Typically, the unbanked and underbanked tend to be poor and working class people who choose to stay away because they either don't have the financial resources to maintain a bank account, or lack knowledge of how the banking system works, Weiss says. But that's not always the case.
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/banking/reasons-unbanked-underbanked-1.aspx
Checking » Smart Banking: Checking versus savings. When you go to open a new bank account, likely one of the first questions you'll have to answer is whether you want a savings account or a checking account. In this Smart Banking installment, Bankrate tells you why the difference is important -- and why you need both.
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/banking/checking-vs-savings-accounts.aspx
(The unbanked and underbanked) are more likely to fall victim to the high-rate (predatory) side of the industry, like payday, account-advance, tax refund-advance and structured, settlement-advance loans, to name a few, says Mitchell Weiss, an adjunct professor of finance at the University of Hartford (Conn.).
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/banking/reasons-unbanked-underbanked-1.aspx
For most of us, having a bank account is as natural as breathing. But according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., 17 million Americans are unbanked, meaning they don't have a bank account, while another 51 million are underbanked, which means they supplement their bank account with alternative financial services.
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/banking/reasons-unbanked-underbanked-1.aspx
Still, bank accounts aren't really that complicated. Checking and savings accounts are basically an arrangement to lend money to a bank in the form of deposits, which they promise to keep safe until you withdraw or spend it. Open a high-yield savings account today.
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/banking/checking-vs-savings-accounts.aspx
Access may be in a variety of ways, such as cash withdrawals, use of cheques and debit by electronic transfer. In economic terms, the funds held in a transaction account are regarded as liquid funds. Transaction accounts are generally used for the business or personal convenience of the account holder. They normally do not earn any or a high interest and the financial institution that maintains the account commonly charges the account holder account maintenance or transaction fees.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transactional_account
Why you need both. It's very likely you have a checking account -- 88.4 percent of Americans do, according to a 2013 FDIC report. But according to the same report, it's less likely you have a savings account; nearly a third of Americans don't. That's unfortunate.
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/banking/checking-vs-savings-accounts.aspx
1 Banks can't count on your money staying in checking accounts very long, so they have to hold a greater amount of your money in reserve than they would for a savings account, and they can't lend it out. 2  Instead, they make money on checking accounts through fees.
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/banking/checking-vs-savings-accounts.aspx
Longer-term investment: Savings accounts are closer to a form of investment than a transactional account, Mahnic says. You're giving a bank access to your cash, typically for longer periods than with checking, so they can loan out almost all of it to earn a return.
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/banking/checking-vs-savings-accounts.aspx
An account holder may either apply for a permanent one, or the financial institution may, at its discretion, provide a temporary overdraft on an ad hoc basis. In the UK, virtually all current accounts offer a pre-agreed overdraft facility the size of which is based upon affordability and credit history.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transactional_account
why do people use checking accounts
The people use the checking account because banks can not count your money in this account very long, so you can to hold a greater amount of money. Banks can't count on your money staying in checking accounts very long, so they have to hold a greater amount of your money in reserve than they would for a savings account, and they can't lend it out.