Bank statement

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. 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 had historically been 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 most financial institutions offer direct download into account holders accounting software. Some ATMs offer the possibility of printing, 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 online banking software or available via telephone banking. Transaction history may also be shared with other financial institutions when the account holder gives permission through open banking to provide services such as account aggregation. 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. These statements were posted to customers home address. 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.