Bank statements show account balance and activity, including deposits, withdrawals, and fees. They can be received monthly or quarterly, and some banks offer paperless statements. Reading statements helps track expenses and detect errors or fraud.
Bank statements are records compiled by a bank to show things like the balance and activity within the account. It is common for most people with checking accounts to receive a monthly bank statement. Those with savings accounts may get statements less frequently, and many only receive a quarterly statement. It used to be the case that many banks would only send such records every three months or even less frequently, but now most people rely on seeing a monthly statement to balance things like checking and other active accounts.
There are several characteristics that most bank statements possess. These may include a beginning and ending balance. A monthly account statement will probably show what the balance was at the beginning and end of the month. This doesn’t mean I’m completely accurate or agree with the current balance, as most people won’t receive their statements until a couple of days after the posted period ends. New account activity, such as deposits or withdrawals, can quickly change your final balance.
Most account statements will also list all transactions that occurred on the account and the date they occurred. Transactions include deposits, withdrawals, ATM withdrawals, ATM purchases, checks written on the account, and any monthly account deductions for payments to other businesses plus any bank charges or fees. Sometimes bank statements include all checks that were processed and canceled within the month. Other banks send copies of these checks, and some only send a summary of check purchases.
Some types of bank statements may also record any interest earned. This may be the case with savings accounts or any type of interest checking account. Understanding that interest can accrue can be helpful in reconciling accounts with bank records.
Different financial institutions have different methods of organizing bank statements. Most do it by date, but you can list a few things separately. Checks cashed by the bank may appear in more than one area. Sometimes banks will summarize all ATM purchases with one total amount, or they will summarize all deposits. These summaries generally add up to an itemized list of each transaction.
An increasingly popular trend in banking is the paperless bank statement. This is an online accounting of all transactions provided by financial institutions. There are several reasons why people are interested in this form of declaration. They can eliminate the need to destroy many bank records and canceled checks, and are usually updated very frequently (some within a few minutes).
This means that people can check online to zoom in on instant check-ins or view recent activity. Some banks provide statements compatible with financial management software like Quicken that can be helpful in reconciling accounts. Some people choose to receive only paperless bank records, and others feel more secure looking online and having paper records as well.
For the consumer, there is a significant benefit to reading bank statements. It can help each person determine assets and expenses. They also provide a way to perform a backup check on any personal records that are maintained. Other advantages of reading these statements are that they can be a way to determine if a bank has made a mistake or if someone has illegally accessed an account. Timely reporting of errors or identity theft can help resolve these issues more quickly.
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