How bad does one’s credit have to be before the bank rejects that person for a basic no-frills checking account?
I think credit is not so important as outstanding unresolved bouncy bouncy checks.
I changed banks 2 years ago in the midst of a complete multi-tiered personal finance disaster, and I had no problems at all. 'Course, I had no bad checks out there either.
Stuff might be different now, though.
The answer depends entirely on the bank in question. Some banks pull a credit report before opening an account, some don’t. Some pull a FICO score, some don’t. Most run your information through a “derogatory information clearing house” like ChexSystems, but some don’t. Even among those banks that do pull a credit report or FICO score, the cutoff point will vary.
Your best bet is to ask around at several banks. You’ll probably do better at smaller, more local institutions.