Banks are not technically required to provide these disclosures online, but if they allow prospective customers to open an account online, those customers need to have the disclosure before being able to open an account. Although every bank’s website is different, if they have their account disclosures online, you should be able to find them by typing “account disclosure” in the search bar. You’ll most likely be able to see disclosures for a variety of different types of accounts. This disclosure outlines many important details about the account, including fees, interest rates, and minimum balance requirements.
APY and Interest Rate Disclosure
Your bank should provide you with the annual percentage yield (APY) and interest rate for your account. If it’s a fixed-rate account, your bank should let you know how long the interest rate will be in effect. Your bank should also tell you how and when it calculates the amount of interest your account has accrued. The APY and interest rate must be disclosed for each level of a tiered-rate account (one that pays different interest rates depending on your balance level). For stepped-rate accounts (which have an interest rate that changes at specific time periods), your bank must disclose one composite APY along with the interest rates and period of time each interest rate will be in effect. Banks have to disclose how they determine variable interest rates, whether they change rates at their discretion, whether the variable rate is tied to an index, and if there is a floor or ceiling on rates.
Fees
Your bank should tell you how and when it charges or calculates a fee, and if those fees are affected by other accounts you may have with the bank. Your bank must disclose the following fees:
Maintenance feesFees to open or close an accountWithdrawal, deposit, or ATM feesStop-payment feesBalance inquiry feesFees for bounced checksFees for overdrawing an account
Withdrawal and Deposit Limits
Your bank should disclose any limits it has on the number or dollar amount you can withdraw or deposit, such as the number of checks you can write in a month, as well as any limits on withdrawals or deposits during the term of a time account.
How To Use a Bank Account Disclosure
Say you’re shopping around for the best one-year CD rates. Once you narrow down your options, you could review each bank account disclosure to compare:
The CD’s minimum deposit requirements How interest gets paid out What happens if you need to withdraw your money early
You can use this information to help you choose the best account for you. If one CD requires a $5,000 minimum deposit but you can only deposit $1,000, you know to move on and find a different account. If two CDs have identical interest rates but one has stricter early withdrawal penalties, you may want to choose the more forgiving option. Once you decide to buy one of the CDs, you can refer back to the disclosure if you need help remembering the terms of the account.
Example of a Bank Account Disclosure
Many banks and credit unions have disclosures online that you can review. To give you a thorough example, here’s an overview of Wells Fargo’s consumer account disclosures and what each is for.
Deposit Account Agreement
Wells Fargo’s Deposit Account Agreement is over 40 pages long. It covers all the rules and requirements for opening and closing accounts, depositing and transferring funds, overdrafting, disputing charges, and more. Here’s a screenshot of its table of contents for reference:
Consumer Account Fee and Information Schedule
Wells Fargo’s Consumer Account Fee and Information Schedule goes over every service and fee it charges for each of its bank accounts. In the screenshot below, you can see that Wells Fargo’s Everyday Checking account comes with a checkbook and overdraft protection, while the Clear Access Banking account doesn’t. You can also see all the requirements you must meet to waive the $10 or $5 monthly fee. If you don’t do anything else, at least read an account’s fee schedule before you open an account. It’s the most important bank account disclosure because this is where you find out what charges to expect and how to avoid them.
Consumer Account Addenda
Lastly, Wells Fargo’s Consumer Account Addenda is a summary of all the changes it’s made (or is about to make) to its Deposit Account Agreement or Consumer Account Fee and Information Schedule. In other words, it’s a list of revisions that are going into effect.
