topic Re: If in good standing, do multiple checking accounts hurt my FICO score? in Rebuilding Your Credit

If in good standing, do multiple checking accounts hurt my FICO score?

Anonymous — Sat, 26 Feb 2022 11:13:11 GMT

I have five checking accounts (accumulated for business reasons or because of promotional offers). All of these accounts are in good standing, but three of them have an average monthly balance which is low. Does this multiplicity of accounts hurt my FICO score or otherwise cast me in a bad light for a new credit card or loan application? And for the same reason, should I hold off on accepting promotional offers for yet additional checking accounts? Similarly, for personal usage is there an "ideal" number of accounts in terms of having a good credit profile?

Re: If in good standing, do multiple checking accounts hurt my FICO score?

FireMedic1 — Sat, 26 Feb 2022 11:25:39 GMT

Checking accounts dont affect FICO scoring. ChexSystems is where that info is kept. Unless it gets closed down for excessive overdraft fees and never become current. That would show up on your reports as a closed account witha balance. Applications for credit do look at ChexSystems. My 1 denial was from AMEX for too many new checking accounts. A whopping 1 with NFCU. Dont know why you'd need more accounts. That could raise some flags with all the govt regulations with 6 checking accounts.

Re: If in good standing, do multiple checking accounts hurt my FICO score?

OmarGB9 — Sat, 26 Feb 2022 17:34:40 GMT

Checking accounts have nothing to do with your FICO score.

I'd still hold off on opening too many checking accounts. Not for credit-related reasons, but for reasons that may make you look suspicious to the government as @FireMedic1 noted above.

Re: If in good standing, do multiple checking accounts hurt my FICO score?

Anonymous — Sun, 27 Feb 2022 04:32:54 GMT

Promotional offers for new checking accounts can be seductive--e.g., "open a new account, and we'll give you $300 after X-number of months."

Re: If in good standing, do multiple checking accounts hurt my FICO score?

Kahnawake007 — Sun, 27 Feb 2022 05:27:17 GMT

I have 1 checking account, and 2 savings accounts. All from 3 different entities.

I cannot speak for your business affairs. But I would think 5 is too many, unless of course you were an entrepreneur of some sort that had 5 different business ventures. You can get red flagged and accounts closed and money confiscated doing that. Chexsystems might see that as money laundering.

Re: If in good standing, do multiple checking accounts hurt my FICO score?

CYBERSAM — Sun, 27 Feb 2022 07:32:23 GMT

I have many Checking/Saving accounts! Never had any issues or had negative impact from having them.

As long as you are not paying any fees to keep them active than you should have no issues from multiple Checking/Saving accounts!

Re: If in good standing, do multiple checking accounts hurt my FICO score?

FireMedic1 — Sun, 27 Feb 2022 09:29:04 GMT

@CYBERSAM wrote:
I have many Checking/Saving accounts! Never had any issues or had negative impact from having them.

As long as you are not paying any fees to keep them active than you should have no issues from multiple Checking/Saving accounts!

Your a drop in the bucket. One person out of millions. Just because you didnt have any problems doesnt mean no one else could. One person may get a GW deletion from Cap1 for 1 late payment. Doesnt mean the hundreds on here were all successful. And the hundreds that get a successful deletion that never become a member here. We wont know who they are. Congrats.

Re: If in good standing, do multiple checking accounts hurt my FICO score?

tnhomestead — Sun, 27 Feb 2022 22:30:31 GMT

If we have gone so far that 5 checking accounts gets you on watch lists, well that's a problem. Have friends with multiple 200k bank checking accounts, to stay under the 250k insurance limit. Even Forbes magazine sees no problem in multiple accounts.

Now if your depositing 9k a day in cash into each account, well that's between you, the irs and the dea.

Other than that, don't see a problem. Heck I am a veteran, voter and have 4 checking accounts so I am probably on a ton of watch lists! Good luck

Re: If in good standing, do multiple checking accounts hurt my FICO score?

