What the heck is a passbook savings account?
March 15th, 2008 | by mbhunter |One of the entrants for H&R Block TaxCut thumb drive giveaway #2 had never heard of such a beast. I had heard the term through my work on the supervisory committee of my credit union, but I didn’t know what the origin was.
The passbook dates back at least to the 19th century in America. The passbook is essentially a running statement that is a record of all credits and debits, including deposits, withdrawals, and interest. Originally the passbooks were updated by hand by a teller. More modern passbooks use printers to enter the transactions in the passbook.
This kind of account is well suited for depositors who transacted on their account infrequently and who didn’t have a need for a monthly statement. The account holder held the passbook and brought it in when transacting business with the bank.
A number of banks still offer this kind of account, right down to the passbook or bankbook. Here is an example of such an offering. This differs from a statement savings account, which reports balances on a periodic statement.
5 Responses to “What the heck is a passbook savings account?”
By Mickey Blue Eyes on Mar 17, 2008 | Reply
I’m not AARP material yet, but I had a passbook savings account with Glendale Federal Savings when I was a kid. I still have my three passbooks before they switched me to statement savings.
By Becky@FamilyandFinances on Mar 17, 2008 | Reply
I’m only 28 and my first savings account as a kid was a passbook savings! It’s funny how quickly things have changed. Now I don’t even get a paper statement, it’s all online with ING
By tracy ho on Mar 19, 2008 | Reply
Just keep track & commit yourself but interest is low .
Tracy Ho
wisdomgettingloaded
By MossySF on Mar 22, 2008 | Reply
I just shredded all my old savings passbooks. I should have at least taken photos for nostalgia purposes.