Federal Reserve Increases Checks Per Month in Money Market Accounts to 6

If you have a savings account or money market you know that you are limited in the number of withdrawals you can make. Most people think that this is a bank thing but in reality is a Federal Reserve regulation. The limits were as follows:

Electronic Withdrawls: 6 per month
Checks: 3 per month

Well the Feds have decided to go ahead and increase the check limit to 6. This means that if your money market account or savings account allows check writing you should be able to write 6 checks per month.

Now don’t think that just because the Feds changed the rules that your bank will jump on board. Make sure to check with them before decided to write more checks as they may have fees involved. Many banks may be slow to increase their limit based on this new regulation change. For example Ally Bank’s Money Market Account still states that “only three of the six-per-cycle withdrawals or transfers may be made by check or with your check card at point of sale.”. Hopefully they will change this which will make this account a little more like a checking account.

Overall I think this is a positive move by the Federal Reserve. With the explosion of online banks and high interest accounts allowing people easier access to their money is always a good thing!