CYBERSAM — Sun, 27 Feb 2022 23:59:19 GMT

@FireMedic1 wrote:
@CYBERSAM wrote:
I have many Checking/Saving accounts! Never had any issues or had negative impact from having them.

As long as you are not paying any fees to keep them active than you should have no issues from multiple Checking/Saving accounts!
Your a drop in the bucket. One person out of millions. Just because you didnt have any problems doesnt mean no one else could. One person may get a GW deletion from Cap1 for 1 late payment. Doesnt mean the hundreds on here were all successful. And the hundreds that get a successful deletion that never become a member here. We wont know who they are. Congrats.

If you're moving large amount of money then sure! Transferring in international level then sure! But I'll challenge anyone to come forward for being confronted by government for simply having few checking accounts.

Re: If in good standing, do multiple checking accounts hurt my FICO score?

FinStar — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 02:41:13 GMT

@CYBERSAM wrote:
@FireMedic1 wrote:
@CYBERSAM wrote:
I have many Checking/Saving accounts! Never had any issues or had negative impact from having them.

As long as you are not paying any fees to keep them active than you should have no issues from multiple Checking/Saving accounts!
Your a drop in the bucket. One person out of millions. Just because you didnt have any problems doesnt mean no one else could. One person may get a GW deletion from Cap1 for 1 late payment. Doesnt mean the hundreds on here were all successful. And the hundreds that get a successful deletion that never become a member here. We wont know who they are. Congrats.
If you're moving large amount of money then sure! Transferring in international level then sure! But I'll challenge anyone to come forward for being confronted by government for simply having few checking accounts.

There have been instances where this happens @CYBERSAM, but it's more specific to high-profile individuals, persons of interest, and/or entities. It's not the number of deposit accounts per se, it's the activity that can get flagged by participating institutions.

An item to keep in mind is that ChexSystems is one of several reporting agencies that track this data. EWS is another, which most people tend to forget.

But, to @Anonymous's question, having 3, 5, 10, 20+ deposit accounts (in any flavors) will not impact FICO credit scores. But, lenders have access to things like CoreLogic, for instance (or other data analytics resources), that could impact a lending decision.

Re: If in good standing, do multiple checking accounts hurt my FICO score?

CYBERSAM — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 02:55:03 GMT

@FinStar wrote:
@CYBERSAM wrote:
@FireMedic1 wrote:
@CYBERSAM wrote:
I have many Checking/Saving accounts! Never had any issues or had negative impact from having them.

As long as you are not paying any fees to keep them active than you should have no issues from multiple Checking/Saving accounts!
Your a drop in the bucket. One person out of millions. Just because you didnt have any problems doesnt mean no one else could. One person may get a GW deletion from Cap1 for 1 late payment. Doesnt mean the hundreds on here were all successful. And the hundreds that get a successful deletion that never become a member here. We wont know who they are. Congrats.
If you're moving large amount of money then sure! Transferring in international level then sure! But I'll challenge anyone to come forward for being confronted by government for simply having few checking accounts.
There have been instances where this happens @CYBERSAM, but it's more specific to high-profile individuals, persons of interest, and/or entities. It's not the number of deposit accounts per se, it's the activity that can get flagged by participating institutions.

An item to keep in mind is that ChexSystems is one of several reporting agencies that track this data. EWS is another, which most people tend to forget.

But, to @Anonymous's question, having 3, 5, 10, 20+ deposit accounts (in any flavors) will not impact FICO credit scores. But, lenders have access to things like CoreLogic, for instance (or other data analytics resources), that could impact a lending decision.

OK Thank you. So people like me are not "One person out of millions" in fact is the other way around! Some high-profile individuals may get flagged for reasons that have been explained already! Just want to clarify that having multiple checking accounts in US is NOT illegal.

