While we would love to be able to give a clear-cut answer to that question, it’s actually not a black or white type of situation. There all different circumstances that can come into play and influence the outcome, depending on your personal financial picture. Let’s take a look at each possible answer.

First answer: NO

This one, although the least popular answer, is probably the most likely one. In most cases, the person doesn’t find out that they can’t open a checking account until they’ve actually been to a branch to do so, and were declined. The majority of banks in the United States use a database called ChexSystems to screen prospective clients. If your name shows up on that database, that means that a bank has had a negative experience with you and has reported your name to ChexSystems. The particular case we’re looking at, unpaid debt, is definitely one that can get a bank to report you.

As for how long your information stays on Chexsystems, well unless corrective action is taken, that info stays there for five years, after which it is purged. In that time frame, it gets very hard to open new checking accounts, because an estimated 80 percent of the banks use Chexsystems and will turn down your business if you’re on that list.

Second answer: IT DEPENDS

Some banks, known as non chexsystems banks, do use ChexSystems but don’t automatically turn you down if you’re on that list. They tend to be the smaller and/or regional banks. You may have to jump through a few hoops but they will hear you out before making a decision. There are about 20% of banks out there who are more flexible when it comes to that, so you might have to look at your neighborhood banks. Establishing a personal relationship also works better in those smaller institutions.

Third Answer : YES (with caveats)

If you have no other options, your best bet might be to get a prepaid debit card. Of course, it’s not an ideal setup, because most of them will cost you way more than a regular checking account ever would, but at least they will give you almost all the convenience that you would get. Standard free features include direct deposit of your paycheck online bill pay, and the ability to manage your prepaid card online. As for the other stuff, that’s where you will need to comparison shop. There are a lot of fees to keep track of: annual (or monthly) fee, transaction fee (pin or signature), ATM withdrawal fee, reloading fee, inactivity fee, setup fee…

Not every card has ALL those fees, but they all charge you different combinations of fees, so it pays to know exactly what you’re going to be using the card for, and see which offering best matches your personal circumstances. If push comes to shove, a prepaid debit card might be the closest thing to a bank account that you can get.

Can I Open A Bank Account If I Owe Another Bank Money?

Have you been reported to ChexSystems? Are you trying to get your information removed from their database? Many people are in this situation and find it to be very hard. This is because Chexsystems is not designed to interact with individuals. Once you understand what ChexSystems is and its purpose, it will make much more sense.

What is ChexSystems?

ChexSystems is a database. It was put together by the banks, as a place for all participating banks to report the clients with which they have had negative experiences, whether it be unpaid overdrafts, excessive overdrafts, fraud attempts, and so on. The participating banks are the ones that report you, and they are ChexSystems’ only customers. Therefore, only those said banks can request that a name be dropped from the list.

It’s also important to mention that ChexSystems is a database and ONLY a database. It has no influence on whether a bank decides to open an account for a prospective customer, or not. That decision is entirely the bank’s; ChexSystems only provides the information.

So how long does an item stay on ChexSystems’ database?

Once information is reported to ChexSystems, it stays on there for five years, unless the person that has been reported takes necessary action to have their name removed. During that time period, that person is unable to open an account at most major banks, and mostly has to rely on second chance checking accounts to do their financial transactions.

How do I get my name removed?

You should get a copy of your ChexSystems report. As a reporting agency, ChexSystems is obligated to abide by the same laws that the credit reporting agencies do, so you’re entitled to one free copy of your ChexSystems report every year. If you see your name on there, you should get in touch with the bank(s) that have reported you and ask what you have to do to have your name removed.

Most of the time, it has to do with unpaid overdrafts. If that’s the case, the bank will typically require that you pay off the overdraft before they put in the request to have your namre removed. Even if they promise you they will do it, push to have that promise in writing. Once the bank(s) have completed the necessary paperwork, it will only be a matter of time before your name is taken off.

How Long Does My Information Stay On ChexSystems?

If you don’t know what Chexsystems is that I can say it’s probably a good thing. You’re more fortunate than a good portion of the US population whose daily financial transactions are affected by the fact that they can’t open a regular checking account. Sometimes it’s because of big mistake like regularly giving out bad checks. Other times it’s because of small mistake like overdrawing an account and forgetting to pay the balance. There even are occasions where it’s a case of identity theft and then the victim is left with all sorts of financial problems including a negative Chexsystems record.

Regularly, on this website, we get questions from people asking us what is Chexsystems. You see. Every time you have an issue with a financial institution, that company keeps a file so that they can have a record. With that record, this company can now protect itself and decide whether or not they want you as a client. But that doesn’t keep you from going to another financial institution and doing the same. So instead of keeping individual records, financial institutions have decided to join together and report all customers who have mishandled their accounts to a single database. If you look at It That Way, Chexsystems is pretty much a credit reporting agency whose only clients are financial institutions.

