Consumers know about credit bureaus.
Some may know about their credit score that evaluates whether they are credit worthy for a loan. Few consumers, in contrast, have heard about ChexSystems, a private sector database maintained by the Deluxe Corporation that 80 percent of U.S. banks use when deciding to offer checking accounts. ChexSystems currently maintains the records of seven million customers that have either bounced checks or committed fraud in the last five years. Banks contract with the Deluxe Corporation to send records of their customers with closed accounts to ChexSystems. In return, banks have access to ChexSystems when reviewing an application of a new customer for a checking account.