Closing a bank account does not directly hurt your credit score
Closing a checking or savings account at your bank will not show up on your credit report and will not change your credit score. Banks do not report account closures to the three major credit bureaus—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Your credit score is built from your history of borrowing and repaying money (credit cards, loans, mortgages). A bank account is a place to store money you already have, not a credit product.
That said, closing an account can hurt your credit indirectly if it leads to missed payments or unpaid balances. If you close an account without moving money to pay a bill that was set to come out of that account, the payment will fail. A missed payment will damage your score. The account closure itself is not the problem—the missed payment is.
Key Takeaways
- Bank account closures do not appear on your credit report and have no direct effect on your credit score.
- Your credit score depends on credit products like credit cards and loans, not on checking or savings accounts.
- Closing an account can indirectly hurt your score if bills or automatic payments fail because you did not move the money first.
- If you have a negative balance or unpaid fees when you close, the bank may send the debt to a collection agency, which will damage your score.
- Closing an old credit card account (not a bank account) can lower your score by reducing your available credit and shortening your credit history.
When closing a bank account might affect your credit
The risk comes when you close an account without planning ahead. If you have automatic bill payments set to that account—insurance, utilities, loan payments, credit card payments—and you do not move the money or update the payment method, those payments will bounce. The merchant will report the failed payment, and if you do not pay within 30 days, it becomes a late payment on your credit report.
A second risk is an unpaid balance or outstanding fees. If your account goes negative and you close it without settling the balance, the bank may charge off the debt and send it to a collection agency. A collection account will appear on your credit report and lower your score significantly. This is rare with bank accounts but does happen.
The third risk is confusion between a bank account and a credit card. If you close a credit card account (not a checking or savings account), that can lower your score. Closing a credit card reduces your total available credit, which raises your credit utilization ratio—the percentage of your credit limit you are using. It also shortens your average account age if the card was old. Both of these factors lower your score. But again, this is about credit cards, not bank accounts.
Steps to close a bank account safely
Before you close, log into your account and check for automatic payments. Look at your last three months of statements to see what has been coming out. Common ones are insurance, utilities, subscriptions, loan payments, and credit card payments. Contact each merchant or log into their website and change the payment method to your new account or a different card.
Wait at least one full billing cycle after you have moved all payments. This gives you time to confirm that everything went through on the new account. If a payment fails on the old account, you will see it in time to fix it.
Once you are certain no payments are pending, contact your bank. Most banks let you close online or by phone. Ask the bank to confirm the account balance is zero and that there are no outstanding fees. If there is a balance owed to the bank, pay it before closing. If there is money left in the account, the bank will send it to you by check or transfer it to another account you specify.
After closing, keep your account statements for at least one year. If a payment fails later and a creditor claims you never paid, you will have proof that you moved the payment before the account closed.
What does show up on your credit report when you close accounts
Only credit accounts appear on your credit report: credit cards, personal loans, auto loans, mortgages, student loans, and lines of credit. When you close a credit card, the card issuer reports the closure to the credit bureaus. The account will stay on your report for seven years after closure, marked as "closed by consumer" or "closed by creditor." This is normal and does not hurt you further after the initial impact of closing.
Bank accounts—checking, savings, money market accounts—do not appear on your credit report at all, whether open or closed. The credit bureaus have no record of them. Your bank may keep an internal record that you closed the account, but that information does not leave the bank.
How to check if a closed account is hurting your score
You can see your credit report for free once per year from each of the three bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com. This is the official site run by Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. You can also order your report directly from each bureau's website.
Look for any accounts you do not recognize or any accounts marked as late, in collections, or charged off. If you see a bank account listed, that is unusual—most banks do not report to the bureaus. If you see a credit card or loan you closed, check that it is marked as closed by you, not by the creditor. A creditor closure can indicate a problem, though it does not always.
If you see a collection account or a late payment that resulted from closing your bank account, you can dispute it with the bureau. Send a letter explaining what happened and include copies of your statements showing that you moved the payments before closing. The bureau will investigate and remove the item if it is inaccurate.
The difference between closing a bank account and closing a credit card
These are two different things with different effects. A bank account closure has no direct credit impact. A credit card closure does, because credit cards are credit products. When you close a credit card, your available credit drops. If you have other balances, your utilization ratio goes up, which lowers your score. The impact is usually temporary—your score will recover as you pay down other balances or as the closed account ages on your report.
If you want to close a credit card without hurting your score as much, pay off the balance first, then close it. If the card is old, consider keeping it open and unused instead. An old account with no balance helps your score by raising your average account age and keeping your utilization low.
What to do if a payment failed after you closed your account
If you discover that a payment bounced after you closed your account, contact the creditor when ready. Explain what happened and ask them to resubmit the payment. Most creditors will reprocess a payment if you contact them within a few days. Pay the amount owed right away.
If the creditor has already reported the late payment to the credit bureaus, you can send a goodwill letter asking them to remove it. There is no may provide they will, but some creditors will remove a single late payment if you have a good history with them and you explain the circumstances. Keep a copy of your bank statements showing that you closed the account and moved the payments—this supports your case.
If the account goes to collections, the damage is more serious. A collection account will lower your score by 50 to 100 points or more, depending on your current score. You can still dispute it or negotiate a settlement, but the impact will be significant.
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. Only credit products like credit cards, loans, and mortgages are reported to the credit bureaus. You can close a checking or savings account without any credit impact.
Can closing a bank account lower my credit score?
Not directly. But if closing the account causes a bill payment to fail, and you do not pay it within 30 days, the late payment will be reported and your score will drop. The closure itself is not the problem—the missed payment is.
What if I close a credit card instead of a bank account?
Closing a credit card does affect your score. It reduces your available credit and raises your utilization ratio, which lowers your score temporarily. If the card is old, closing it also shortens your average account age. The impact is usually modest and recovers over time as you pay down other balances.
How long does it take to close a bank account?
Most banks can close an account the same day you request it, either online or by phone. However, it may take a few business days for any remaining balance to be sent to you by check or transfer. Make sure all automatic payments are moved before you close.
What happens to money left in my account when I close it?
The bank will return any remaining balance to you. You can ask them to transfer it to another account at the same bank, send a check, or transfer it to an account at a different bank. The process usually takes three to five business days.