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Program includes access to Smart Rewards benefits based on overall relationship.

U.S. Bank is changing the way it approaches one of its core banking products: the checking account, with the launch of U.S. Bank Smartly Checking and Smart Rewards^TM program.

Think about it – what was the first thing you went into a bank to do? Probably open a checking account. You may pay off loans or seek out options for specific needs, but you probably don’t think all that much about your checking account, you just know you need one.

With the complexities of life in mind, U.S. Bank is simplifying the checking account and rewards experience with Bank Smartly. Bank Smartly comes with benefits and features that empower customers to manage their money easily and get back to priorities. Customers that open a Bank Smartly checking account can then enroll in the U.S. Bank Smart Rewards program and unlock more benefits based on their total qualifying balances throughout the bank.

“This year alone we’ve made a number of changes to our checking account products, namely in reducing overdraft fees so that our customers are better positioned to manage their cash flow,” said Tim Welsh, vice chair, consumer and business banking at U.S. Bank. “Now we are further simplifying with U.S. Bank Smartly. It’s a fundamental shift in our checking account product offerings that better aligns customers with benefits and rewards to help them take control of their financial lives, with a focus on keeping things simple.”

For customers with total balances below $20,000, Bank Smartly benefits automatically waive monthly maintenance fees if customers meet certain requirements, including receiving combined monthly direct deposits totaling $1,000, maintaining an average account balance of $1,500 or more or having an eligible U.S. Bank credit card. In addition, U.S. Bank Smart Rewards offers four tiers of rewards that provide additional benefits based on a customer’s relationship with the bank. 

These tiers include:

• Primary – Waived monthly maintenance fees, up to two non-U.S. Bank ATM fees waived per statement, a 5% savings interest rate lift, 0.25% off on mortgage closing costs and 100 free trades of online investing.
• Plus – Primary benefits with additional non-U.S. Bank waived ATM fees, one non-U.S. Bank ATM owner surcharge fee reimbursement per statement and a 10% savings interest rate lift.
• Premium – Plus benefits with all non-U.S. Bank ATM fees waived, additional non-U.S. Bank ATM owner surcharge fee reimbursements per statement, waived fees for counter checks, money orders, cashier’s checks and stop payments, and 15% savings interest rate lift.
• Pinnacle – Premium benefits with unlimited reimbursements for non-U.S. Bank ATM owner surcharge fees.

For customers who want a no-overdraft fee product and don’t need to write checks, U.S. Bank will continue to offer the Safe Debit Account.  

The launch of Bank Smartly and Smart Rewards is the latest example of U.S. Bank putting customers first. Over the last 10 months, the company has eliminated non-sufficient fund fees on consumer checking accounts; increased the amount a customer’s account can be overdrawn prior to a fee being assessed from $5 to $50 and launched U.S. Bank Overdraft Fee Forgiven giving customers up to a day to deposit funds to avoid a fee in instances when the negative balance exceeds the $50 limit.

For more detail on U.S. Bank Smartly Checking and Smart Rewards^TM , visit https://www.usbank.com/bank-accounts/checking-accounts/bank-smartly-checking.html .