Types of bank account

These days banks have taken on the idea of personalised banking and developed a range of bank accounts to suit the particular banking needs of their customers (or so they would have us believe!) Here are the most common types of accounts and some of their key features:

Personal transaction accounts

These are your generic everyday banking accounts, typically used for:

• salary payments
• transfers to other accounts (credit cards, savings, etc)
• EFTPOS, Bpay, direct debits, cheques, etc
• online banking

Some new transaction accounts pay a miserable amount of interest on your balance; some charge miserable monthly or transaction fees; most offer access to a range of features. Bank account fees and charges vary significantly, from no fee accounts with minimum conditions, to overcharging accounts you need to avoid.

Basic bank accounts

Your basic bank accounts tend to offer very limited transactions and no monthly fees - typically for pensioners, low-income earners or low-activity bankers.

Student bank accounts

One shiny student card will get you a reduction in monthly fees and transaction charges. Like the sound of that? Why not check out our comfy, beery-carpeted Student Room - which hosts a student bank account comparison of its own.

Online bank accounts

Once upon a time, this was a distinct breed of bank account. Now, it tends to come as standard (although some online accounts don't offer any face time or branch access). Show me the best online accounts!