Closing a checking account does not affect your credit score
Your checking account has no connection to your credit report. Banks do not report checking account activity to the three credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — so closing one will not lower your score, raise it, or change it at all. Your credit score measures only your history of borrowing and repaying money. A checking account is a place to store and spend money you already have, not a loan.
This is one of the clearest distinctions in banking: credit bureaus track credit products (credit cards, loans, mortgages) but ignore deposit products (checking, savings, money market accounts). You could close ten checking accounts tomorrow and your credit report would show no change.
Key Takeaways
- Checking accounts do not appear on your credit report, so closing one has zero impact on your credit score.
- Credit bureaus only track borrowed money and how you repay it, not the deposit accounts where you keep your own money.
- The bank may report the closure to ChexSystems, a checking account history system separate from credit bureaus, but this also does not affect your credit score.
- If you have a linked credit card or loan with the same bank, closing the checking account does not close those products unless you ask the bank to.
- Closing a checking account may make it harder to open a new one at another bank if you have a history of overdrafts or unpaid fees, but this is a banking decision, not a credit decision.
Why checking accounts stay off your credit report
Credit bureaus exist to help lenders decide whether to lend you money. They track whether you borrowed money in the past and whether you paid it back on time. A checking account tells a lender nothing about your ability or willingness to repay a debt — it only shows that you have a place to keep cash.
For the same reason, savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit (CDs) also do not appear on your credit report. These are all deposit accounts: you put your own money in, and the bank holds it for you. None of them involve borrowing, so none of them belong on a credit report.
What does get reported when you close a checking account
When you close a checking account, the bank may report it to ChexSystems, which is a checking account history system — not a credit bureau. ChexSystems keeps a record of your checking and savings account history, including whether you had overdrafts, bounced checks, or unpaid fees. This record is separate from your credit report and is used only by banks deciding whether to open a new account with you.
A negative ChexSystems record can make it harder to open a checking account at another bank, but it will not affect your credit score. The two systems are completely separate. You can have a perfect credit score and a poor ChexSystems record, or vice versa.
If you closed the account in good standing — no overdrafts, no unpaid fees, no suspicious activity — the bank may not report anything to ChexSystems at all, or may report only that the account was closed normally.
When closing a checking account might affect your finances (but not your credit)
Closing a checking account will not hurt your credit, but it can create other problems if you do not plan ahead. If you have automatic payments set up — a mortgage, insurance, utilities, loan payments — and you close the account without redirecting them, those payments will bounce. Bounced payments can trigger late fees, damage your relationship with the creditor, and in some cases hurt your credit if the creditor reports the missed payment.
The damage in this scenario comes from the missed payment itself, not from closing the account. The account closure is just the cause of the missed payment.
Similarly, if you close a checking account and then try to open a new one at another bank, that bank may deny you if you have a poor ChexSystems record. This is a banking decision, not a credit decision, but it can still be frustrating. You can request your ChexSystems report for free once per year at www.chexsystems.com to see what banks will see about you.
Linked credit products stay open unless you close them separately
If you have a credit card or loan through the same bank as your checking account, closing the checking account does not automatically close the credit card or loan. These are separate products with separate accounts. You would need to contact the bank and specifically request to close the credit card or loan if you want them closed.
This is actually helpful: you can close a checking account you no longer use while keeping a credit card open if you want to maintain that credit history. Closing a credit card can affect your credit score (by reducing your available credit), but closing the checking account will not.
How to close a checking account without creating problems
To avoid bounced payments and other complications, take these steps before you close the account:
- Make a list of every automatic payment or recurring charge tied to the account. Check your last three months of statements.
- Contact each company (your employer for direct deposit, your mortgage lender, your insurance company, utilities, subscriptions) and update your banking information to your new account or payment method.
- Wait at least one full billing cycle after updating each payment to make sure the new method works.
- Withdraw or transfer any remaining balance.
- Contact the bank and request to close the account. Ask whether they will report the closure to ChexSystems and what they will report.
- Get written confirmation of the closure, including the date and any final balance.
This process takes time but prevents the cascade of problems that comes from a sudden closure. A checking account closure itself is straightforward; the complications come from what you do not update.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will closing a checking account lower my credit score?
No. Checking accounts do not appear on credit reports at all, so closing one has no effect on your credit score. Your credit score only reflects borrowed money and how you repay it.
Can a bank report a closed checking account to credit bureaus?
No. Banks do not report checking accounts to credit bureaus under any circumstances. They may report to ChexSystems, which is a separate checking account history system, but ChexSystems is not a credit bureau and does not affect your credit score.
What happens if I close my checking account with an overdraft or unpaid fees?
The bank will report this to ChexSystems, which may make it harder to open a new checking account elsewhere. However, it will not affect your credit score. If the bank sends the unpaid fees to a collection agency, that collection account could appear on your credit report and hurt your score — but this is separate from the account closure itself.
If I have a credit card with the same bank, will closing my checking account close the credit card too?
No. Closing a checking account does not close any other products. Your credit card remains open unless you specifically ask the bank to close it. You can close the checking account and keep the credit card active.
Does closing a checking account show up on my credit report at all?
No. Nothing about your checking account — opening it, using it, or closing it — appears on your credit report. Only credit products like credit cards, loans, and mortgages show up there.