Closing a bank account does not directly damage your credit score
Closing a checking or savings account at your bank has no impact on your credit score. Credit bureaus—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—do not track bank accounts at all. They track credit: loans you have taken, credit cards you carry, payment history, and how much of your available credit you use. A bank account is not credit, so closing one leaves no mark on your credit report.
The confusion arises because closing accounts does matter in other financial contexts. Your bank may report the closure to ChexSystems, a checking account history system that banks use to decide whether to open accounts with you in the future. But ChexSystems is separate from credit reporting. A negative ChexSystems record will not show up on your credit report and will not affect your credit score.
That said, the reason you are closing the account can indirectly affect your credit. If you close a bank account because you are moving money to pay off a credit card or loan, that action might improve your score. If you close it because you have overdrawn it repeatedly and the bank has sent the debt to collections, that will hurt your score—but the damage comes from the unpaid debt, not from closing the account.
Key Takeaways
- Bank accounts are not reported to credit bureaus, so closing one does not appear on your credit report or change your credit score.
- Banks may report account closures to ChexSystems, which affects your ability to open new bank accounts but not your credit score.
- If you close an account with an unpaid overdraft or negative balance, the debt itself can be reported to credit bureaus and harm your score.
- Closing a credit card account can affect your credit score because credit cards are credit products, but closing a bank account cannot.
Why credit bureaus ignore bank accounts
Credit scoring exists to predict whether you will repay borrowed money. A bank account is money you have deposited—it is your asset, not a loan. Credit bureaus care about your debts and your track record of paying them. They do not care how much cash you keep in savings or checking because that information does not predict credit risk.
The three major credit bureaus build reports from creditors: banks that issued you credit cards, lenders that gave you auto loans or mortgages, student loan servicers, and collection agencies. Your employer, your landlord, and your bank do not report account activity to these bureaus unless you have failed to pay a debt they are trying to collect.
This is why you can close a bank account without any credit consequence. The bureau has no record of it opening, so it has no record of it closing. Your credit report will be identical before and after.
When an account closure can indirectly harm your credit
The danger lies in what happens to money in the account before you close it. If your account has a negative balance—money you owe the bank because of overdrafts or fees—and you do not pay it, the bank may send that debt to a collection agency. A collection account will appear on your credit report and will lower your score.
This is the only way closing a bank account touches your credit: the unpaid debt, not the closure itself. If you close an account with a $500 overdraft that you do not repay, the $500 debt is what gets reported, not the account closure.
To avoid this, settle any negative balance before closing the account. If the account is already in collections, paying the debt in full will not erase the collection from your credit report, but it will change the status from unpaid to paid, which lenders view more favorably.
The difference between bank accounts and credit cards
Closing a credit card account can affect your credit score because credit cards are credit products. Your credit score depends partly on your credit utilization ratio—the percentage of your available credit you are using. If you close a card with a $5,000 limit, you lose that $5,000 of available credit, which can raise your utilization ratio and lower your score.
Closing a bank account has no such effect because bank accounts do not count toward your available credit. You can close ten savings accounts and your credit score will not move.
The only exception is if your bank account is linked to a line of credit—for example, an overdraft protection line that functions as a credit product. If you close that specific line of credit, it may appear on your credit report. But a standard checking or savings account will not.
ChexSystems: the separate account-tracking system
ChexSystems is a consumer reporting agency that tracks checking and savings account history. When you close a bank account, the bank may report the closure to ChexSystems, along with the reason: closed by customer, closed by bank, or closed due to inactivity. If you closed the account because of repeated overdrafts or an unpaid balance, that information goes into ChexSystems.
Banks use ChexSystems reports to decide whether to open new accounts for you. A negative ChexSystems record can make it harder to open a checking account at another bank. But ChexSystems does not report to credit bureaus, and credit bureaus do not report to ChexSystems. They are entirely separate systems.
You can request your ChexSystems report for free once per year at www.chexsystems.com. If the report contains errors—for example, if it says you closed an account due to fraud when you actually closed it normally—you can dispute the information.
Steps to close an account without credit damage
To close a bank account safely, first make sure the account balance is zero or positive. If there is an overdraft or unpaid fees, pay them before closing. Contact your bank and ask for the account closure process—some banks allow you to close online, while others require a phone call or in-person visit.
Ask the bank to confirm in writing that the account is closed with a zero balance. Keep this confirmation. If the bank later reports an unpaid balance to a collection agency, you will have proof that you settled it.
If you are closing the account because you are switching banks, set up your new account first and transfer any automatic deposits or payments before closing the old one. This prevents missed payments on bills, which will damage your credit score.
What actually appears on your credit report after closing a bank account
After you close a bank account, nothing related to that account will appear on your credit report. Your credit report will show the same credit cards, loans, and payment history it showed before. The closed account will not be listed anywhere.
The only exception is if the account had an unpaid debt that went to collections. In that case, the collection account will appear on your report—but again, that is the debt being reported, not the account closure.
You can check your credit report for free once per year at www.annualcreditreport.com. This is the official site run by the three credit bureaus. Checking your own report does not lower your score.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will closing my bank account show up on my credit report?
No. Bank accounts do not appear on credit reports at all, whether open or closed. Credit bureaus only track credit products like loans and credit cards. Closing a bank account leaves no trace on your credit report.
Can closing a bank account hurt my credit score?
Closing the account itself cannot hurt your score. However, if the account has an unpaid overdraft or negative balance that you do not settle, that debt can be sent to collections and will lower your score. The damage comes from the unpaid debt, not the closure.
Does closing a savings account affect my credit differently than closing a checking account?
No. Savings accounts and checking accounts are treated identically by credit bureaus—neither appears on your credit report. Closing either one has no credit impact.
What is ChexSystems and how does it relate to my credit score?
ChexSystems is a separate system that banks use to track checking and savings account history. It does not connect to credit bureaus or affect your credit score. A negative ChexSystems record can make it harder to open new bank accounts, but it will not appear on your credit report.
If I close a credit card, does that hurt my credit score the same way closing a bank account does?
Closing a credit card can hurt your score because it reduces your available credit and may raise your credit utilization ratio. Closing a bank account cannot hurt your score at all. Credit cards are credit products; bank accounts are not.