The number of checking accounts has fallen by almost 100 millionin the last six years, thanks to competition from fintech products and companies such as Walmart,Starbucks and Apple, according to new research from financialinstitutions analytics company Moebs Services.

Using bank, thrift and credit union data from the NCUA, FDIC andthe Federal Reserve, Moebs Services reported that the total numberof checking accounts dropped from about 690 million to just over600 million from 2011 to 2017 — a 12% decline over six years, orabout 2.2% per year.

“Depositories need to stop the outflow of the checking accounttransaction user who keeps no balance and focus on reducingoperational cost and installing lower fees to make checkingprofitable,” Moebs Services Economist & CEO Michael Moebs said.“Otherwise, the likes of Walmart and Amazon will soon dominate thechecking account business.”