ADVANTAGE CHECKING
An interest-bearing account with special benefits created for clients who are frequent debit card users, receive monthly direct deposits or retain a balance and free for seniors.
Advantage Checking Account
Features:
- Earns interest
- Open your account with no opening deposit*
- Money Market Account with Monthly Maintenance Fee Waived¹
- Loan discounts of 0.25%²
- 50% discount on Personal Checks
- Free Official Checks and Money Orders
- Free ATMs nationwide with MoneyPass
- No overdraft protection transfer fee from any linked account5
- Free Mobile and Text Banking
- Free Online Banking including Bill Pay (must be 18 years of age for Bill Pay)
- Quickly and easily send money to friends and family with Zelle®. Available within our mobile app. 4
- Free Enhanced MasterCard Debit Card with ID Theft Protection
- Samsung Pay and Apple Pay
- Free eStatements (paper statements are $3 per month)
- First Merchants Advantage Checking is FREE for seniors (62 and older)
Additional Senior Benefits:
- No monthly maintenance fee
- Free Specialty Checks
- Free Paper Statements
How to keep it free:
- Make one direct deposit of at least $500 monthly³, OR
- Make 15 debit card transactions per month, OR
- Maintain $1,500 minimum combined personal deposit balances
- Otherwise, $15 monthly maintenance fee.
Maximize your benefits by pairing this checking account with our Money Market Account. You can open it online at the same time.
Other service fees may apply. Please see our Banking Fees.
Check Rates and Open an Account Now.
1Monthly maintenance fee waived for statement cycles where you maintain an open First Merchants Elite or First Merchants Advantage account. If you have an open First Merchants Elite or First Merchants Advantage account and receive the $10 monthly maintenance fee on the Money Market account, the fee will be refunded on the next statement cycle.
2With automatic payments from a First Merchants checking account. Subject to credit approval, excludes first mortgage real estate loans and lines of credit, offer valid for consumer purpose installment loans only.
3Multiple deposits of less than $500 will not qualify to waive monthly maintenance fee.
4Must have a bank account in the U.S. to use Zelle.
5We’ll automatically transfer funds to cover your negative balance, in $50 increments on linked deposit accounts. Other account service charges may still apply.
Zelle and the Zelle related marks are wholly owned by Early Warning Services, LLC and are used herein under license.
* Make a deposit within 60 days to avoid account closure or maintenance fees.
Please see terms and conditions of First Merchants Mobile Banking.
