There’s never been a better time than now that I can remember to open a savings account and more specifically a high-yield savings account, but unfortunately there are those of you leaving comments telling me that banks have been denying your application for high-yield savings accounts and so I did some research to find out some of the reasons you might have been disqualified, and what you might be able to do to fix it.
Let’s start with fraud. I think that’s the easiest one to get out of the way because none of you are doing that with your accounts right? So if you have committed fraud or been part of some type of fraudulent activity as it relates to your savings and or checking account, then there’s a good chance that is without question going to be a reason to be denied having a savings account.
With fraud out of the way another reason you may be denied a savings account is because of your history of overdraft fees. There’s not much you can hide when it comes to your banking history and negative activity that goes on with your checking and or savings account, SO before you try to open a high-yield savings account or just a savings account in general, make sure that you resolve any overdraft fees you might have, otherwise you could miss out on opening a savings account that’s going to give you those high yields on your money.
Related to overdraft fees is what your status says in ChexSystems. Think of ChexSystems as the Experian or Equifax of checking and savings accounts, EXCEPT all that really gets reported is negative information about you and your history with checking and savings accounts so those overdraft fees will show up when a bank requests a reports about you from ChexSystems. Another interesting report that can be found within the ChexSystems is how many checking and savings accounts you’ve tried to open in the last three years so it’s important to recognize that you really don’t want to be opening 10, 12, 15 different savings accounts, otherwise you run the risk of not being eligible to have a savings account in the future that is offering some good perks. Now as you’re checking your status within ChexSystems you may notice an error or something that is inaccurate and that is your opportunity to try to correct any errors that you see in ChexSystems about you and your banking history.
Another big reason you might be denied a savings account could be that your identity could not be confirmed. Sometimes information about you might not be updated like your address. Your name could also be spelled or showing incorrectly, but if you go into ChexSystems your information there can be reviewed by you and you should be able to make corrections as needed.
Now, one reason that could potentially affect your eligibility to have a savings account could be your credit score if you have a very poor credit score that ultimately could be a reason why you would not qualify for a savings account. This is not common, but it is worth noting.
Ultimately going to ChexSystems.com to get information about your banking history before you apply for a high yield savings account or any other type of savings account could save you a lot of time in the future. You can even request a report from the bank that denied you a savings account so that you can get the information from them for exactly why you were rejected and take care of it that way and I hope you are able to get that resolved quickly if you ever find yourself being denied a savings account.
