CURRENT ACCOUNT, SAVINGS ACCOUNT (CASA)

CASA accounts are most prominent in middle and southeast Asia, and are an attempt to combine savings and checking accounts to entice customers to keep their money in the banks. The current account portion pays no or very low interest, while the savings portion pays an above average return. They are offered free or for a fee depending on minimum or average balance requirements.

A form of CASAs have begun to emerge in the United States as well, as the banking institutions attempt to limit the disintermediation that occurs when bank-deposit interest is lower than other available short-term investments. These deposits tend to be cheaper than the bank issuing certificates of deposit (CDs) and are considered more dependable as well.