U.S. Bank · U.S. checking accounts

U.S. Bank Smartly Checking

An interest-bearing checking account with branch access, digital banking, a debit card and several ways to waive the monthly maintenance fee.

Pros

Deposit, balance, eligible card/business relationships, rewards tiers or qualifying customer groups can waive the $12 monthly fee.
Eligible Global Transition Solutions customers receive specified fee and incoming-wire benefits.
Personal checks, debit payments, digital banking and eligible Zelle transfers.
Earns 0.001% APY on balances of $0–$24,999.99 and 0.005% APY on balances of $25,000 or more; variable tiered rate, effective as of Nov 24, 2025.

Cons

$12 monthly after the first two statement periods unless a waiver condition is met.
$25 minimum opening deposit.
Paid overdrafts can cost $36 per item, capped at three daily; balance, item-size and Fee Forgiven conditions apply.
Standard domestic incoming wires cost $20; international incoming wires cost $25 unless an eligible waiver applies.
Confirm branch requirements before applying without an SSN.

Generated from the provider's published terms and reviewed against official sources.

Costs and key facts

Recurring fee	12 USD
Minimum opening deposit	25 USD
SSN requirement	Conditional
ITIN accepted	Not confirmed
Credit check	NotStated

Fee waiver: Waived for the first two statement periods. Thereafter, waived with combined monthly direct deposits of at least $1,500; a minimum average account balance of $1,500; ownership of an open U.S. Bank Smartly Visa Signature card in good standing or eligible small-business checking account; or a qualifying Smart Rewards Gold, Platinum or Platinum Plus tier. Eligible groups include ages 13–24 or 65+, military customers, Workplace Financial Wellness, Global Transition Solutions and qualifying State Farm Alliance customers; program conditions apply.

Eligibility and application requirements

U.S. address: Not confirmed

Residency and other conditions: Individual applicants must be 18 or older and legal U.S. residents. Ages 13–17 use the teen joint-account route with an adult. Standard online opening requires an SSN and accepted government ID; contact a branch to confirm any no-SSN route, ITIN acceptance and the documents for your immigration status. Account approval and verification apply. Ask your employer whether you qualify for the Global Transition Solutions customer group.

Geographic restrictions: No specific account exclusions verified from the reviewed sources. Confirm availability by ZIP code and check the branch locator.

Product review: 01 Nov 2026. Source retrieval dates below are separate from editorial verification. An accepted ITIN does not establish residency eligibility.

Compare u.s. checking accounts requirements and costs · How we assess published requirements

Service fees

Overdraft / returned item	36 (currency not confirmed)
Outgoing domestic wire	30 (currency not confirmed)
Incoming wire	20 (currency not confirmed)
Outgoing instant transfer	Not confirmed
Incoming instant transfer	Not confirmed
Global remittance	Not confirmed · Standard wires: incoming domestic $20, incoming international $25, outgoing domestic $30 and outgoing international $50. Internal U.S. Bank wires have different fees. Eligible age, rewards or Global Transition Solutions benefits can waive specified incoming-wire fees. Exchange rates and other-bank charges may apply.
Allpoint ATM	Not confirmed
Other ATMs	No U.S. Bank ATM transaction fee. Standard non-U.S. Bank ATM fee is $3 per transaction, with eligible customer-group or rewards waivers. MoneyPass avoids the owner surcharge but may still incur the bank’s transaction fee.
Cash deposit	Not confirmed