A Deposit Account

A deposit account is a current account, savings account, or other type of bank account, that allows money to be deposited and withdrawn by the account holder. These transactions are recorded on the bank's books. The resulting balance is recorded as a liability for the bank, and represents the amount owed by the bank to the customer. Some banks charge a fee for this service. Others may pay the customer interest on the funds deposited.

A deposit account held at a bank for the purpose of securely and quickly providing frequent access to funds on demand is a checking account. Because money is available on demand these accounts are also referred to as demand accounts or demand deposit accounts.

Savings accounts are accounts maintained by retail banks that pay interest but cannot be used directly as money (for example, by writing a cheque). Although savings accounts are not as convenient as checking accounts, they let customers keep liquid assets while still earning a monetary return.

A deposit account with a high rate of interest, and short notice (or no notice) required for withdrawals is money market deposit account.

A money deposit at a banking institution that cannot be withdrawn for a preset fixed 'term' or period of time is known as time deposit. When the term is over it can be withdrawn or it can be rolled over for another term. Generally speaking, the longer the term the better the yield on the money.