Closing a savings account will not hurt your credit score
A savings account closure does not appear on your credit report and does not change your credit score. Banks do not report savings account activity to the three credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — the way they report credit card and loan activity. Your credit score is built only from borrowing and repayment history, not from how much money you keep in deposit accounts.
This is a real distinction worth understanding: your credit score measures how reliably you repay borrowed money. A savings account is your own money sitting in the bank. Closing it has no connection to that measurement.
Key Takeaways
- Closing a savings account does not appear on your credit report because banks do not report savings account information to credit bureaus.
- Your credit score reflects only your borrowing and repayment history, not your deposit account balances or activity.
- You can close a savings account without any impact on your ability to borrow money in the future.
- The only financial consequence of closing a savings account is losing the interest it was earning and any account benefits the bank offered.
What your credit score actually measures
Your credit score comes from five categories of information, and none of them involve savings accounts. The categories are: payment history (whether you paid bills on time), amounts owed (how much borrowed money you currently carry), length of credit history (how long you have had credit accounts), credit mix (whether you have different types of credit like cards and loans), and new credit inquiries (recent applications for credit).
Savings accounts, checking accounts, and money market accounts do not fit into any of these categories. The bank knows you have them, but that information stays between you and the bank. It never reaches the credit bureaus, so it never touches your score.
Why banks do not report savings account closures
Banks report to credit bureaus only when money moves in a credit relationship — when you borrow and repay. A savings account is a deposit relationship. You give the bank your money, the bank pays you interest, and you can withdraw it whenever you want. There is no credit involved, so there is nothing to report.
This is true whether you close the account after one month or after twenty years. The length of time you held it does not matter to your credit score because the account was never part of your credit history in the first place.
What actually happens when you close a savings account
When you close a savings account, the bank stops paying you interest on the balance. If you have not withdrawn all the money, you will receive a check or a transfer to another account for whatever remains. The account straightforward ceases to exist in the bank's system.
Some banks may ask why you are closing the account, but they do not penalize you for it. You will not see any notation on your credit report, and no lender will ever know you closed it. The only people who know are you and the bank.
When closing an account might affect your finances in other ways
While closing a savings account does not touch your credit score, it can affect your finances in other ways. If you were using that account to build an emergency fund, closing it means you lose that money unless you move it elsewhere. If the account had a high interest rate, you lose that income. Some accounts come with perks like fee waivers or bonus interest, and closing the account means losing those benefits.
Additionally, if you close all your bank accounts and then try to open a new one later, some banks check ChexSystems — a separate reporting system for banking history, not credit history. A pattern of closing accounts quickly or overdrafting repeatedly can make it harder to open a new account, but this is about banking behavior, not credit.
The difference between closing a savings account and closing a credit card
Closing a credit card is different from closing a savings account because credit cards do appear on your credit report. When you close a credit card, it can affect your credit score in two ways: it reduces your total available credit (which can raise your credit utilization ratio if you carry balances on other cards), and it may shorten your average account age if the card was one of your oldest accounts.
A savings account closure has none of these effects because savings accounts were never part of your credit profile. If you are worried about closing an account, worry about credit cards and loans — not deposit accounts.
What to do before closing a savings account
Before you close a savings account, withdraw or transfer any money you want to keep. Make sure you do not have any automatic deposits or payments linked to the account, because those will fail once it closes. Some banks require you to visit a branch in person to close the account, while others let you do it online or by phone — check your bank's website or call to find out which method they use.
Ask the bank whether there are any fees for closing the account. Most banks do not charge a closure fee, but some do if you close the account within a certain period after opening it. Once the account is closed, keep any final statements or confirmation of closure for your records, though you do not need to worry about it showing up on your credit report.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will closing a savings account lower my credit score?
No. Savings accounts do not appear on your credit report, so closing one has no effect on your credit score. Your credit score only reflects borrowing and repayment history, not deposit account activity.
Can I close a savings account if I have a loan with the same bank?
Yes. The savings account and the loan are separate relationships with the bank. Closing the savings account will not affect your loan or your credit score. The bank may ask you to keep a minimum balance in a checking account as part of the loan agreement, but a savings account is usually not required.
What happens to my money when I close a savings account?
The bank will return your balance to you. You can ask them to transfer it to another account you own, send you a check, or use another method. You will not lose the money — you just need to tell the bank where it should go before you close the account.
Does closing a savings account affect my ability to get a loan later?
No, not through your credit score. Lenders look at your credit report, which does not include savings account information. However, if you close all your accounts and have no banking history, some lenders may view you as higher risk, though this is rare and not a credit score issue.
Should I keep a savings account open even if I do not use it?
That depends on your situation, not on your credit score. If the account has no monthly fee and you might need it later, keeping it open costs you nothing. If it has a monthly fee or a high minimum balance requirement, closing it saves you money. Your credit score will not change either way.