Bank statements

A bank statement or account statement is a summary of financial transactions which have occurred over a given period on a bank account held by a person or business with a financial institution.

Bank statements have historically been and continue to be typically printed on one or several pieces of paper and either mailed directly to the account holder, or kept at the financial institution's local branch for pick-up. In recent years there has been a shift towards paperless, electronic statements, and some financial institutions offer direct download into account holders accounting software.

Some ATMs offer the possibility to print, at any time, a condensed version of a bank statement, commonly called a transaction history, or a transaction history may be viewed on the financial institution's website or available via telephone banking.

Historically, bank statements were paper statements produced monthly, quarterly or even annually. Since the introduction of computers in banks in the 1960s, bank statements have generally been produced monthly. Bank statements for accounts with small transaction volumes, such as investments or savings accounts, are usually produced less frequently. Depending on the financial institution, bank statements may also include certain features such as the cancelled cheques (or their images) that cleared through the account during the statement period.

Some financial institutions use the occasion of posting bank statements to include notices such as changes in fees or interest rates or to include promotional material.

Today, the monthly mailing of bank statements is the norm in many countries. It is not customary in some countries, such as Japan, where individual account holders are expected to keep track of deposits, withdrawals, and balances using their own passbooks at ATMs.

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