Wells Fargo Clear Access Banking

What it is

A checkless Wells Fargo account with a $5 monthly fee that is easy to avoid with $250 in electronic deposits or if the primary owner is 13 to 24. Transactions that would overdraw the account are declined and Wells Fargo charges no overdraft fees. Wells Fargo offers it as its second-chance option for people turned down for a standard account because of past credit or banking history.^1,3

Wells Fargo calls Clear Access Banking a second-chance banking opportunity for customers who can't open a standard account because of past credit or banking history. Customers who open it that way can't move to another Wells Fargo account during the first 365 days.¹

Does Wells Fargo use ChexSystems?

Wells Fargo checks your banking history but says it may still approve you. Wells Fargo says customers may be unable to open a standard account because of past credit or banking history, and offers Clear Access Banking to them as a second chance. The pages and agreement sections we could read do not name ChexSystems. The readable parts of the Deposit Account Agreement only say Wells Fargo may report owners to consumer reporting agencies when an account is closed for unsatisfactory handling or left overdrawn.¹

Early Warning Services: checks, may still approve. Same basis as above: Wells Fargo says past banking history can block a standard account and positions Clear Access as the second-chance alternative. Early Warning Services is named on the product page only as the owner of the Zelle trademark, not as a screening source.¹

Fees and overdraft

Monthly fee

$5 a month. Waived for any fee period with $250 or more in qualifying electronic deposits (such as direct deposit; mobile deposits, Zelle, branch/ATM deposits and transfers between accounts don't count), when the primary owner is 13 to 24 (ages 13-16 need an adult co-owner), or with a qualifying monthly non-civilian military direct deposit through Wells Fargo's Worldwide Military Banking program.^1,3,5

Minimum to open

$25

Overdraft

Wells Fargo won't authorize ATM or debit card transactions that exceed the available balance and returns or declines other items without charging a fee; standard overdraft coverage and overdraft services don't apply. The balance can still go negative in limited cases (a tip added after approval, a returned deposit); no overdraft fee is charged, but the negative amount must be repaid promptly.

ATMs

No fee at Wells Fargo ATMs; $3 per withdrawal at non-Wells Fargo ATMs in the U.S. and territories ($5 outside the U.S.), plus any fee the ATM operator charges.

Early direct deposit

Yes

Who can open it

Can be opened online (applicants 18 and older) or at a Wells Fargo branch; applicants 17 and under must open in a branch. Online applicants need an SSN or ITIN, a physical U.S. address (no P.O. box) and a mobile number, and must lift any credit freeze or fraud alert first. The pages we reviewed don't say whether online applications are limited to states with Wells Fargo branches.

Deposit insurance: Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Member FDIC

Moving up: Customers who opened Clear Access Banking as a second-chance account can convert to any Wells Fargo consumer checking account offered at the time once the first 365 days have passed.

If you've been denied before

• If a bank or credit union turns you down because of a checking account report, it must send you an "adverse action" notice with the name and contact information of the reporting company it used.^8,9
• By law, you can get a free copy of your checking account report once every 12 months, and you are also entitled to a free copy if a bank turns you down because of it.^10,11
• If your checking account report has an error, you have the right to dispute it with the reporting company and with the bank or credit union that supplied the information. Under the FCRA, companies must investigate disputes free of charge.^10,11,12
• The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) says negative information generally stays on ChexSystems and Early Warning Services reports for five years.¹³

ChexSystems, explained