ChexSystems, explained

Banks and credit unions use special checking account reports, separate from your credit report, to decide whether to let you open an account. ChexSystems and Early Warning Services are two of the companies that make these reports.¹

The CFPB also lists Certegy Payment Solutions, TeleCheck Services, CrossCheck, and Global Payment Check Services. The CFPB notes you can have a strong credit score and still have a weak checking account report.

ChexSystems (Chex Systems, Inc.) is a consumer reporting company that collects and reports information on checking account applications, openings, and closures, including the reasons accounts were closed.^2,3

The CFPB lists it under check and bank account screening and says it mainly serves financial institutions. Its reports can include check-writing history.

Early Warning Services is a consumer reporting company that helps banks and other businesses detect and prevent fraud involving bank accounts and payments, and it keeps reports on people's banking history.^4,5

The CFPB says Early Warning is co-owned by Bank of America, Capital One, JPMorgan Chase, PNC Bank, Truist, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo.

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.^1,2

The CFPB says asking for your own report does not hurt your credit scores, and companies required to give free annual reports must do so within 15 days of your request.

ChexSystems says its consumer disclosure reports are free. You can request yours online through its Consumer Portal, by phone at 800-428-9623, or by mail to Chex Systems, Inc., Attn: Consumer Relations, P.O. Box 583399, Minneapolis, MN 55458.^2,6

Mailed requests need your full name, current address, date of birth, and Social Security number, plus a color copy of your driver's license or state ID (front and back), a copy of your Social Security card, and proof of address dated within the last 90 days. You must be 18 or older.

Early Warning says it provides your file disclosure free of charge. You can request it by sending your identifying information and a copy of a government-issued ID through its Secure Transfer Portal, by fax to 480-656-6850, or by mail to Early Warning, Attn: Consumer Services, 5801 N. Pima Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85250. Early Warning has a consumer identification form you can use, but its FAQ says the form is not required.^4,7,8

You can also request it by phone at 1-800-745-1560 (Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern; closed national holidays), where Early Warning verifies your identity over the phone. After it verifies your identity, it sends the disclosure by mail or electronically within 15 calendar days unless your state requires a shorter time.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) says negative information generally stays on ChexSystems and Early Warning Services reports for five years.⁹

The OCC adds that under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, certain negative information may be reported for up to seven years.

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.^1,2,4

The CFPB says the investigation must be reasonable, and a company that supplied wrong information must correct it and tell the reporting companies it sent it to.

ChexSystems says you have the right to dispute any information in your ChexSystems file; a written dispute should include your full name, current address, date of birth, Social Security number, the information you are disputing, and why.^3,5,10,11

Early Warning says it never charges a fee to reinvestigate disputed information. To fix a negative balance on an Early Warning report, it says you can send a paid receipt or an official letter from the bank, which it verifies with that bank before updating your file.

You can place a security freeze on your ChexSystems file online through its Consumer Portal or by mail to Chex Systems, Inc., Attn: Security Freeze Department, P.O. Box 583399, Minneapolis, MN 55458.^2,12

After the freeze is placed, ChexSystems gives you a PIN by mail or in the Consumer Portal; you need it to temporarily lift the freeze or change your identifying information. Mailed requests need the same ID documents as a report request.

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.^13,14

Under the FCRA, the notice must also say the reporting company did not make the decision and cannot explain it, and tell you about your right to a free copy of the report if you ask within 60 days and your right to dispute it.

The CFPB says that after a denial you may still qualify for a lower-risk account, one designed to limit overdrafts and overdraft fees, even if you were recently turned down for another product.¹³

The CFPB also notes that some banks and credit unions require you to pay old, unpaid charges and fees before opening a new account, and suggests asking what steps you can take or trying another institution. The CFPB page does not use the term "second chance account."

On February 3, 2016, the CFPB urged the 25 largest retail banks to offer and promote accounts designed not to allow overdrafts, and warned banks and credit unions that they must have systems to keep the negative account histories they report to screening companies accurate.^15,16

This is archived CFPB content, and the CFPB says archived information may be out of date.

Bank On is a national effort, run by the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund), to make sure everyone can open a safe, affordable account at a bank or credit union. "Bank On certified" accounts are ones that meet its National Account Standards.^17,18

Banks and credit unions can submit their accounts for certification at no cost. Source type: nonprofit program, not a government source.

Under the Bank On National Account Standards for 2025-2026, a certified account can have no overdraft or non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees, an opening deposit of $25 or less, and a monthly fee of $5 or less (or $10 or less if there are ways to waive it).^19,20

The standards also bar account activation, closure, dormancy, inactivity, and low-balance fees, and require a free debit card, free in-network ATM use, and federal deposit insurance. They strongly recommend that institutions deny new customers only for past actual fraud. Bank On has also posted 2027-2028 standards.

As of October 21, 2026, the Bank On directory listed 522 certified accounts, and showed "50361+" branches with certified accounts.²¹

The page gives no as-of date of its own; this count is what it showed on the day we checked.