This service combines the liquidity found in a checking account with the interest payments of a savings account. Such ATS accounts function much like negotiable order of withdrawal (NOW) accounts and share draft accounts. The difference is that ATS accounts are actually two integrated accounts, one checking and one saving.

Some Recent Numbers

A New Kid on the Block

With high rates of inflation and high interest rates, banking customers looked for ways to retain liquidity (as in spendable money) while also generating interest payments. ATS accounts were offered to meet this need and to attract deposits to savings and loan associations and mutual savings banks. While such accounts skirted existing banking regulations they became legal in the 1980s. With this legality, traditional commercial banks jumped on the competitive bandwagon and also began issuing ATS accounts.

A Couple of Others

• NOW Accounts: Savings and loan associations and mutual savings banks issued what they termed NOW accounts--negotiable order of withdrawal. A "negotiable order of withdrawal" is essentially another term for "check." While these were basically checking accounts, an interest was paid on the balance of funds.


• Share Draft Accounts: Credit unions got into the competitive checking account market by offering share draft accounts. Because "draft" is another term for "check" this too was effectively another type of checking account, but which also paid an interest on the balance in the account.