 TITLE: What Are Overdraft Fees and How Much Do They Cost? CONTENT: Do Overdraft Fees Hurt Your Credit?\n-----------------------------------\nOverdraft fees don't directly affect your credit or credit score. That's because banking history isn't reported to the three credit bureaus—Experian, TransUnion or Equifax. However, if you don't pay a negative balance on your bank account and the account gets sent to a collection agency, the collection account could appear on your credit report and hurt your score.\nChecking account overdrafts _can_ show up on your [ChexSystems report](;text=Here's%20what%20you%20need%20to,it%20can%20affect%20your%20credit.), which is a report banks and credit unions use to assess your banking history. Financial institutions typically pull your ChexSystems report when deciding whether to approve you for a bank account.\nHaving negative records on this report, such as unsettled overdrafts, could make it harder to open a new bank account, which is why it's important to keep your account balances above zero.\nTo review your banking history, you can get one free [ChexSystems](!ut\/p\/z1\/04_Sj9CPykssy0xPLMnMz0vMAfIjo8ziDRxdHA1Ngg183AP83QwcXX39LIJDfYwM3M30wwkpiAJJ4wCOBkD9URAlMBP8PUKMgCa4-rgbG3kbugeaoCtAs8LAHKYAtyUFuREGmZ6OigAWLRKn\/dz\/d5\/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh\/) report each year. If you discover unpaid account balances, try to pay them off as soon as possible. Once you do, you can ask the financial institution to remove the record from your ChexSystems report. Ultimately, though, removal is up to their discretion. END