Free Checking
Surcharge Free ATMs
Minimum Balance
Debit Card
Use your card for free.
What is Free Checking?
There are no hoops to jump through to make it free. It's just free. No monthly service charges to waive. No minimum balance requirements. It comes with free tools and services to help you manage your finances. The downside is that you won't earn any yield on your balance. We offer two profit sharing accounts that pay dividends on balances. Those accounts have no monthly service fee or balance minimums and they have great rewards when you meet basic activity requirements. Do you want to earn rewards for using your account? Rewards Checking or RewardsPlus Checking might be a better account for you.
Why choose this instead of Rewards or RewardsPlus?
Great question! We encourage anyone who doesn't already have a profit sharing checking account to open a Rewards Checking or RewardsPlus Checking account. They offer great rewards when you meet basic activity requirements and they're still free even if you don't meet the requirements in a given month, you just don't get the reward that month. Free Checking is great as a second account or as a joint account because you can only have one Rewards or RewardsPlus account per individual.
Is there any dividend paid on balances?
No, there is not any dividend reward. We offer other accounts that pay great profit sharing dividends. If you don't already have a Rewards Checking or RewardsPlus Checking account we suggest opening one first as your primary account. You're welcome to open a free checking account as your primary account, you can always convert it to a Rewards or RewardsPlus account at a later date if you change your mind.
What else is included for free?
All GreenState checking accounts come packed with free tools and features to help you manage your finances including online banking, our mobile app, mobile pay and bill payer. Scroll down to see a list of tools included with every account. The only thing that isn't free are paper statements. We like to avoid paper waste whenever possible so e-Statements are free for everyone but members who opt to receive paper statements are charged a $3.50/month paper statement fee.
Who can join?
Membership is open to:
- Anyone living or working in Iowa, or nearby counties in Illinois, Wisconsin, Nebraska or South Dakota.
- Illinois counties: Jo Daviess, Carroll, Whiteside, Rock Island, Henry, Mercer, Knox, Henderson, Warren, Hancock, DuPage, Will county North of I-80
- Wisconsin counties: Crawford, Grant, Lafayette
- Nebraska counties: Dakota, Thurston, Burt, Washington, Douglas, Sarpy, Cass, Otoe
- South Dakota counties: Union, Lincoln, Minnehaha, Moody, Brookings
- University of Iowa students, staff, or alumni.
- Direct relatives of current GreenState members.
How to join.
If you live or work in Iowa or nearby counties in Illinois, Wisconsin, Nebraska or South Dakota (see full eligibility list), you can become a member by opening a share savings account with a $5 deposit. Members can open a new checking account with an initial deposit of $50. To get started you can apply online, stop by any branch location, or give us a call a (800) 475-6728.
Contactless-enabled Mastercard Credit & Debit Cards
New and reissued GreenState credit or debit cards now come with contactless payment technology built in.
What are Contactless Cards? These cards use radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology to allow the user to simply hold the card near the card reader to process the transaction. There is no need to insert or swipe. Just look for the four curved lines on the card reader to see if it accepts the contactless method. When you hold your card to the reader, it securely authenticates your card information. Then the merchant’s point of sale system sends the transaction to the card issuer. The issuer then analyzes the transaction before approving it. The process only takes about 2 seconds.
Use your contactless-enabled card wherever you see the universal contactless payments symbol for a fast, safe & secure checkout. If the store does not have a contactless reader, you can simply use the conventional methods to process the transaction.
Did you know? GreenState debit and credit cards are compatible with popular mobile wallets including Apple Pay, Google Pay & Samsung Pay. Load your GreenState card to a contactless payments enabled smartphone or watch and use your device at checkout anywhere contactless payments are accepted.
Locate businesses ready to accept Mastercard contactless payments near you.
Free Account Tools & Features
Every GreenState Checking Account comes loaded with free tools and features to help you manage your finances with ease.
24/7 Access to Online Banking
Check balances, transfer funds, customize fraud alerts and more! Online Banking puts all your GreenState accounts and loans at your fingertips.
Mobile app w/Remote Check Deposit 3
Online banking in your pocket! You can choose to sign in with your fingerprint (when available), deposit checks with your phone's camera, and stay on top of your finances on-the-go.
Mobile Payments Enabled
GreenState credit and debit cards can be used with your mobile wallet. You can load your card(s) onto your phone and make purchases at participating merchants wherever you see the contactless payment icon. Supported wallets include: Apple Pay, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay.
Free Mastercard Debit Card Loaded with Benefits
GreenState Mastercard Debit Card benefits include Extended Warranty, Mastercard ID Theft Protection™, Satisfaction Guarantee, Mastercard Global Service and Mastercard Airport Concierge™.
Online Bill Payer
Schedule instant transfers to pay bills. You can even have a check put in the mail when direct payment options aren't available.
Custom Text Alerts 3
Need to know when you're running low on funds? We can alert you. Want to know when there's any transaction over $100? We can alert you. Want to know when your card is used in a "card not present" transaction? We can alert you then too.
Overdraft Privilege Available
Mistakes happen. We'll let you choose how we should handle them.
Testimonials
This is where I’m at home. GreenState Credit Union has been a part of our family for over 40 years. My husband was fresh home from Vietnam, we moved up here for him to go to school. The credit union was always in the background helping us achieve our goals. From buying that first car to that first mortgage. I don’t know where we would have been had they not been willing to help us, all along the way.
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My husband and I are owner operators, meaning we own a semi and we haul products from point A to point B. If my husband does not run, we don’t get paid. When he was in an accident, the credit union had our back and we went to them and they did not hesitate to get us back on the road. They saw the situation and made us feel important, that we mattered. GreenState is family, I would never go anywhere else.
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I’m a neuroscientist studying to get my PhD at the University of Iowa. I discovered GreenState Credit Union when I was looking for a house. The experience at first was scary because I had no clue what I was doing but GreenState really walked me through the process. I feel like I was cinderella and GreenState was my fairy godmother who led me to my prince charming, which happens to be my house. Without GreenState Credit Union, I would be giving up my money and now I get to save my money and put it into my dreams.
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GreenState really means family, so they know you personally and they utilized that information to help you make good decision financially. I started a business that allows me to do what I’m passionate about everyday: work with kids and work with basketball. With the career change the first step we did is went to go to meet with the credit union. They’ve helped us through every change that our life has brought us. I feel like we’re ‘Darryl and Shawna’ and not a number, I feel like I’m a person at the credit union.
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