The process for opening a new bank account is fairly simple and straightforward these days, whether you already have a few accounts to your name or you're opening your very first one.

A good place to start when choosing an account is to understand the main categories available, which we list below. A current account is a bank or building society account with functions designed to ...

I'm a freelance financial journalist and a regular contributor to U.S. News and CreditCards.com. I've written for Life + Money by Citi, Bankrate and The Balance, among others. You can find me on ...