Second Chance Checking: Acquiring a Bank Account Regardless of ChexSystems Score
It may come as some surprise, but recent studies have shown that an excess of 9 million Americans are either unbanked, which means they do not have a bank account, or underbanked, meaning that they are forced to use alternative banking means. The primary reason behind this is a bad track record with ChexSystems, one of the leading companies in reporting on closed bank accounts.
The lion’s share of traditional banking institutions use ChexSystems to verify whether or not a prospective customer can open an account. If you have had banking difficulties in the past, and as such have earned a spot on ChexSystems’ naughty list, most banks will not allow you to open a new account unless you resolve the past issues.
So is that the end of it? Should you resign yourself to using prepaid debit accounts for the rest of your life? Absolutely not!
While most banks do not offer them, a select few do have second-chance checking accounts available. Following is the list of some of the top names in banking that offer accounts to those looking to reestablish themselves in the traditional banking system.
PNC offers one of the best second-chance checking programs around. Not only are the fees associated with it relatively minor, they offer a free workshop on managing your account. This workshop must be completed before an account can be granted.
Wells Fargo, another behemoth in the banking industry, also offers a second-chance checking account titled, Opportunity Checking. Fees for the account are quite reasonable and includes popular features like online banking and overdraft protection.
Chase also provides access to a second-chance checking account, which is appropriately titled Chase Access Checking. Fees for this account are comparable to the previous submissions. However, Chase offers the chance to upgrade your account to a standard one after a sufficient track record has been built.
Have you had any experience with these second-chance checking accounts? Let us know in the Comments section below!