Second Chance Checking
There are a number of banks sprouting up recently that have a second chance checking account program for people. One of them is a credit union in southern California, and all they require you to do to get a second chance is to take a little quiz. Once you pass the financial management quiz, you get a certificate and you can open your account. This second chance checking account was around 6 dollars a month, and considering the situation with banks in this economy, it is not a bad deal. Some banks are coming up with second chance banking programs, but they are not requiring anything like a financial quiz to sign up for the account. When you are shopping around for a new checking account, make sure you check out the different banks. The reason is because there is a large group of banks that are changing the way they charge their fees. The government came out with a new rule for banks so they could not charge outrageous NSF fees (Non Sufficient Funds Fees). Because of this banks are now starting to find new ways to make money. So do not be surprised if you find it hard to get a second chance checking account that is free. A great way to go about this when are having problems getting a regular checking account, you should first get a second chance checking account. While you are using that bank account, you should work hard on getting your Chexsystems report fixed. Clear all the errors that show up on your report. Once your name is cleared from Chexsystems, you can get a regular checking account that has a better deal. Some banks will have a grace period for current customers who have a second chance checking account, and after so many months of banking with them, they will automatically upgrade you to a regular checking account. The important part that you want to focus on right now is getting a second chance bank account and start fixing your credit and chexsystems report.
Make Sure You Pay Your Debts
If you are on chexsystems, some banks can work with you as long as you have paid your debt back to the back you had your original problems with. It is one thing to have your name on chexsystems, but it is another thing when you still owe that bank money. Some banks are even willing to take your name off as long as you pay what you owe. For some people, paying them back will be easy, and for others, it could be hard. The way some banks set up their programs make it easy to go into the red.
Make Sure You Learn Your Lessons and Make Smart Moves with Your Bank Accounts
I have over heard a teller telling a new customer that in order to get a free checking account, they had to set up an automatic transfer from their checking to savings that moved $25 each month. They then told the customer that they did not have to keep a balance in either account. Now, what happens if that person is literally living paycheck by paycheck? Once that automatic transfer comes around, they think they actually have $25 in their account, buy some gas, and then get charged an NSF fee. A lot of these banks out there are to take advantage of the people who have very little money. They make all their money off us little guys. There is no middle ground here, they either want you to have hundreds of thousands in your account, or they want you to have nothing in there so you have a great chance of getting dinged with fees. So, make sure you keep ample money in your accounts. Check your bank accounts daily. Not only will checking your bank accounts daily help make sure you know how much money you have and where it is going, but you will also be able to help keep fraud away.
Upgrading From a Second Chance Checking Account to a Regular Checking
Some banks are willing to upgrade your account when have a good, solid banking history with them. While this is a good thing, you should also be working to clean that chexsystems report up. It is nice to know that you can get a regular checking account after a while, but would it not be nice to be able to have the choice to easily change banks if you are unhappy? For instance, if you have a second chance checking account, your bank is giving you problems like weird international fee charges (it happens if you use your card with paypal), and you do not have much of a choice because there are not any other banks near you that you can open an account with. It is like being in a horrible marriage, but in this case divorce is not much of an option. The best way to keep yourself prepared and have freedom to walk away from a bank you do not like is to constantly work to clear your chexsystems report.
Be Prepared for Holds on Checks that You Deposit
When you have a second chance account, you are going to have holds on your checks. If you can, make sure you set up a direct deposit so your funds are not withheld. If you are the few people who do not have this option, you are going to have to keep in mind that all your checks will have holds on them. In certain cases, some bankers are willing to bend a couple rules if you are depositing government checks. Once you are financially stable and not living paycheck by paycheck, a hold on a check is not going to bug you too much.
Spending Limits on Your Debit Card
This might be a problem to only a few people. Another thing that banks are going to do to your account is enable a daily spending limit on your debit card. Some banks might have this limit at $500, but that up to the bank so it could be different at other places. One thing that they do not do is put a limit on the amount you can withdraw with an electronic funds transfer. So, if this could be a problem for you, you might want to use a credit card to avoid this annoying limit. You cannot blame the banks too much, since the reason why you are having to have a second chance checking account is because you had a rocky history.
Non Chexsystems Banks
Now, not a lot of people are going to get a bank account with banks that do not use chexsystems, but it is definitely an option for people out there to take. Non Chexsystems Banks are very few, and they do not check the blacklist before deciding to open a new account for you. What they will check though is your credit report, so if your credit is shot you are probably going to have to skip on this one.