Often you see the distinction of a saving accounts and a checking account in personal accounting software. The terminology my bank uses, are personal and saving accounts. At least in the BeNeLux checks are almost non-existents. (Bank checks being the exceptions, which are issued by banks in case one wants to buy a house, car or other big expense).
In my personal bank account the workflow is typically that my income is received by wire transfers through SEPA. My credit/debit cards are linked to my personal bank account as well. I retract cash from my personal account through ATMs. To get paid, I don't have to go to bank to cash a check. The money is wired in through the SEPA system (Single European Payment Area).
I am currently evaluating some accounting software and saw some interesting packages, but that made the distinction between saving accounts and checking accounts.
At first I thought that I should ignore these options since checking accounts suggests an north-american audience since using checks are apparently still widely used on the other side of the pond. However, more and more personal accounting software packages support other then USD currencies, yet remain using the terminology "checking accounts".
My question is, if a checking account is the same as a personal bank account in Europe?