GOBankingRates Study Ranks Massachusetts Fourth Best State for Affordable Banking

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May 29, 2014, 07:15 ET

LOS ANGELES, May 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- A new study from leading personal finance website GOBankingRates.com found that Massachusetts is the fourth best state in the United States for affordable banking, offering local residents access to less expensive banking options than 46 other states and the District of Columbia.

As part of its investigation to determine the 10 Best and Worst States for Affordable Banking, GOBankingRates surveyed all 50 states and the District of Columbia, assessing several factors, including interest rates on checking and savings accounts, various banking fees, minimum account balance requirements, and the number of local banking options available.

With 75 unique financial institutions in the state -- the eighth most in the country -- and the third lowest checking and savings account minimum deposit amount requirements, Massachusetts falls behind just Arkansas, Iowa and Oklahoma for affordability.

Rhode Island is the only other state on the East Coast to make it into the top 10 most affordable states for banking.

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"The amount of competition is one reason why it's great to be a banking consumer in Massachusetts," said Chris Tremont, senior vice president and director of marketing at Boston-based First Trade Union Bank. "This competition causes banks to be more innovative with our products and service offerings, along with constantly thinking 'client-first.'"

Jennifer Calonia, editorial manager of GOBankingRates, added, "The clearest way to differentiate affordable banking from expensive banking is by finding deposit accounts with high yields and low or no fees. Knowing whether your state has an affordable banking market helps consumers make more informed decisions, but it's important to read the fine print before opening any bank account."

About GOBankingRates

GOBankingRates (www.gobankingrates.com) is a leading personal finance and interest rate website specializing in helping consumers earn, save and grow their money. It aggregates over 11 million rates from more than 6,000 institutions in local and national markets, sharing these rates and other consumer banking information with top media outlets, including U.S. News, Forbes, Huffington Post, Yahoo! Finance and Business Insider.

Methodology: GOBankingRates evaluated all 50 states and the District of Columbia according to nine criteria, which were weighted equally: the number of financial institutions in the state, average checking and savings account rates, average checking and savings minimum balance requirements, average NSF returned check fees, average out-of-network ATM fees, and average monthly maintenance charges for checking and savings accounts. Information was pulled from the GOBankingRates database, which aggregates information from Informa Research Services, and RateWatch.

Contact:

Connie Lundegard
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310.297.9233x112

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SOURCE GOBankingRates