Another +1 for Schwab. They're truly awesome. The con you listed isn't exactly accurate. You don't need an IRA, or direct deposit. In opening a bank account,

Another +1 for Schwab. They're truly awesome. The con you listed isn't exactly accurate. You don't need an IRA, or direct deposit. In opening a bank account, they automatically open a brokerage account, in doing so there is no minimum balance in either account. No direct deposits required, no IRA, no requirement to even use their brokerage accounts. Real cons I've found: 1. You have to actually mail in a form to set up electronic transfers to other bank accounts (either your own or someone else's). After learning about square cash I no longer find this to be an issue. 2. You can't do international wire transfers directly from the bank account. You can however transfer the money to your brokerage account and do the wire transfer from there. 3. If you initiate an ACH pull from another bank account you have they place a 3 day hold on the money. Annoying but can be avoided if you can use an ACH push from the other bank. And the pros: 1. They do refund all ATM fees, including foreign ATM fees. This was extremely useful when I was in Japan which is cash only and where I was getting hit with $15 ATM fees. 2. They also absorb the fee Visa imposes on foreign transactions (both currency conversion fees, an the Visa cross-border fee of approximately 1%). 3. Unlimited free checks, free return envelopes for sending in things you have to mail them. 4. Customer service so good I always put down the phone smiling and elated. I've never been transferred to another person when dealing with them! All in all I highly recommend them unless you need to make cash deposits, or need to make international wire transfers frequently.