Re: If in good standing, do multiple checking accounts hurt my FICO score?

dcp0524 — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 02:55:15 GMT

@CYBERSAM wrote:
@FinStar wrote:
@CYBERSAM wrote:
@FireMedic1 wrote:
@CYBERSAM wrote:
I have many Checking/Saving accounts! Never had any issues or had negative impact from having them.

As long as you are not paying any fees to keep them active than you should have no issues from multiple Checking/Saving accounts!
Your a drop in the bucket. One person out of millions. Just because you didnt have any problems doesnt mean no one else could. One person may get a GW deletion from Cap1 for 1 late payment. Doesnt mean the hundreds on here were all successful. And the hundreds that get a successful deletion that never become a member here. We wont know who they are. Congrats.
If you're moving large amount of money then sure! Transferring in international level then sure! But I'll challenge anyone to come forward for being confronted by government for simply having few checking accounts.
There have been instances where this happens @CYBERSAM, but it's more specific to high-profile individuals, persons of interest, and/or entities. It's not the number of deposit accounts per se, it's the activity that can get flagged by participating institutions.

An item to keep in mind is that ChexSystems is one of several reporting agencies that track this data. EWS is another, which most people tend to forget.

But, to @Anonymous's question, having 3, 5, 10, 20+ deposit accounts (in any flavors) will not impact FICO credit scores. But, lenders have access to things like CoreLogic, for instance (or other data analytics resources), that could impact a lending decision.
OK Thank you. So people like me are not "One person out of millions" in fact is the other way around! Some high-profile individuals may get flagged for reasons that have been explained already! Just want to clarify that having multiple checking accounts in US is NOT illegal.

I bet in the last 3 years I have opened 15+ checking accounts for promotional offers and never had an issue. I can't speak for everyone but I can say I've never had anyone but my boss say anything to me bc I was constantly changing my direct deposit info.

I opened the account, complete required activities to receive the bonus and then make sure I keep the account open long enough so the bank doesn't ask for the bonus back and then close the account.

Chase -- My main bank

NFCU -- Favorite bank/CU

PNC

Fifth Third

Citibank

BofA

Wells Fargo

Regions

US Bank

Alliant

Discover Debit

Cap One

BB&T / Truist

SoFi

PenFed

Huntington

HSBC

BBVA

BMO Harris

SunTrust

I've had an account with every single one of those banks at one point or another.

Re: If in good standing, do multiple checking accounts hurt my FICO score?

OmarGB9 — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 13:32:33 GMT

@CYBERSAM wrote:
@FinStar wrote:
@CYBERSAM wrote:
@FireMedic1 wrote:
@CYBERSAM wrote:
I have many Checking/Saving accounts! Never had any issues or had negative impact from having them.

As long as you are not paying any fees to keep them active than you should have no issues from multiple Checking/Saving accounts!
Your a drop in the bucket. One person out of millions. Just because you didnt have any problems doesnt mean no one else could. One person may get a GW deletion from Cap1 for 1 late payment. Doesnt mean the hundreds on here were all successful. And the hundreds that get a successful deletion that never become a member here. We wont know who they are. Congrats.
If you're moving large amount of money then sure! Transferring in international level then sure! But I'll challenge anyone to come forward for being confronted by government for simply having few checking accounts.
There have been instances where this happens @CYBERSAM, but it's more specific to high-profile individuals, persons of interest, and/or entities. It's not the number of deposit accounts per se, it's the activity that can get flagged by participating institutions.

An item to keep in mind is that ChexSystems is one of several reporting agencies that track this data. EWS is another, which most people tend to forget.

But, to @Anonymous's question, having 3, 5, 10, 20+ deposit accounts (in any flavors) will not impact FICO credit scores. But, lenders have access to things like CoreLogic, for instance (or other data analytics resources), that could impact a lending decision.
OK Thank you. So people like me are not "One person out of millions" in fact is the other way around! Some high-profile individuals may get flagged for reasons that have been explained already! Just want to clarify that having multiple checking accounts in US is NOT illegal.

