What is Chex Systems?

Chex Systems maintains records of consumers who have overdrawn their bank accounts and reports that information to member banks, credit unions and other depository institutions. A bad Chex Systems report can keep you from opening a new savings or checking account.

We all know (or think we know) what a credit bureau is. Experion, Trans Union or Equifax each maintain records of your credit history including payments and applications for credit. Chex Systems does the same for your banking records.

A banking institution joins Chex Systems and then reports to it whenever a customer overdraws that account. Note that it does not maintain a record of your bank account balances, it only reports when you have “abused” your bank account privileges. You can see a sample Chex Systems report here.

To learn how you might see a copy of the Chex Systems report on you, read on to Part Two of this Series.