Your bank is required to report all checks drawn against insufficient funds, or NSF checks. The report will be sent to all banks so that you cannot open another checking account in another bank. The new bank can refuse your application for a new checking account.
However, there are banks that offer Second Chance Checking Accounts. With this service, you may open another checking account, although you may be required to adhere to stricter rules and requirements.
If you reach a certain number of NSF checks from your Second Chance Checking Account, the bank may automatically close your account. Or the bank may require you to add some funds that will not appear in your bank balance. The bank will treat those funds as contingent to any overdrafts that may occur in the future.
Discipline is important in owning a checking account. The best practice that would avoid overdrafts is to issue checks or charge purchases against a debit card only when the account is funded. This is quite simple, but there are bank clients who seem to disregard this basic rule.
You don’t need to find the bank that offers the Second Chance Checking Account service when you maintain real time monitoring of your transactions. Aside from saving on overdraft fees, you will also save yourself from the embarrassment that bouncing checks bring.
This should open the mind of everyone to honor the privilege of issuing checks. We should not leave NSF checks at the mercy of overdraft fees. Because having a checking account is not a right but a privilege, it is always incumbent upon us to be responsible with managing these accounts.