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Level 1: Beginner · Money Basics

Opening and running a bank account

5 min read · Before you start: Lesson 1 · Updated 1 November 2026

Almost everything else in these lessons runs through an account of some kind: a salary arriving, a bill paid, a loan repaid, savings held. This lesson covers what the different account types are for, what they cost, and what opening one involves in Trinidad and Tobago.

The main account types

• Savings account. Pays a small amount of interest, intended for money being held rather than spent. Some have limits on free withdrawals per month.
• Chequing (current) account. Built for frequent transactions, usually with a debit card and cheque facility. Interest is typically low or none, and monthly fees are more common.
• Fixed deposit. A set sum locked for a set term at a rate agreed in advance, covered in the saving lesson.
• Foreign currency account. Holds US dollars or another currency; the access conditions are described in the foreign currency lesson.
• Credit union account. Members hold shares rather than deposits and may receive a dividend rather than interest. The protection arrangements differ from a bank's, which the deposit protection lesson sets out.

What it costs to hold

An account is rarely free, and the charges are published in each institution's schedule of charges. The ones that recur:

• Monthly maintenance or service fee, sometimes waived above a minimum balance.
• Minimum balance requirement, with a penalty if the balance falls below it.
• Transaction fees beyond a set number of withdrawals or transfers each month.
• ABM fees, usually higher at another institution's machine.
• Dormancy. An account with no customer-initiated activity for a long period can be classified dormant, which may attract a fee and require reactivation in branch.
• Statement, cheque book and card replacement fees.

Why the fee matters more on a small balance

A TT$20 monthly fee is TT$240 a year. On a balance of TT$2,000 that is 12 per cent a year leaving the account, against interest of perhaps 0.5 per cent arriving. The same fee on TT$60,000 is 0.4 per cent. This is the same arithmetic as the fee lesson, applied to everyday banking: a flat charge is proportionally largest on the smallest balance.

Opening an account

Financial institutions in Trinidad and Tobago operate under anti-money-laundering requirements, which is why account opening asks for more than it once did. What is generally requested:

1. Photo identification — national ID, passport or driver's permit.
2. Proof of address — commonly a recent utility bill in your name, which is a difficulty for people living with family. Institutions have alternative routes, such as a letter from the bill holder, and asking in advance avoids a wasted trip.
3. Evidence of income or its source — a job letter, payslip, or an explanation of where funds originate for the self-employed.
4. A reference, required by some institutions.
5. An opening deposit, which varies widely.

For a minor, a parent or guardian generally opens the account as trustee or joint signatory, with identification for both.

Keeping an account in good order

A few habits prevent most of the problems people report:

• Statements read rather than filed unopened, since an unrecognised debit is easiest to resolve early.
• Contact details kept current, so notices about fee changes or dormancy actually arrive.
• Standing orders reviewed periodically, because subscriptions outlive their usefulness quietly.
• The institution's published schedule of charges checked when it changes; banks notify customers, and the notice is usually what people discard.

Where a charge looks wrong, the institution's complaints process is the first route, and the Office of the Financial Services Ombudsman exists beyond it.

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Not financial advice. This lesson is general education only. See our editorial policy and disclaimer.