Does Closing a Bank Account Affect Your Credit Score?

No. Closing a chequing or savings account doesn't directly affect your credit score, because bank accounts aren't reported to the credit bureaus the way credit cards and loans are.

There are two indirect exceptions worth knowing: an unpaid negative balance that gets sent to collections, and automatic payments on a credit product that bounce because you closed the account.

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Why Bank Accounts Aren't Part of Your Credit Score

Credit bureaus like Equifax and TransUnion track credit accounts: credit cards, loans, lines of credit, and mortgages.

A chequing or savings account isn't a credit product. You're not borrowing anything, so there's nothing for a bureau to track or score.

That means opening, closing, or even having multiple bank accounts over the years has no direct bearing on your score, regardless of how long you held any of them.

When Closing an Account Can Hurt Your Score Indirectly

The risk isn't the closure itself. It's what the closure triggers.

An unpaid negative balance. If you close an account while it's overdrawn and don't pay off what you owe, the bank can send that balance to collections. A collections account does appear on your credit report and can lower your score significantly.

A bounced automatic payment. If a credit card, loan, or line of credit payment is set to withdraw from the account you just closed, that payment will fail. A missed payment on a credit product gets reported to the bureaus and hurts your score, even though the bank account itself was never part of the score.

How This Differs From Closing a Credit Card

This is where the confusion usually comes from, since closing a credit card works very differently.

A credit card is a credit product, so closing one does affect your score. It can raise your credit utilization ratio by reducing your total available credit, and it can shorten the average age of your credit accounts.

A chequing or savings account was never part of either calculation, so closing one doesn't create the same risk.

How to Close a Bank Account Without Any Risk

A few steps rule out both indirect risks before you close anything:

• Bring the balance to exactly zero. Pay off any overdraft in full before requesting the closure.
• Redirect your direct deposits and bill payments first. Move your paycheque and any pre-authorized payments to your new account, and wait at least one full cycle to confirm everything landed correctly.
• Wait for pending transactions to clear. A cheque or pending charge that settles after closure can leave an unexpected negative balance.
• Get written confirmation of closure. Ask your bank for a letter or email confirming the account is closed with a $0 balance, and keep it on file.

*Based on users with a starting score of 450 or under and who used all of our credit building tools (i.e. Credit Building, Secured Credit Building) for 12+ months with on time payments. Credit building tools we offer are not a credit repair tool and does not guarantee an improvement in credit score. Credit scores are based on complex models involving a variety of factors. Consistent on-time payments help improve scores and missed or late payments may cause credit scores to decrease. Outcomes may vary among users.