Bad Credit Bank Accounts

In most cases, you can open a bank account at any bank regardless of your credit. This is because most banks and credit unions use ChexSystems to verify new accounts. There are some banks that actually use both ChexSystems and a credit report, but this is not common.

Technically speaking, ChexSystems is a CRA (Consumer Reporting Agency) even though the data it collects is a bit different than the 3 major credit bureaus. The main difference between the credit bureaus and ChexSystems, is that the credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and Transunion) only keeps track of a consumer’s credit history, while ChexSystems maintains a database of banking histories. And unlike the credit bureaus, ChexSystems does not keep records of accounts in good standings, which means it only keeps records of consumers who have had a negative banking history.

Negative banking histories can include accounts that have been reported for excessive NSFs, outstanding debt, account abuse and fraud.

So, can a person with terrible credit open a bank account? Yes, as long as the bank does not pull your credit report.