Bank Account Reference Pages

We write a lot of content about bank accounts, whether it be sign up bonuses or high interest accounts. A lot of this information is only useful for a small amount of time, I thought it would be useful to create a page with links to pages with content that is relevant  almost always.

Other posts in this series:

Bank Account Bonuses

ChexSystems

Early Warning Systems

Rewards Checking
    William Charles
  • On June 28, 2016, 08:30

View Comments (87)

  • Hi everyone!

    Did Chex make changes to their system in 2025 or recently last year? When requesting a Chex report through the online portal, it no longer is generated immediately online for the consumer's convenience? I thought maybe within a half hour I'll get some correspondence email or portal update saying it's ready to be viewed but still nothing. I'm almost positive this was instant or near instant in the past. I tried both options of selecting "yes" and "no" when the system asks you if the reason for the request is due to being denied a bank account within the past 60 days to see if this changed the processing speed. However, it didn't seem to matter as both requests haven't generated anything still many hours later. If someone knows more details about their recent experiences generating a Chex report, please let me know! For reference, I submitted two requests today (01/07/2025).

  • @2 , @6 , I am not sure if this is the right place to post this.....?

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    If you get denied for an account, and the Financial Institution give a reason such as "Unable to verify identity", "ChexSystems" or "Experian", it may not be the real reason. MeridianLink may have reported an FAS to the F.I. and therefore labelled you as a "high risk applicant"
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    Has anyone heard of MeridianLink (https://www.meridianlink.com/)?
    They work with banks and credit unions to facilitate applications.

    I have recently been denied checking accounts with 3 different credit unions (BluePeak, California Coast and America's Christians Credit Unions).

    They have all given various reasons for the denials but on pressing further I have found out that they all used MeridianLink for the applications and MeridianLink have reported an FAS (Fraudulent Activity Suspicion) to each Credit Union, thereby labeling me as a "high risk applicant".

    I do not know where the FAS is coming from as it is not in any common database (I have clean Credit, ChexSystems and Early Warning Systems Reports), and I have no idea who may have reported it.

    MeridianLink does not communicate with customers and there is no way to get any reports from them. I was nevertheless able to talk to them, and they confirmed that they have submitted the FAS report to the 3 credit unions where I had applied and was denied. Support could only tell me that the FAS was reported in 2021, but they do not know who reported it and how they got it.

    I have talked to Experian Identity Restoration, Experian Credit Bureau, ChexSystems, CFPB and FTC. They are not able to help.

    I am not sure where to turn next to get more info about this.....

    • That's interesting. As you are an active churner, I assume you have opened other credit union accounts that use meridianlink or loanspq in the past three years. If the FAS was reported in 2021 as you were told, it is odd that it only starts to negatively affect you now.

      • @guest_1892715 ,

        It depends on if I have applied to an institution that is using MeridianLink and if they are sensitive to the FAS label.

        The important point here is that they will not tell you that you are denied because of the FAS. They will tell you "cannot verify identity", ChexSystems, Credit Report etc.

        I don't know how many of my denials were due the FAS and how many were due to other reasons. However, I know that at least 3 denials were due to the FAS because I investigated those 3 denials specifically.

        For example, my latest application with America's Christian CU was denied because of "cannot verify identity" and then listing Experian (with a score of 823..). I called them, together with an agent from Experian ID restoration team, and after a lot of back-and-forth was I informed by upper management that the real reason for the denial was the FAS.

        • To me, the FAS label is a derogatory remark, hard to imagine a credit union would not be sensitive to it if they see it.

          In my impression, most credit unions use meridianlink (formerly known as loanspq) to process applications. I assume the risk assessment from meridianlink is part of the product, but it is possible that it is an optional feature that credit unions do not have to purchase. @guest_1892303

          • My thoughts as well...it could be like an a la carte menu, you (the credit union) must choose one or more of these CRAs that we will pull reports from for risk assessment and charge you for accordingly. The three @guest_1893253 was denied from maybe just happened to pick the one CRA that had the FAS, while other CUs did not, thus my suggestion above.
            To Erik's point that "they will not tell you that you are denied because of the FAS", if I pull two reports on you and one contains a FAS while the other doesn't, the statement “cannot verify identity” would not be inaccurate.

  • New bonus on swagbucks/mypoints. $60-$75 for opening a savings account with four options: Quontic, CIT, Laurel Road or Bask Bank.

  • @2 @6 one of you recently wrote a post about how to complete debit requirements for some bonuses with small purchase amounts, but my search fu is failing me and I can't find it, so I came here looking for it. Would you be able to update this page with that post please?

  • Anybody try the $20 Western Union referral bonus? Used a link wonder how long bonus will take.

    • That page is actually directly accessible from the dropdown menu in the header, under 'Bank Accounts'...right above the 'Reference Pages' ironically, lol

      • Ha! You are right, except - ironically, lol - I got there via Knowledge Base > Bank Account Reference Pages. 😁

  • Does anyone have any recommendations for a hub? I've used Schwab in the past, but if I start adding too many accounts, it starts giving errors when I try to add a new external account with just the bank/routing number. Ideally, it should be something that triggers a lot of fake DDs and also lets you add/remove external accounts easily without much hassle.

  • Hello, I just turned 18 - could anyone recommend me what my first bank should be and its pros/cons?

  • "Convenience accounts" - I'm looking to set up a convenience account, but am struggling to find a bank that actually offers that option. Does anybody know a bank that offers a convenience account? (A convenience account is similar to a joint account except that the owner and the their estate retains ownership of the account and the convenience agent is simply authorized to use the account for the owner's benefit. I will be traveling extensively and so would like to give another trusted individual access to one of my accounts to manage some financial affairs while I'm traveling without doing a full joint account.) Just thought I would post here and see if there is any advice. Thanks.

  • Could someone refer me for HSBC account ? need to open one for my mortgage and want to utilize new account offer which is only available through referrals

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