Does Bank of Internet (BofI) use Chexsystems?

As I’ve probably said before, one of the most common questions I hear from readers is this: How do I get a checking account while I’m on Chexsystems?

I won’t go into a description of Chexsystems (and how it can wreak havoc on your financial life) here, as I’ve covered that in other posts. If you want to read more about Chexsystems, check out this post:

Getting a Checking Account While on Chexsystems

Anyway, I’m always looking for banks that accept customers with negative Chexsystems reports. As such, I recently read about Bank of Internet (BofI) – specifically, that they will accept applications even if you have multiple Chexsystems entries.

I decided to apply for a checking account with BofI to see if this is true. I have a couple of Chexsystems entries from past foul-ups, so I figured I would make a good guinea pig.

About five minutes after I applied, I received an email stating that BofI declined my application.The email specifically stated that the declination was based on information obtained from my Chexsystems report.

Although I appreciate the rapid feedback, it looks like BofI is a bust when it comes to getting a second chance bank account – or at least it was for me. I don’t really know what the threshold is – maybe if you only have one entry, you can get a checking account with Bofi. Only the shadow knows for sure.

So for the time being, I’ll stick with my old standbys – ReadyDebit for checking and ING DIRECT for savings. Since I have the two accounts linked, I can transfer money from one to the other electronically. I can’t deposit checks to Ready Debit, but I can deposit them to ING DIRECT and transfer the money to pay bills. It’s not ideal, but it’s a workable solution.