What is ChexSystems?

ChexSystems, Inc. is a consumer reporting agency that provides deposit account verification services to participating financial institutions. These reports assist financial institutions in identifying potential customers who have a history of improper account handling, such as monies owed, excessive NSF activity, ATM abuse, and suspected or confirmed fraud. Institutions are allowed to develop their own ChexSystems policies, determining which records are acceptable for new customers. Participating ChexSystems institutions also report negative customer information to the agency for use by other institutions. Each report submitted to ChexSystems remains on the consumer's record for five years. Records are only removed if the institution that filed the report requests to have it removed, or the information is determined to be inaccurate. If a collection amount is reported, the record must be updated to report a paid status once all monies owed have been paid. However, the history of the collection is still retained on record for five years. ChexSystems is governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which was designed to promote accuracy and protect the privacy of consumers. The FCRA also requires agencies to provide consumers with a copy of their record, free under certain conditions.