A bank account is necessary for anyone to function properly. You can't even cash your paycheck without paying a fee if you don't have a bank account. The same thing goes to paying your rent, school tuition, any payments online or through the mail. Below gives a general outline on the requirements to open a bank account. The requirements for U.S. Citizens and Residents differ slightly from Foreign Residents living in the U.S. and are noted.
ChexSystems provides data related to how a consumer has handled deposit accounts at banking institutions. Eighty percent of all commercial banks and credit unions in the United States use ChexSystems as a step in the consumer checking or savings account application process. What ChexSystems publishes is essentially a "black list" of individuals with bounced checks and unpaid overdrafts. Names stay on that list for about 5 years.
Many banks will also pull your credit report
Banks, just like credit card companies and loan agencies, can be selective and usually prefer customers with decent credit history. This is not out of whack at all, as many of them want to give you a mortgage or car loan down the road. You can see your credit report and your credit score by using trial programs like myFICO, Equifax, and Privacy Matter 1-2-3.
While different banks can have slightly different policy, we believe the following requirements from a major U.S. bank to be applicable across the board:
