Just say "mandatory arbitration" a couple of times. It may make you feel a little drowsy. But if you ever find yourself in a dispute with your bank or other financial services provider, those two words could determine your chances of successfully resolving it.

Mandatory arbitration clauses are bits of legalese inserted into customer agreements for checking accounts and other financial products, requiring customers to settle disputes with the bank through an arbitrator rather than the courts.

A 2012 study by the Pew Charitable Trusts' Safe Checking in the Electronic Age Project found 66 percent of checking account agreements at the nation's largest banks had mandatory arbitration clauses tucked away inside. Even if the customer agreement allows you to use the court system to challenge your bank, you'll probably still find some restrictions. Of the banks surveyed, a whopping 98 percent had clauses waiving a jury trial; 32 percent had clauses requiring customers to pay some or all legal losses, costs and expenses.

Read the full article at bankrate.com.