Making this mistake when closing your bank account could affect your credit score – CNBC

There are many reasons why you may choose to close a bank account: too high of fees, you don’t like the customer service or perhaps you’re moving and looking for a new bank with a physical branch near you.

The good news is that, unlike closing a credit card account, closing a bank account generally won’t hurt your credit score.

Because your credit score is calculated based on information found in your credit report and bank accounts don’t show up on this report, the actual closure of your checking or savings account won’t directly affect your credit.

Where you could be in trouble, however, is if your account has been left with an outstanding balance, such as an overdraft fee that you never paid.

If the bank decides to send this debt you owe to them to a collection agency, it could go reported to the credit bureaus. A collection account on your credit report can cause a serious drop in your credit score, especially if recent.

According to Experian, one of the three main bureaus, “Collections fall under payment history, which is the biggest factor in your FICO Score calculation, driving 35% of your score.” Collection accounts, paid off or not, remain on your credit report for seven years, though their impact on your score lessens over time.

Before closing any bank account in your name, contact the bank first to ask if you have any negative balances, debts or fees on the account.

If you’ve recently bought something or wrote a check to someone, wait for that transaction to be completed before closing the account so to ensure your balance stays positive. You’ll also want to make sure you opt out of any automated payments (subscriptions or streaming services) that withdraw money monthly from your account.

For those transferring from one bank to another, Experian suggests leaving some cash in your old bank account for a few weeks in case there are any pending transactions you are forgetting.

While you take care to check for any negative balances before closing a bank account, consider ways to keep an eye on your credit at all times.

Credit monitoring services can keep you alert when there are changes made to your credit report, such as a collection account being added.

To stay up to date at no cost, consider signing up for  or  — both of which made CNBC Select’s ranking of the best credit monitoring services.