huntington Bank Asterisk-Free Checking30 days None None N/A
Huntington 5 Checking30 days None $5 $5,000
Huntington 25 Checking30 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 logo

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 logo

Varo Bank Account

  • Funding period after opening: 30 days
  • Minimum funding amount: None
  • Service charges: None
  • Open an account

Ally Bank logo

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 Bank logo

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 Bank logo

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 Bank logo

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 logo

Fifth Third Bank Express Banking

  • Funding period after opening: 45 days
  • Minimum funding amount: None
  • Service charges: None
  • Open an account

Huntington logo

Huntington Bank Asterisk-Free Checking

  • Funding period after opening: 30 days
  • Minimum funding amount: None
  • Service charges: None
  • Open an account

Capital One logo

Capital One 360 Checking

  • Funding period after opening: 30 days
  • Minimum funding amount: $0.01
  • Service charges: None
  • Open an account

HSBC logo

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

Citibank logo

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 logo

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 logo

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

Citibank logo

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 logo

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 logo

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

Citibank logo

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 logo

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 logo

Huntington 25 Checking

  • Funding period after opening: 30 days
  • Minimum funding amount: None
  • Service charges: $25; waived with $25,000 balance
  • Open an account

Citibank logo

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 logo

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 logo

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

Citibank logo

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

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