Banking What Is a Bank Account Disclosure? By Cassidy Horton Updated on October 20, 2022 Fact checked by Sarah Fisher Fact checked by Sarah Fisher Sarah Fisher is an associate editor at The Balance with two years of personal finance and business writing experience. She has written about personal finance for SmartAsset, and has held internships at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's office. learn about our editorial policies In This Article View All In This Article How Does a Bank Account Disclosure Work? How To Use a Bank Account Disclosure Example of a Bank Account Disclosure Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Photo: LaylaBird / Getty Images Definition A bank account disclosure is a document that lists the terms and conditions of an account, including fees, interest rates, minimum deposit requirements, and other essential information. Key Takeaways A bank account disclosure is a document that outlines the terms and conditions of an account, such as a checking account, savings account, or certificate of deposit.Bank account disclosures are sometimes referred to as “deposit account disclosures or “truth in savings disclosures.”Banks are required by law to provide these disclosures. Reviewing a bank account disclosure can help you avoid fees and find the right account for your needs. How Does a Bank Account Disclosure Work? Bank account disclosures are required by federal and state law. Financial institutions must share important information about their products and services with their customers and prospective customers. It’s usually presented in a document called a "deposit account disclosure" or “truth in savings disclosure.” Banks are not technically required to provide these disclosures online, but if they allow prospective customers to open an account online, those customers need to have the disclosure before being able to open an account. Although every bank’s website is different, if they have their account disclosures online, you should be able to find them by typing “account disclosure” in the search bar. You’ll most likely be able to see disclosures for a variety of different types of accounts. This disclosure outlines many important details about the account, including fees, interest rates, and minimum balance requirements. APY and Interest Rate Disclosure Your bank should provide you with the annual percentage yield (APY) and interest rate for your account. If it’s a fixed-rate account, your bank should let you know how long the interest rate will be in effect. Your bank should also tell you how and when it calculates the amount of interest your account has accrued. The APY and interest rate must be disclosed for each level of a tiered-rate account (one that pays different interest rates depending on your balance level). For stepped-rate accounts (which have an interest rate that changes at specific time periods), your bank must disclose one composite APY along with the interest rates and period of time each interest rate will be in effect. Banks have to disclose how they determine variable interest rates, whether they change rates at their discretion, whether the variable rate is tied to an index, and if there is a floor or ceiling on rates. Fees Your bank should tell you how and when it charges or calculates a fee, and if those fees are affected by other accounts you may have with the bank. Your bank must disclose the following fees: Maintenance feesFees to open or close an accountWithdrawal, deposit, or ATM feesStop-payment feesBalance inquiry feesFees for bounced checksFees for overdrawing an account Withdrawal and Deposit Limits Your bank should disclose any limits it has on the number or dollar amount you can withdraw or deposit, such as the number of checks you can write in a month, as well as any limits on withdrawals or deposits during the term of a time account. Note If a bank’s disclosure is missing any required information, you should not open an account with the bank until you get that information in writing. Consider reporting it to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to help protect other customers. How To Use a Bank Account Disclosure Say you’re shopping around for the best one-year CD rates. Once you narrow down your options, you could review each bank account disclosure to compare: The CD’s minimum deposit requirements How interest gets paid out What happens if you need to withdraw your money early You can use this information to help you choose the best account for you. If one CD requires a $5,000 minimum deposit but you can only deposit $1,000, you know to move on and find a different account. If two CDs have identical interest rates but one has stricter early withdrawal penalties, you may want to choose the more forgiving option. Once you decide to buy one of the CDs, you can refer back to the disclosure if you need help remembering the terms of the account. Example of a Bank Account Disclosure Many banks and credit unions have disclosures online that you can review. To give you a thorough example, here’s an overview of Wells Fargo’s consumer account disclosures and what each is for. Deposit Account Agreement Wells Fargo’s Deposit Account Agreement is over 40 pages long. It covers all the rules and requirements for opening and closing accounts, depositing and transferring funds, overdrafting, disputing charges, and more. Here’s a screenshot of its table of contents for reference: Note Deposit Account Agreements can be long and boring, but reading through them can help you understand how the account works and what steps you need to take if there’s an issue. Consumer Account Fee and Information Schedule Wells Fargo’s Consumer Account Fee and Information Schedule goes over every service and fee it charges for each of its bank accounts. In the screenshot below, you can see that Wells Fargo’s Everyday Checking account comes with a checkbook and overdraft protection, while the Clear Access Banking account doesn’t. You can also see all the requirements you must meet to waive the $10 or $5 monthly fee. If you don’t do anything else, at least read an account’s fee schedule before you open an account. It’s the most important bank account disclosure because this is where you find out what charges to expect and how to avoid them. Consumer Account Addenda Lastly, Wells Fargo’s Consumer Account Addenda is a summary of all the changes it’s made (or is about to make) to its Deposit Account Agreement or Consumer Account Fee and Information Schedule. In other words, it's a list of revisions that are going into effect. Note In addition to these three disclosures, banks will also have privacy disclosures that tell you how it uses and stores your information, as well as “truth in lending” disclosures for any credit cards or loans you take out. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Why is it important to read your bank account disclosure? Knowing the bank’s terms allows you to make an informed decision and ensure that you choose the right account for your needs. Although much of the information you need may be available on the main part of the website, disclosures often contain more information. The bank is legally obligated to tell you its interest rates, service fees, minimum balance requirements, transaction limitations, and more. Can the terms in a bank account disclosure change? Yes, the terms and conditions in a bank account disclosure are subject to change. They may change because bank regulations change or because the bank amends its policies. If one of the terms that is required to be disclosed changes, and the change would reduce your annual percentage yield (APR) or potentially negatively impact you, your bank must notify you at least 30 days before the change. What if I don't agree with the terms listed in the bank account disclosure? If you don’t like the fees or terms outlined in a bank account disclosure, your best option is to not open the account and look for a better alternative. Thanks to a rise in digital banking, there are many no-fee accounts that can help you thrive on your financial journey and won’t drain your account in the process. Don’t be afraid to shop around until you find the right one for you. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit Sources The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. “12 CFR Part 1030 - Truth in Savings (Regulation DD).” Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. “1030.4 Account disclosures.” Wells Fargo. “Consumer Account Disclosures.” Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. "1030.5 Subsequent disclosures."