Three checking accounts for everyday banking, each with Early Pay on direct deposits, a $50 overdraft grace zone and access to more than 30,000 surcharge-free ATMs.
- Access Checking: $25 to open, $0 monthly maintenance fee, no balance minimums
- Early Pay: direct deposits up to two days sooner
- Available to residents of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin
Associated Bank offers three personal checking accounts: Access Checking, Balanced Checking and Choice Checking. All three include an overdraft grace zone, access to more than 30,000 surcharge-free ATMs and Early Pay on direct deposits. The difference between them is the monthly fee, how you avoid it, and the extra benefits you get as your balances grow.
Quick answer: Access Checking is the no-fee, no-minimums account. Balanced Checking, which includes Credit Monitor, has a $9 monthly fee you can waive with a $500 deposit each statement cycle. Choice Checking earns interest and refunds out-of-network ATM fees, with a $25 monthly fee waived at $10,000 in combined deposits.
Associated Bank checking accounts compared
| Access Checking | Balanced Checking | Choice Checking | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | No fees, no minimums | More features, easy fee waiver | Higher balances, interest, premium benefits |
| Minimum deposit to open | $25 | $100 | $100 |
| Monthly maintenance fee | $0 | $9 | $25 |
| How to waive the fee | No fee to waive | $1,000 minimum daily balance, OR $500+ in deposits per statement cycle, OR $2,500 in combined deposit accounts (or an HSA or investment account) | $10,000 in combined deposit accounts in the same statement cycle (or an HSA or investment account) |
| Balance minimums | None | Only to waive the fee | Only to waive the fee |
| Earns interest | No | No | Yes |
| Early Pay on direct deposits | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Overdraft grace zone | $50 | $50 | $50, rising to $100 / $250 / no overdraft fees at higher benefit levels |
| Surcharge-free ATMs | 30,000+ | 30,000+ | 30,000+, plus out-of-network ATM fee refunds |
| Credit monitoring | No | Credit Monitor | Credit Monitor+ |
| Debit card | Platinum Debit Mastercard® | Platinum Debit Mastercard® | World Debit Mastercard® with extra benefits |
| Statements | Free paperless | Free paperless | Free paperless or mailed |
Fees and features are from Associated Bank’s published account information. See full account details and disclosures at AssociatedBank.com/earn before opening an account.
Access Checking: no monthly fee, no balance minimums
Access Checking is Associated Bank’s account for people who want checking without a monthly maintenance fee or a balance to keep up.
- $25 minimum deposit to open
- $0 monthly maintenance fee and no balance minimums
- Early Pay on direct deposits (up to two days sooner)
- $50 Overdraft Grace Zone: no fee if you overdraw your checking account by $50 or less
- 30,000+ surcharge-free ATMs nationwide
- Free paperless statements
- Associated Bank Digital online and mobile banking (see the full feature list below)
- Family Banking: checking and savings for children under 18 that parents can monitor
- Platinum Debit Mastercard®, including exclusive designs featuring the Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Brewers™ and more
Balanced Checking: more features, a fee that’s easy to waive
Balanced Checking includes all the banking features of Access Checking and adds Credit Monitor, with free credit scores and alerts, inside Associated Bank Digital.
- $100 minimum deposit to open
- $9 monthly maintenance fee, waived if you meet any one of these conditions:
- Maintain a $1,000 minimum daily balance, OR
- Deposit a total of $500 or more per statement cycle, OR
- Hold $2,500 in combined deposit accounts with the same statement cycle date, or have an HSA or investment account
For most people paid by direct deposit, the $500-per-cycle option is the simplest way to avoid the fee.
Choice Checking: interest and premium benefits for higher balances
Choice Checking is designed for customers with higher balances who want premium benefits. As your relationship amount grows, your benefit level rises automatically through Platinum Choice, Emerald Choice and Emerald Private Choice.
- All the banking features of Balanced Checking
- $100 minimum deposit
- $25 monthly maintenance fee, waived when you hold $10,000 in combined deposit accounts in the same statement cycle, or have an HSA or investment account
- Earns interest
- Credit Monitor+
- Out-of-network ATM fees refunded
- Free exclusive personal checks
- Free paperless or mailed statements
- World Debit Mastercard® with extra benefits
Higher Choice benefit levels also widen the overdraft grace zone: $100 for Platinum Choice and $250 for Emerald Choice, and Emerald Private Choice customers are not charged overdraft fees.
