Does Citibank Use ChexSystems? Their Customer Service Answers
Does Citibank Use ChexSystems? Their Customer Service Answers
It’s pretty well-known out there that ChexSystems is basically the watchdog of the banking world. This is the database that all banks (well depending on the estimates, anywhere between 80 and 90 percent) report to whenever there has been an issue with someone’s bank accounts. This issue can be repeated overdrafts, unpaid overdrafts, or fraud, and so on. When that happens, your information gets sent over to ChexSystems, who maintains a database of all such reports. Every time a prospective customer shows up to open a new account, their name is compared to the database to figure out if there are any known issues with them. If there are, chances are that they will get denied the chance to open a new bank account.
Related: How long does your name stay on Chexsystems’ database?
We know that most big banks use ChexSystems, but we wanted to know specifically how different banks handle it. So we made a call to Citibank’s customer service to clarify things. Here’s what we found out:
Do they use Chexsystems?
Yes, they do
What options are available to someone who has their name on ChexSystems and wants to open an account at Citibank?
They have to clear out the issue with ChexSystems first
What if the person paid off an overdraft that caused them to get listed and can prove it?
They should go to the bank that reported them and have that bank have their name removed from ChexSystems’ database
Is the ChexSystems policy company-wide or do the branches have some leeway?
All applications are processed through ChexSystems. For the ones that are made by phone or online, you get denied automatically if your name is on the so-called “black list”. For applications that are filled out in a branch, we could not be given a definitive answer as to whether or not someone at the branch would have the authority to approve opening an account even if the prospective customer is on ChexSystems. We’re inclined to think that there wouldn’t be much in the way of flexibility, but you never know. It might be an option worth pursuing.
Related: Banks that don’t check your credit