I like this site, FindABetterBank.com. It looks at where you live, the features you want, and your banking habits to suggest a checking account with the lowest fees.
For my preferences it spit out a list of about a dozen accounts with annual fees from $0 (ING Direct) to $334 (Citibank). Funny thing is, I currently bank with both these companies. The list of suggested banks tells me what percentage of my requested features each account has, how far away the nearest branch is and the number of locations within five miles.
The site is run by two guys who believed if it was easier to switch banks the best banks would win. FindABetterBank.com has a great FAQ page that tells you the site makes money – through fees collected from participating banks and credit unions. They say these fees do not influence their presentation of each bank, but more details about how they collect the fees would strengthen this argument. (Sites like this typically make money through referral fees when a person clicks through to a bank and opens an account.)
FindABetterBank.com updates their info every 3-6 months and currently includes 85 major banks across the country.
June 9th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
Thanks Julia! We really appreciate letting your readers know about us.
We’ll update our FAQ to expand upon how we make money. Here’s the scoop: Unlike other online comparison tools, we do not make money on referral fees or clicks.
Participating banks and credit unions pay a fixed annual fee to be listed on our site. They have no influence in how or where their accounts are presented. So what’s in it for them? In addition to being listed, many of our clients receive analysis about how their accounts perform so they can improve their services and become more customer-centric. Any click-throughs they receive are included in their annual fee.
FindABetterBank is helping people save money everyday by providing local banking alternatives that won’t continually invent new fees. Happy saving everyone!
Best,
Rob Rubin