More initiatives are being aimed at getting the “unbanked” to open bank accounts. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) recently approved a pilot program that encourages banks to offer deposit accounts with low costs. The idea is to get lower income people who rely on check cashing services to open savings and checking accounts with banks.

The FDIC program hopes to encourage banks to offer safe accounts with features that would attract people who have lower incomes, such as a $1 minimum balance requirement. “Access to mainstream financial services at a federally insured institution provides consumers with a safe place to keep their money and conduct basic financial transactions affordably. Such access can also help consumers build a credit history, access credit on favorable terms, and work toward financial security,” FDIC Chairman Sheila C. Bair said in a statement.

About 17 million adults in the U.S. rely on check cashing services, such as payday lenders, according to the Wall Street Journal. Payday lenders are notorious for charging exorbitant rates of interest that can climb past 300% annual percentage yield (APY). But many of the unbanked also cash checks at places like grocery or liquor stores that charge a fee per transaction. Approximately 21 million people in the U.S. are considered “underbanked.” These people have checking accounts but still use services such as payday lenders or car title lenders.

Open a Bank of Greene County checking account and get a free 8GB iPod Touch. The offer is good until Sept. 30, 2010, for any new personal checking account. Bank of Greene County is based in Catskill, NY and you must visit a branch to open an account. The terms of the iPod Touch offer require that you sign up for direct deposit and use your Visa Check Card twice.

All Bank of Greene County checking accounts include:

• Free online banking
• Free bill pay
• Free Visa Check Card and Visa Rewards

The Bank of Greene County has several checking accounts to choose from. They include the Free e-Checking account, which has no minimum balances and competitive interest rates. The Totally Free checking account has unlimited check writing and no minimum balance. The Tech/Image Checking has no service charge with direct deposit and check images are available upon request. Green Plus Checking offers detailed monthly statements, competitive interest rates, and check images available upon request. The Premiere Checking is a high-yield account that offers free unlimited checks, free American Express Travelers Cheques, free money orders and bank checks, and free Internet Bill Pay Plus.

Hopkins Federal Savings Bank has several savings accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs) that can help grow your money. The bank is based in Baltimore and new accounts are only available to residents of Maryland.

The Max passbook has a savings rate of 1.51% annual percentage yield (APY). The savings account requires a minimum daily balance of $1,000. The Statement Savings also requires a minimum balance of $1,000 to earn interest, but offers different savings rates depending on the balance. The savings rate for a minimum balance of $1,000 is 1.11% APY. A minimum balance of $10,000 has a savings rate of 1.51% and a minimum of $25,000 earns 1.51%. The savings rates are current as of May 27, 2010. Interest is compounded daily and credited monthly.

Hopkins Federal Savings Bank also offers CDs with a variety of terms. The CD rates include:

• 1.36% APY for 6 months
• 1.56% APY for 1 year
• 1.76% APY for 18 months
• 2.1% APY for 30 months
• 2.85% for 60 months

CDs renew automatically unless you notify the bank. Interest is compounded daily and credited monthly. Early withdrawals from a CD results in a penalty.

First Southern State Bank of Stevenson, AL has competitive certificate of deposit (CD) rates this week. The bank has a 13-month special CD rate of 1.6% annual percentage yield (APY). The 13-month CD requires a minimum opening balance of $1,000. Interest on the CD is paid monthly or at maturity. Other CD rates include:

• 1.15% APY for 6 months
• 1.51% APY for 1 year
• 1.6% APY for 18 months
• 1.81% APY for 2 years
• 2.27% APY for 3 years
• 2.52% APY for 4 years
• 2.73% APY for 5 years

The CD rates are current as of June 2, 2010. CDs require a minimum opening deposit of $500. Withdrawing funds early results in a penalty of one month of interest for CDs with terms of 12 months of less. The penalty is three months interest for CDs with terms greater than 12 months.

First Southern State Bank also has a regular checking account with no monthly fees as long as you maintain a minimum balance of $500. Balances that fall below $500 are charged a monthly fee of $6, and balances below $250 are charged $7. The minimum deposit to open the regular checking account is $50.

The Aug. 15 deadline is looming to choose whether or not to use your bank’s overdraft protection plan, and it appears that many banks are doing whatever they can to get customers to opt-in. The Center for Responsible Lending found that many banks are pressuring customers to opt-in to overdraft coverage.

In many cases, banks are targeting customers who frequently overdraw their accounts. Low-income individuals, people of color, and renters are more likely to be aggressively targeted by banks trying to get them to opt-in. Some banks are even providing inadequate or misleading information to consumers, such as failing to disclose lower-cost alternatives to overdraft fees.

According to the report, “Some financial institutions have adopted this targeted marketing approach. A credit union in Iowa, for example, is offering incentive-based pay to employees who can identify accountholders who have overdrawn their accounts when they walk into a branch and then convince them to opt in to debit card overdraft coverage.”

Consumers have received a variety of mailings, emails, phone calls, and other communications about overdraft protection plans. Some of the communications fail to inform banking customers of all their options, such as the fact that they can choose to have debit card transactions declined if they don’t have enough money in a checking account to cover them.