eli5: do banks pay you for saving your money with them or do you pay them to save your money?

Question

I never learned how it works

In: 3

Answer 1

Checking account: Daily use, almost never interest-earning (some do exist). Usually need to maintain a minimum balance or direct deposit for it to be free, otherwise usually around $10/mo.

Saving account: Not for daily use (has limits to how often you can withdraw). Usually interest earning (typically very minuscule and not worth mentioning, 0.01-0.05%; highest is around 3.5%). Has similar rules to not get charged maintenance fees.