Now as we said previously there are a number of reasons why a bank can have an issue with you and ultimately decide to close your account. Serious offenses like fraud will most likely keep you out of the financial system for a very long time. Even the prepaid debit cards, which you can use as substitutes for regular checking accounts, usually specify that if you have been involved in fraud you can’t use them. The kind of help that you need in that case is beyond the scope of this website.

If you have been a victim of identity theft, then someone has probably run up thousands of dollars of debt under your name and in many cases have overdrawn your account up to an amount that you cannot possibly pay back. Once that happens the bank decides to close your account and report your information to Chexsystems. Now you have a bad record through no fault of your own. Of course there’s an entire industry devoted to helping people deal with identity theft. But in the meantime, you’re left unable to have a regular checking account.

Another reason why banks can decide to close your account can be what they call excessive overdrafts. That happens when you repeatedly draw more money from your account than your balance allows. The bank then closes your account and reports the whole thing to Chexsystems. There are also cases where people end up with a negative balance and decide not to pay it back. Same thing happens, the bank closes the account and the client is reported to Chexsystems.

We have enumerated quite a few possibilities that can lead you to have a Chexsystems record. Unfortunately, Chexsystems does not differentiate between the various causes for reporting. Member institutions usually don’t file more information than “closed for cause”. So even if somebody wanted to have more information about why you have a record they don’t really have anything to work with.

What can make it even worse is that even if you do solve the situation, Chexsystems is not required to remove your record. It will only do so if the financial institution that reported you in the first place write them and tells them that such and such situation has been solved. Since any information that appears on your Chexsystems records stays there for five years you can imagine that it’s not something that you can’t afford to wait out. Whenever you have any Chexsystems record, you should do whatever is in your power to either correct it it’s a mistake or solve it.

It sometimes happens that people have a file on Chexsystems but never know that they do. How can that happen? Well, let’s say that you have accounts in two banks and one gets overdrawn and closed. But you have never had a problem with the other one. What is going to happen is that as long as you don’t try to open a new bank account you may never know that you have been reported. Actually it is when trying to open a new checking account that most people find out that they have the negative Chexsystems record. Now if you’re reading this and wondering about your status, it might be good for you to know that Chexsystems is governed under the law as a credit reporting agency. As such, they are required to abide by the same legal requirements as the major credit bureaus. One of those requirements is that you are entitled to a free report every year. You can use that to check how your banking profile is evolving over the years.

In case you already have a file, there are a few options that you can explore. The first order of business is to start looking for ways to have your name removed from there. If you have been reported because of unpaid overdrafts, you should go to the banks that you owe money to and offer to pay back what you owe in exchange for them writing Chexsystems and having your account cleared. If you have been the victim of identity theft, gather all your evidence and present it to the banks that have reported you so that they can write Chexsystems and clear your name. In both cases, it is not going to be an easy process nor a short one. That is why, while you’re doing it, you may have no choice but to get bank account alternatives like the Excella prepaid visa debit card or the Western Union reloadable Visa prepaid debit card. You can also try Peoples Cash Solutions or do an online search for fresh start checking accounts. They are not perfect financial products. They have their own set of fees and their own inconvenience. But at the same time not having a checking account only turn out to be really really expensive.

Get Out of Chexsystems

If you’ve never had trouble opening a checking account, then odds are you have no idea what ChexSystems is. On the other hand, if you’ve been trying to open a bank account and find yourself unable to do so, it’s likely that it’s because of Chexsystems. ChexSystems was initially developed to detect fraudulent activity and assist financial institutions with risk management analysis, particularly for individual customers. Banks that do not use Chexsystems are not impossible to find, although the company is pretty aggressive marketing-wise and its goal is to have 100% of the banks using its services.

Much like your credit score monitors the way you manage your credit and documents your credit history, Chexsystems monitors your banking activities and documents your banking history. Besides being a credit reporting agency, it’s also a licensed debt collector. From the reporting agency standpoint, though, just like you can request one credit report per year from each of the major credit reporting companies, you’re also entitles to a ChexSystems report, once a year, at no cost.

Related: Disputing mistakes on your ChexSystems report

Here’s what a sample ChexSystems Consumer Report looks like.

September 29, 2003

JOHN C CONSUMER

123 MAIN ST

ANY TOWN MN 12345

ChexSystems will reinvestigate any item listed in your consumer report that you believe may be inaccurate or incomplete. In order for a reinvestigation to be initiated, please complete the enclosed form and mail it to the address listed above in our letterhead or by fax to 602-659-2197.

This report was prepared for JOHN C CONSUMER

Consumer ID:12345678 for JOHN C CONSUMER

Please provide your Consumer ID number, along with your Social Security number in any future contact with ChexSystems.

Reported Information Reported Information refers to reports of accounts that have been mishandled, reported for cause, and/or outstanding debts. Reported Information is submitted directly to ChexSystems by members of our service, which consists mainly of financial institutions. Our current practice is to retain this information for a period of five years. SSN/ID indicates a Social Security number, Individual Taxpayer Identification number, Tax ID number, or Employer ID number.