No one ever said it was illegal. We were just saying there's a small possibility of getting scrutinized for multiple accounts/large sums of money going through it.

Re: If in good standing, do multiple checking accounts hurt my FICO score?

dragontears — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 16:30:53 GMT

@OmarGB9 wrote:
@CYBERSAM wrote:
@FinStar wrote:
@CYBERSAM wrote:
@FireMedic1 wrote:
@CYBERSAM wrote:
I have many Checking/Saving accounts! Never had any issues or had negative impact from having them.

As long as you are not paying any fees to keep them active than you should have no issues from multiple Checking/Saving accounts!
Your a drop in the bucket. One person out of millions. Just because you didnt have any problems doesnt mean no one else could. One person may get a GW deletion from Cap1 for 1 late payment. Doesnt mean the hundreds on here were all successful. And the hundreds that get a successful deletion that never become a member here. We wont know who they are. Congrats.
If you're moving large amount of money then sure! Transferring in international level then sure! But I'll challenge anyone to come forward for being confronted by government for simply having few checking accounts.
There have been instances where this happens @CYBERSAM, but it's more specific to high-profile individuals, persons of interest, and/or entities. It's not the number of deposit accounts per se, it's the activity that can get flagged by participating institutions.

An item to keep in mind is that ChexSystems is one of several reporting agencies that track this data. EWS is another, which most people tend to forget.

But, to @Anonymous's question, having 3, 5, 10, 20+ deposit accounts (in any flavors) will not impact FICO credit scores. But, lenders have access to things like CoreLogic, for instance (or other data analytics resources), that could impact a lending decision.
OK Thank you. So people like me are not "One person out of millions" in fact is the other way around! Some high-profile individuals may get flagged for reasons that have been explained already! Just want to clarify that having multiple checking accounts in US is NOT illegal.
No one ever said it was illegal. We were just saying there's a small possibility of getting scrutinized for multiple accounts/large sums of money going through it.

Moving large sums of money always draws scrutiny no matter how many bank accounts you have.

I can't find my tinfoil hat so I have to go with "having multiple bank accounts is fine" camp. The biggest risk I see from having many bank accounts is getting a returned payment because you used the wrong bank account (is a real risk, I can't count the number of post that complain about not getting a CLI or getting AA because of a returned payment due to forgetting to change the bank account)

Re: If in good standing, do multiple checking accounts hurt my FICO score?

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 02:50:19 GMT

Many good comments. Thanks. I am not moving large sums of money; four of my five checking accounts in fact have a low balance; and all my transactions are in the U.S. Four of my accounts derive from managing an estate of which I am the executor, but one comes from an promotional offer of the type, as noted: "open a new account, and we'll give you $300 after X-number of months." I would not want to pursue every promo of this type, but I gather that, without harm, especially after closing the first these accounts, I could apply for 1-2 more promotional offers, if so inclined. Correct? However, what about the low balance in four of the five accounts that I currently have--the fifth account has about $15,000. All of my accounts are in good standing and had no overdrafts. But do the low balances affect my FICO score, or would it otherwise be wise to close at least two of the four accounts in terms of improving my profile for a loan or credit line increase?

Re: If in good standing, do multiple checking accounts hurt my FICO score?

dcp0524 — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 03:13:28 GMT

@Anonymous Having the accounts regardless of their daily balance will NOT harm or change your FICO score unless you apply with a credit union that requires a hard pull to join and open their deposit account. That's about the only scenario I can think of. Someone can correct me if im wrong but generally banks don't even report negative account information to personal credit reports (TU, EX, EQ) when closed because of habitual overdrafts. They usually report to ChexSystems and Early Warning Systems exclusively. My mother was until recently a habitual overdrafter and I see her credit report consistently as I try to help her better manage her money and I've never had a checking account that was closed with a negative balance show on her credit reports.

@dragontears made an excellent point that is probably the most important thing said throughout this entire thread. Triple check that you're selecting the correct bank when you pay bills and credit cards.

