I went to a local bank and was told I could not open an account, due to something reported in Chex System. They gave me a form to fill out and send in, I did. It came back clear as a bell, what gives?

Assuming your report contained no adverse information such as NSF activity or conflicting information on identification - Some banks have internal policies not to open accounts where a potential customer has recently visited a number of banks in the recent past. While in most cases an individual may only be shopping for an institution that might go public or rate shopping - some institutions have adopted the denial of an account for fear of potential fraud - however these banks generally will open an account after 90 days of no activity reported on Chex systems.

This is a double post please post only once. Refer to the one made in Ask A Banker Forum

will being on Chex System affect my credit score?

The information reported to Chex Systems is not normally reported by banks to the major credit bureaus and it most likely will not impact your credit score.

how long are you in chex systems for? and how do you get of it?

for 5 yrs, well the bank can decide whether or not to drop it of course after you have paid your unpaid closure, and the record will be cleared after 5yrs, usually you will not be able to open an account at another establishment because they look up whether or not you have a Chex systems record. The banks that will are usually called "second chance" banks and be prepared to have a lot of fees when opening account like that(2nd chance)

Does anyone happen to know of any second chance banks? I was put on Chex Systems 2 years ago because of something I dispute to this day. It is a big bank and I haven't a chance of fighting them. I need a checking account but have found myself up against a wall. Any help would certainly be appreciated.

Your best shot is to check with some of your small local banks. Pretty much any large commercial bank will use Chex Systems. A lot of the smaller banks will also, but you have a better chance at getting one approved even with a record if you tell them your case.

I work for a small bank and here is something that we have done in the past. Let the customer open up a Savings Account and if the account is kept in the positive for 1 year, we will then let them open up a Checking Account. However, this is considered a high risk account is continually monitored.

Seadevil