ChexSystems

Credit reporting agency

ChexSystems is an American check verification service and consumer reporting agency owned by the eFunds subsidiary of Fidelity National Information Services. It provides information about the use of deposit accounts by consumers.

In 1991, the agency was owned by Deluxe Corporation, and it was part of the spin off from Deluxe that formed eFunds in 1999. Fidelity National Information Services acquired eFunds in 2007. The number of "bank and thrift branches" served in 1991 was 59,000. eFunds claims that their services are used in over 9,000 banks, including over 100,000 individual bank branches in the United States. As of 1991, ChexSystems held 7.3 million names of consumers whose bank accounts had been closed "for cause".

A ChexSystems report examines data submitted by banks in the past five years. A report may describe banking irregularities such as check overdrafts, unsettled balances, depositing fraudulent checks, or suspicious account handling. Banks may refuse to open a new deposit account for a consumer that has a negative item reported. In 1999, ChexSystems was classified as a consumer reporting agency governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Therefore, consumers may retrieve a ChexSystems report annually, free of cost. They may dispute negative items and demand proof of the data contained in the report.

Credit bureaus report both negative and positive information about a consumer's use of credit; a ChexSystems report specifies only negative information, if any, about a consumer's use of deposit accounts. Thus, if two customers have both made the same banking errors in the past, while one of them has maintained a number of positive banking relationships as well, both customers might be declined when applying for a new account. A 1991 survey conducted by Consumer Action showed that ⅔ of California's largest financial institutions banned customers from opening accounts if they were listed with ChexSystems.