Does Ally Bank Use Chexsystems?

I received this question in my inbox this morning:

“Does Ally Bank run Chexsystems inquiries when you apply for a checking account? – Sylvia B.”

Great question, Sylvia. I’ve noticed Ally Bank banners popping up on several websites over the past few weeks, but I just hadn’t gotten around to checking them out yet.

Ally Bank is an internet based bank that offers checking and certificate of deposit accounts. It started in 1919 as GMAC, and primarily offered automobile loans. Later, the company added mortgage loans, insurance products and vehicle service contracts. It developed Ally Financial in 2009 to provide financial products to the internet-based market. A good solid company with strong financial backing, as near as I can tell.

Now, for the question at hand, they made my job easy for me (which happens all too rarely). They have live customer service chat 24/7 with people who actually seem to know what they’re talking about.

I chatted with Dale a few minutes ago, and here’s what I found out:

• Yes, Ally Bank uses Chexsystems to screen new applicants. Dale couldn’t tell me how Ally used the information, just that the reports are pulled during the screening process.
• Yes, Ally Bank runs credit reports. Again, he couldn’t say how the data is used. But – and here’s the difficult part to swallow – it’s considered a “hard inquiry,” like when you apply for a credit card or a mortgage loan. A few of those can make a good credit report look bad, and a bad one look even worse.

Dale did urge me to apply for an account, just to see what happens. I can’t fault him for that – it’s his job. But I’m perfectly happy with my ReadyDebit checking account and ING DIRECT Orange Savings account, so I’m not going to take a hard credit hit just for shits and grins. I mean, I love you guys, but there have to be boundaries, y’know?

So, Sylvia, looks like Ally Bank goes in the “dead end” file as far as your non-Chexsystems bank search goes. Sorry.

(Completely off topic – I know I took a detour from my series on starting your first profitable internet business. I’ll be getting back to that very soon, don’t worry. Linear thinking is not one of my more obvious traits.)