The Unlikely Growth in Checking Accounts

Where have you been putting your money lately? One unlikely savings vehicle that's been growing lately is the checking account. The average checking account customer today has more than $3,700 stashed away.

That's well above the recent averages: The median amount held in checking accounts since 1991 is $2,263. In 2007, when times were good just before the Great Recession, consumers had on average less than $1,000 in their account.

Since 2008, apparently due to fear of riskier investments, the checking account customer has been hoarding more money. Moebs Services, an economic-research firm, found that the average consumer checking balance has increased in 23 of the past 30 quarters.