Demand account
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A demand account (or demand deposit, demand deposit account) is a deposit account held at a bank or other financial institution, the funds deposited in which are payable on demand. The primary purpose of demand accounts is to facilitate cashless payments by means of check, bank draft, direct debit, electronic funds transfer, etc.
A demand account is commonly known as:
- a checking account (United States banks)
- a current account (United Kingdom banks)
- a share draft account (United States credit unions)
- a savings account (Australian banks)
- a cheque account (New Zealand banks)
Checking accounts in the United States
In some cases, checking accounts may pay interest. Checking accounts that pay interest are sometimes referred to as a negotiable order for withdrawal or NOW account in order to differentiate them from the older 'standard' checking account due to rules passed back in the 1930s which prohibited banks from paying interest on checking accounts.
Typically, the format of a check consists of the date it was written, the party to whom it is payable, the amount that is payable, the identification of the bank it is drawn upon and the account number of that bank, and a signature or other identification indicating the check was authorized by the depositor. There will usually be a series of routing numbers appearing at the bottom of the check, printed using a special type of font called MICR and using magnetic ink so that it can be read by machine.
While in many cases, checks are more and more being displaced by electronic transactions including direct deposit, ATM, check card and credit card purchases, billions of checks are still written every year in the United States alone.
See also