Bank Of Internet Checking Pays 1.25%

Bank of Internet USA has a free checking account that gives you a bit of control to determine how much interest you’ll earn, up to 1.25% APY.

You’ll earn a slice of that interest pie — 0.3125% APY — for completing each of the following actions:

• Receive direct deposits each month that total $1,000 or more.
• Use online bill pay at least twice per month.
• Use your Visa debit card at least once each month to make a purchase.
• Use your debit card for purchases at least six more times in a month.

Do all of the above, and you’ll earn 1.25% APY in a given month.

But this isn’t an all-or-nothing proposition. Even if you only do one or two of the steps, you’ll still earn interest on your account.

ATM use is free as well. The online bank open to everyone no matter where you live will refund fees charged by other banks to use their ATMs.

The account also offers individualized rewards based on where you shop. If you accept a retailers’ offer and use your debit card to make a purchase there, cash back will be deposited into your account.

You’ll need to deposit at least $100 to open a checking account, which carries no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. The account also gives you a free Visa debit card and 50-pack of checks.

The ability to use paper checks free of charge is one major advantage over the free checking account offered by Incrediblebank that we wrote about recently.

Bank of Internet USA (www.bankofinternet.com), an online bank, is a division of BofI Federal Bank, based in San Diego. BofI also is the parent of UFB Direct, which offers the best nationally available savings account rates, at 1.30% APY.