If I open new savings/checking accounts online, does that show up as a hard inquiry on my credit report?

Question

I want to open several new accounts at multiple banks, but I don't want to risk hurting my credit score.

If the banks do actually perform a credit inquiry when people open accounts, why do they do it? I'm the one giving them money, not the other way around.

Thanks!

Answer 1

NO!

Inquiries that don’t count toward your FICO score (called soft inquiries) are your own credit report requests, credit checks made by businesses to offer you goods or services,(savings/checking accounts or inquiries made by businesses with whom you already have a credit account do not count toward your FICO score. Credit checks by prospective employers also do not count. These types of inquiries may appear on your credit report, but they are not included in your FICO score.

Hope this answers your question

EDIT: Contrary to what some people may say, it is a perfect world when it comes to FICO and at least I back up my answers with sources!!!

The only time a hit affects a persons score is if they have applied for credit or loans, period.  READ THE SOURCE QUOTED, not someones idea!

NEW EDIT!  First of all the ? was whether or not banks do a credit check and will it affect ones FICO score.   Yes I know they do, but it is still treated as a "soft hit" and does NOT affect ones FICO score. The reference I used is from FICO and  NOT the FICO forum.   I do not use "forums" or "blogs" as a source of legitimate information.  That FICO forum if one reads it, is just another place for people to add their 2 cents worth, (do you see any repsones from actual people who work at FICO, NO, just others adding stuff and fluff!

My answer still stands, opening a savings or checking account DOES NOT AFFECT ONES FICO SCORE.

Answer 2

They dont perform credit check on you when you open a checking or a saving account!  It has nothing to do with CREDIT - so i wouldn't worry. . .

Answer 3

banks usually check chex systems. They dont necessarily pull your credit history from the 3 bureaus. Chex Systems is what most banks use to determine if you are eligible to open an account. Chex Systems keep track of your last 5 years of banking.

https://www.consumerdebit.com/consumerin...

People with bad credit can open bank account as long as their Chex Systems file is clean.

Answer 4

I may not know a lot about credit, but I surely can answer this one from experience.

4 months ago I opened a savings and checking account with a well known bank (don't know if it is OK to mention names, so I will not).  The new account agent after checking for proper ID wanted me to initial a form to let them pull credit report.

I told them I was working on building my credit and heard that an inquiry would lower my score.  She assured me that all banks do this to see if a person has either bounced checks or has a judgment pending which could make a bank turn over a persons savings.  She insisted this would not affect my score.

I asked to speak to the senior officer of the bank which she promptly summoned.  He explained that this was a normal practice and that the Credit Unions know what the inquiry is for and not to worry.  I went ahead and initialed the form and opened the accounts.

I have a credit monitoring service that lets me check all my credit reports and scores at any time.  All I can say is that my score DID NOT GO DOWN ONE BIT.since I opened the new accounts. I also have seen this banks name listed in the report section that states "These inquiries do not affect your score"!

So I would have to agree with most of the others while some of those are out in left field I think!

Answer 5

edit to pare it down to the basics:

If banks/CU's pull softs for checking/savings, then it will not hurt scores.

If banks/CU's pull hards, "which many actually do", then YES it will hurt scores.

FICO "CANNOT" differentiate between one hard pull and another.

To FICO, they are simply hard pulls and scored accordingly.

IF the bank pulls a hard inquiry instead of a soft, send a letter, along with the page of the credit report(s) that shows the inquiry, to the bank and request removal or recoding of the inquiry to a soft.

Include the fact that they have no permissible purpose in pulling a hard inquiry.

(If a person does not peruse the credit discussion forums to see what others are "complaining" about, then that person is out of touch with what is happening.)