Source Of Information: First National Bank Any Town, MN Reported Name: John C Consumer Reported Address: 123 Main St Any Town, MN 12345 Reported SSN/ID: 999-99-9999 Drivers License: X123456789123 State: MN Joint Name: Mary M Consumer RTN: 123456789 Account#: 987654321 Date Reported: 01/01/2003 Reported For: Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF) Activity Debt Reported: ChexSystems has no debt information available. May we suggest that you contact the source of the information to determine whether or not a debt is owed. Source of Information: Any Town Credit Union Any Town, MN Reported Name: John C Consumer Reported Address: 123 Main St Any Town, MN 12345 Reported SSN/ID: 999-99-9999 Drivers License: X123456789123 State: MN RTN: 123456789 Account #: 987654321 Date Reported: 01/01/2003 Reported For: Transactions Involving Returned Items From Own Account At another Financial Institution. Debt Reported: 160.23 Source of Information: First National Bank   Any Town, TX Reported Name: John C Consumer Reported Address: 123 Main St  Any Town, TX 12345 Reported SSN/ID: 999-99-9999 Drivers License: 123456789 State: MN Joint Name: Mary M Consumer RTN: 123456789 Account #:    987654321 Date Reported: 01/01/2003 Reported For: Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF) Activity Original Charge Off Amount:         $100.00 Paid In Full/Settled In Full Date:    09/14/2000

Inquiries Initiated By Consumer Action

Inquiries Initiated By Consumer Action refers to inquiries resulting from a transaction initiated by you. These include applying for a credit card or completing an application at a financial institution. Please note that the inquiries are part of your credit history and may be included in our reports to others. These inquiries can be viewed for ninety days up to three years.

Inquirer Name:	Any Town Savings
Inquirer Location:	Any Town MN
Inquiry Date:	02/28/2003
Name Provided:	John C Consumer
SSN/ID Provided:	999-99-9999

Inquiries Not Initiated By Consumer Action

Inquiries Not Initiated By Consumer Action refers to inquiries resulting from transactions you may not have initiated, so you may not recognize the source. Members of our service with a permissible purpose include current creditors, pre-approval creditors, and potential investors trying to assess risks. We report these requests only to you as a record of activities, and we do not include any of these requests on credit reports to others.

Inquirer Name:	Renaissance
Inquirer Location:	Beaverton CO
Inquiry Date:	03/24/2003
Name Provided:	John C Consumer
SSN/ID Provided:	999-99-9999

Retail Information

Retail Information refers to returned checks written on an account and certain collection accounts. Retailers and other businesses report this information to Shared Check Authorization Network (SCAN). ChexSystems receives this information directly from SCAN and is not involved in the collection of these items.

For additional information you may contact SCAN by telephone at 800-262-7771 or in writing to SCAN, Attention Research & Resolution, 7805 Hudson Road, Suite 100, Woodbury, MN 55125.

Date Of Check:	01/10/2002
Check Number:	6011
Amount Of Check:	$106.50
Date Check Paid:	Not Paid Yet
RTN/Account #:	12345678/98765543454
Drivers License:	X123456789123	State:	MN
Payee:	ABC Merchant
Date Of Check:	02/11/2003
Check Number:	7025
Amount Of Check:	$513.00
Date Check Paid:	08/23/2003
RTN/Account #:	12345678/98765543454
Drivers License:	X123456789123	State:	MN
Payee:	XYZ Stores

History Of Checks Ordered

History of Checks Ordered refers to a record of check orders placed within the past three years.

RTN/Account Number:	12345678 / 98765543454
Quantity Ordered:	400
Check Start Number:	6060
Date Order Shipped:	03/03/2002

Social Security Number Validation

Social Security Number Validation indicates the year and state that a particular sequence of digits first became available for issuance. This information does not include the name of the individual to whom the number was issued.

999-99-9999 Became available for issuance in 1951 or before inthe state of MN.

Drivers License Number Validation indicates whether or not the format of the drivers license number provided matches the requirements set by the state of issuance.

Drivers License X 123456789123 is a valid format for the stateof Minnesota.

Drivers License Number Verification is information provided to ChexSystems by the state that issued the drivers license number. This information, which is limited to certain states, identifies the name and date of birth of the individual to whom the drivers license was issued.

Drivers License: X123456789123	State: MN
Issued To: John C Consumer
Date of Birth: 01/31/1978

ChexSystems Contact Information

If you have any questions, please contact us at the address or telephone number listed
above in our letterhead or by fax at 602-659-2197.

As you can see, this is a very thorough report. It has drawn criticism because of that. One of the major points is that unlike other credit reports that contain both positive and negative information, a Chexsystems report contains only negative information. This is certainly true, and in response to that, some changes were brought to the way the information was reported and the weight assigned to some entries.

Yet this doesn’t change the fact that being reported to ChexSystems is decidedly not a good thing to happen to you; actually it’s something you should look to avoid at all costs. Otherwise a ChexSystems Consumer Report much like the one on this sample will be there to remind all banks that they shouldn’t be opening checking accounts for you.

© Sample ChexSystems Consumer Report