“Does opening a checking account affect my credit?” Learn all about it!

Many people on new financial options ask themselves “does opening a checking account affect my credit?” If you wonder about that, don’t worry. It’s a common theme when learning about credit scores, bank accounts, what will harm, and what won’t.

In order to clarify that question and some others that might appear along the way, we prepared this article. Here, you can learn more details about how a credit score is calculated, how a checking account might affect your rating, and the million-dollar question: “does opening a checking account affect my credit?”.

Can a checking account hurt a credit score?

Well, if it’s already opened, not really. Bank account types such as a savings account or a checking account don’t have much influence on a credit report, since none of the information from them is shown at all. 

That means that no matter if you have $0 or $10000 in your checking account, your credit score won’t be affected by that. However, it will change if you go into overdraft because it is counted as a type of debt. 

Nevertheless, even an overdraft won’t do much damage to your rating, unless you go over the limit set by your bank or fail to pay on time. If any of these conditions are found, then, yes, your credit score will be hurt. 

Other than that, a checking account will hardly do any harm to your rating, because it is not connected to any type of credit. It shows and allows you to use the money you already have, which is not something a credit report displays.

What about opening a checking account?

We talked about existing checking accounts, but that doesn’t relieve the main concern many people face: “does opening a checking account affect my credit?”. The answer might not be really satisfying. 

Opening a checking account might hurt your credit score, but it also might not because some banks may make a soft inquiry on your credit score, whilst some others may choose to make a hard inquiry. 

While both inquiries are shown on your report, hard inquiries are the ones that hurt your credit score. Even so, you don’t need to be alarmed: one hard inquiry will not do too much damage. What’s important to look out for is how many of them are being made, because they can accumulate in the long run. 

How banks check your score

While doing your research, you might have encountered the name ChexSystems. Along with companies with a similar profile, they make their report about your banking/consumer habits. 

That report is what the huge majority of the banks actually look into when you ask for a checking account. That’s why they usually only make a soft inquiry (if even) whenever they need to see your financial background in order to open a checking account under your name. 

So, if you’re worried about a credit score check when you plan on opening a new checking account, you might want to check your ChexSystems report. One free report per year is available on the company’s official website. 

Checking accounts for bad credit 

If you have a bad credit score, whether it is your FICO® or your ChexSystems score (or akin), you might find it hard to open a checking account. Banks can deny you an account if they find that your credit history is not suitable for the type of account you applied for. 

In that case, there are some things you can do to either improve your score or go around your bad rating. Check some tips below.

Improving your score

The best way to not have problems with your rating is to protect your credit score. Keep good financial habits and avoid owing any money. 

If you already have a bad credit score, there are some things you can do to slowly rebuild your rating:

• avoid new hard inquiries;
• try to renegotiate your debts;
• review every topic of your credit report;
• reorganize your financial plan;
• set payment priorities.

Going around your bad rating

If you really need an account and have no time to rebuild your credit score, you still have some options. Some banks offer second-chance checking accounts, which are lower-risk accounts meant to be temporary. 

These accounts have special conditions, such as no opening deposit and no monthly fee. After a while, if you manage your account and your debts well, your account may be upgraded to a normal checking account. Always check the conditions with your bank of choice and be transparent about your concerns. 

Count on OneBlinc!

If you’re a long-time OneBlinc customer, you might be eligible to join our new project: the OneBlinc Checking Account. We created this option free of any fees for you to be able to enjoy your hard-earned money as best as you can. Get to know more here!