As the cost of living continues to rise, taking steps to ensure your dollar stretches further is more important than ever. Finding the best checking account to suit your needs can help with that. Designed for making deposits and withdrawals, a checking account provides many benefits and features. A financial building block, there are many reasons why you should have one and today on the blog, we'll examine three.

They're safer than carrying cash.
Cash can be stolen or destroyed, and a checking account can help protect your funds in more than one way. When you open and deposit funds into a checking account, they are insured for up to $250,000 per person, per account by a designated governmental organization. Credit unions are insured by the National Credit Union Association (NCUA) while banks are covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Plus, when you entrust your funds to a financial institution, your funds are monitored and better protected by a team of fraud prevention experts. Overall, a checking account protects your money in ways that carrying cash can't.

There are helpful benefits and features.
Some checking accounts are based on accumulating rewards points that can be redeemed for travel, merchandise, gift cards, and more. Other accounts can pay dividends for debit card usage and specific account activity. In addition to the rewards benefits, you should also consider one with no monthly balance requirements, no minimum amount to open, and no monthly fees.

They offer convenience.
Checking accounts can also help by making banking more convenient. Enjoy banking on the go with services like Online and Mobile Banking, which put your finances directly at your fingertips! Some financial institutions offer electronic bill pay options, which can enable you to automate more of your finances. You can even set up a digital wallet that can be used to make payments from your smartphone or mobile device anywhere it is accepted.

Selecting the right checking account is an important part of building financial resilience. At DCCU, we offer two checking products to suit your financial needs. Rewards Checking allows you to earn rewards points when you use your debit card. These points can be redeemed for travel, merchandise, cash, gift cards, and more.

Our Grow Checking account pays you dividends each month based on debit card usage and account activity. Plus, you can now earn up to 5.54% APY with Grow Checking*! Please visit our Checking page for more information about our checking account products.

*Grow Checking is a tiered rate account and tiers are based on account activity. APY = Annual Percentage Yield. Rates accurate as of 11/1/2023 and subject to change. Insured by NCUA. Membership required.

This article is for general information only and not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.