Features every Associated Bank checking account includes
Early Pay
Associated Bank can make your paycheck available in your checking account up to two days earlier when you’re paid by direct deposit. Eligible deposits are regularly occurring credits from an employer, government entity or other organization that pays you on a recurring basis. Person-to-person payments, check or mobile deposits and other online transfers don’t qualify. For how direct deposit timing works in general, see our guide to when direct deposits hit your account.
$50 overdraft grace zone
If you accidentally overdraw your checking account by $50 or less, Associated Bank won’t charge an overdraft fee. If an overdraft is paid, you’ll need to make a deposit to bring the account back to a positive balance. Full overdraft terms are available at AssociatedBank.com/earn.
30,000+ surcharge-free ATMs
Associated Bank customers can get cash, make deposits, check balances and transfer funds at more than 30,000 Associated Bank and MoneyPass® ATMs across the U.S. without a surcharge. Associated Bank ATMs offer the same services you can expect from an Associated Bank branch.
Associated Bank Digital
Online and mobile banking comes with every checking account:
- Money Monitor: set budgets, track spending and see how your money grows
- Free overdraft protection transfers
- Automated Savings
- Debit card controls
- Mobile deposits
- Actionable Insights with money-smart alerts
- Zelle® to send money to people you know and trust
- Online Bill Pay
How Associated Bank handles overdrafts
Associated Bank separates three situations, and it helps to know the difference:
- Overdraft: You don’t have enough money to cover a transaction, and Associated Bank pays it anyway. You’ll be charged a fee for each overdraft, up to two per day, and you’ll need to bring your balance back above zero.
- Return: You don’t have enough money to cover a transaction, and Associated Bank doesn’t pay it. You won’t be charged a returned item fee, but the transaction is marked as a non-sufficient funds (NSF) returned item.
- Grace zone: No overdraft fee if you’re overdrawn by $50 or less on all checking accounts, or up to $100 with unlocked Platinum Choice benefits.
Overdraft service for debit and ATM card transactions is optional. If you add it, the bank can approve a purchase or cash withdrawal even when you don’t have sufficient funds. Overdraft Protection Transfer service links your checking account to another Associated Bank account (checking, savings, money market, consumer credit card, Checking Reserve Line of Credit or Premier Line of Credit) at no charge.
Which Associated Bank checking account is right for you?
- Choose Access Checking if you want a no-fee, no-minimums, no-hassle account.
- Choose Balanced Checking if you want more robust benefits, like Credit Monitor and you deposit at least $500 a month or keep $1,000 in the account.
- Choose Choice Checking if you keep $10,000 or more across your Associated Bank deposit accounts and want to earn interest, get out-of-network ATM fees refunded and unlock higher benefit levels.
For full account details and disclosures, visit AssociatedBank.com/earn.
Things to know before you open an account
- Fees on two of the three accounts. Balanced Checking ($9) and Choice Checking ($25) charge a monthly maintenance fee unless you meet a waiver condition.
- Only Choice Checking earns interest. Access and Balanced Checking don’t.
- Early Pay isn’t guaranteed. It’s offered at the bank’s discretion and depends on when your payer sends the deposit.
- Out-of-network ATMs can cost extra. ATM owners outside the Associated Bank and MoneyPass networks may charge a fee, and Associated Bank may also charge one, unless you have Choice Checking’s refunds.
- Branch locations. Associated Bank has nearly 200 banking locations in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Nebraska.
About Associated Bank
Associated Bank is a Midwest bank headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It offers a full range of financial products and services online and from nearly 200 banking locations, serving more than 100 communities throughout Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Nebraska. Its parent company manages more than $43 billion in assets. Beyond checking and savings, Associated Bank offers mortgages, credit cards, investment management, commercial lending, treasury services and wealth management, and it emphasizes community investment in the Midwest. Learn more at AssociatedBank.com.
Disclosures
For complete account terms, fees and disclosures, visit AssociatedBank.com/earn. Associated Bank, N.A. Member FDIC.
Zelle® and the Zelle® related marks are wholly owned by Early Warning Services, LLC and are used herein under license.
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