Edit: Read the fine print of any promotional offer you received. Generally it will say the account needs to stay open for so long or they can request the money back. If it has no such language (and some don't) close the account when you're done with it or when it starts costing you $ to keep it open.

Re: If in good standing, do multiple checking accounts hurt my FICO score?

OmarGB9 — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 06:47:29 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Many good comments. Thanks. I am not moving large sums of money; four of my five checking accounts in fact have a low balance; and all my transactions are in the U.S. Four of my accounts derive from managing an estate of which I am the executor, but one comes from an promotional offer of the type, as noted: "open a new account, and we'll give you $300 after X-number of months." I would not want to pursue every promo of this type, but I gather that, without harm, especially after closing the first these accounts, I could apply for 1-2 more promotional offers, if so inclined. Correct? However, what about the low balance in four of the five accounts that I currently have--the fifth account has about $15,000. All of my accounts are in good standing and had no overdrafts. But do the low balances affect my FICO score, or would it otherwise be wise to close at least two of the four accounts in terms of improving my profile for a loan or credit line increase?

Again, checking and savings accounts have absolutely NO bearing whatsoever on your FICO score, nor would they influence an app for a loan/CLI.

Re: If in good standing, do multiple checking accounts hurt my FICO score?

FinStar — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 07:02:18 GMT

@dragontears wrote:
@OmarGB9 wrote:
@CYBERSAM wrote:
OK Thank you. So people like me are not "One person out of millions" in fact is the other way around! Some high-profile individuals may get flagged for reasons that have been explained already! Just want to clarify that having multiple checking accounts in US is NOT illegal.
No one ever said it was illegal. We were just saying there's a small possibility of getting scrutinized for multiple accounts/large sums of money going through it.
Moving large sums of money always draws scrutiny no matter how many bank accounts you have.
I can't find my tinfoil hat so I have to go with "having multiple bank accounts is fine" camp. The biggest risk I see from having many bank accounts is getting a returned payment because you used the wrong bank account (is a real risk, I can't count the number of post that complain about not getting a CLI or getting AA because of a returned payment due to forgetting to change the bank account)

Hmmm, it appears someone else had borrowed it 🤷‍♂️ I wouldn't leave it laying around, tho.

@Anonymous - as already echoed upthread, FICO scores (any model or version), are not impacted by deposit account activity or the number of deposit accounts you hold.

Re: If in good standing, do multiple checking accounts hurt my FICO score?

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Mar 2022 08:47:40 GMT

Thanks. But what is the basis for your statement, please? Are you simply expressing an opinion, or what is the source of your information?

Re: If in good standing, do multiple checking accounts hurt my FICO score?

Who_wuda_thought — Wed, 09 Mar 2022 13:19:55 GMT

@FinStar wrote:
But, to @Anonymous's question, having 3, 5, 10, 20+ deposit accounts (in any flavors) will not impact FICO credit scores. But, lenders have access to things like CoreLogic, for instance (or other data analytics resources), that could impact a lending decision.
As @MadGeorge indicated in OP that their concern is not just with FICO scoring, but with overall lending decisions, perhaps you could elaborate on "internal" FI scoring, based on customized data packaging provided by CR's at lender request? As Synchrony and GS are using this more now, I think it's a trend we're going to see more lenders move to. With the BNPL market booming, lenders want to know about what might be hiding, so to speak. It's going to be visible on Core logics/Chex Systems data, which is also going to have all those bank accounts and whatnot.

ETA:. Also could you maybe explain how "some" FI's do consider relationship in regard to their internal scoring/lending decisions, which might take into consideration the amount of deposits/investments held by applicant, but that a different FI is not going to base lending decisions on applicant's deposit activity elsewhere, as they have no access to that information???
(Noting that multiple deposit accounts opened recently in and of themselves "could" be considered negative to lenders).

Sorry...tried to fix format but failed 🙄