You should start by requesting a report from ChexSystems to see if there are negative entries in your report. If there are, you can try to clear negative items or at least figure out how long you’ll have to wait for the negative items to expire (negative items last for a period of five years).
You should probably also request reports from EWS and TeleCheck. They are not used as often as ChexSystems, but you should find out what those reports say.
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As long as there are negative entries on those reports, you have several good options:
- Find a bank that doesn’t use ChexSystems or EWS, depending on what those reports look like.
- Get a “Second Chance Checking” account (also known as “Fresh Start Checking” or “Opportunity Checking”).
- Get a prepaid debit card.
If there are also issues with your credit history, you should also work on cleaning up your credit history as best possible.
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