Checking Accounts

• According to bankrate.com, the "centerpiece" of the relationship between most people and their bank is their checking account. The checking account is definitely the most important, and the most used, form of personal banking. Checking accounts are also the most liquid way of keeping money, second only to cash. In personal banking, liquidity has to do with the ability to spend your money whenever you want.
  
  

Savings Accounts

• A savings account is another way to do personal banking. Unlike checking accounts, savings accounts are more an investment than simply a place to keep your money while you're not using it. Banks give returns on the money you have in your savings accounts. The returns are what make savings account an investment. The longer you keep money in a savings account, the more money that account will make for you on returns.
  
  

CD Accounts

• A certificate of deposit (CD) account is similar to a savings account except for two things. First, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, CDs generally give you a bigger return than savings accounts. Second, CD accounts are less liquid than savings accounts because you have to make an agreement with the bank about how long the money will be under its care and you have to wait until the account matures before you can touch the money without having to pay a penalty.
  
  

Online Banking

• Online banking is personal banking done over the Internet. At first, online banking was not much more than going to your bank's website, logging into your account, and checking your account's balance. As of 2010, online banking is almost a full-service personal banking feature that allows you to transfer funds, make payments, set up automatic payments and much more. Despite the security risks involved with doing personal banking online, most banks dedicate a lot of time and money to Internet security and, with proper Internet security software, you can minimize the risk.
  
  

Debit Cards

• Debit cards, also known as check cards, are very similar to credit cards except for one key feature: Your debit card is tied to your checking account. Personal banking has become a lot easier since the advent of the debit card. According to bankrate.com, getting a debit card when you open a checking account is "expected." Debit cards also help make checking accounts even more liquid by allowing you to use a plastic card as cash whenever you make purchases.