title: Retail banking
text: # Retail banking
  
  Part of a series on financial services :
  
  Banking :
  
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  Retail
  
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  Savings and loan
  
  Universal
  
  Wholesale
  
  Bank holding company
  
  Lists of banks :
  
  Accounts · Cards
  
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  Christmas club
  
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  Transaction (checking / current)
  
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  ATM
  
  Credit
  
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  Mobile
  
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  Wire :
  
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  Mobile banking
  
  Money creation
  
  Bank secrecy
  
  Ethical banking
  
  Fractional-reserve banking
  
  Full-reserve banking
  
  Islamic banking
  
  Private banking :
  
  Related topicsFinancial market (participants)
  
  Corporate finance
  
  Personal finance
  
  Public finance
  
  Financial law
  
  Financial regulation
  
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  Retail banking, also known as consumer banking or personal banking, is the provision of services by a bank to the general public, rather than to companies, corporations or other banks, which are often described as wholesale banking. Banking services which are regarded as retail include provision of savings and transactional accounts, mortgages, personal loans, debit cards, and credit cards. Retail banking is also distinguished from investment banking or commercial banking. It may also refer to a division or department of a bank which deals with individual customers.
  
  In the U.S., the term commercial bank is used for a normal bank to distinguish it from an investment bank. After the Great Depression, the Glass–Steagall Act restricted normal banks to banking activities, and investment banks to capital market activities. That distinction was repealed in the 1990s. Commercial bank can also refer to a bank or a division of a bank that deals mostly with deposits and loans from corporations or large businesses, as opposed to individual members of the public (retail banking).
  
  ## Products
  
  Typical banking services offered by retail banks include:
  
  * Transactional accounts
     * Checking accounts (American English)
     * Current accounts (British English)
  * Savings accounts
  * Debit cards
  * ATM cards
  * Credit cards
  * Traveler's cheques
  * Mortgages
  * Home equity loans
  * Personal loans
  * Certificates of deposit/Term deposits
  
  In some countries, such as the U.S., retail bank services also include more specialised accounts, such as:
  
  * Sweep accounts
  * Money market accounts
  * Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA's)
  
  ## Sub-types of retail banks
  
  * Community development bank are regulated banks that provide financial services and credit to underserved markets or populations.
  * Private banks manage the assets of high-net-worth individuals.
  * Offshore banks are banks located in jurisdictions with low taxation and regulation. Many offshore banks are essentially private banks.
  * Savings banks accept savings deposits.
  * Postal savings banks are savings banks associated with national postal systems.
  