A lot of the laws surrounding bank accounts are rather blurry and vague. Unfortunately, as these laws are not commonly taught in school, this can lead to confusion.
This confusion then leads to a lot of people making poor financial decisions and mistakes that will really cost them in the long run.
One thing that a lot of people think is unclear surrounding banking is whether, or not, you can have multiple accounts with different banks.
In this guide, we’ll be clarifying this, and giving you lots of helpful information surrounding the rules of having multiple bank accounts.
Yes, you absolutely can have two bank accounts with different banks. A lot of people believe that you are only allowed to have one bank account with a single bank, but this is just a misconception, and it simply isn’t true.
There are no laws or policies that prevent you from having multiple bank accounts at one time, and this is actually a lot more common than you might expect.
A lot of people will open multiple accounts with a single bank for their current account and their savings account. This is because most people like to stay loyal to their bank, especially in the older generations of society.
However, opening multiple accounts with different banks is becoming a lot more popular. Some people choose to do this to help manage their finances better, others do this because some banks offer smart banking while others do not.
There are lots of reasons why you might do this, and it is perfectly okay to do so.
As we have said, some people seem to believe that it is bad, or even illegal, to have multiple bank accounts with different banks. But, there is nothing wrong with this, and it definitely isn’t bad.
All of your bank accounts will operate independently of one another, so what you do with one account will have no impact on the other.
Despite this, some people believe that having multiple bank accounts will be bad for your credit score. However, this isn’t the case, and we’ll take a further look at this shortly.
The one potential bad thing about having multiple bank accounts with different banks is that you will have to complete more maintenance.
Instead of having just one bank account to monitor and keep on top of, you will have multiple accounts which you have to use regularly to avoid falling into the inactivity thresholds.
Additionally, you will have multiple accounts which you will have to monitor to ensure that you have enough money to cover outgoing payments. But, as long as you can keep on top of this maintenance, there is nothing wrong with having multiple accounts.
It is a common misconception that having multiple bank accounts will hurt your credit rating. Especially if your accounts are with different banks.
However, this is just a misconception, and there is very little chance that having multiple accounts will impact your credit score.
As long as you manage your multiple accounts appropriately, in the same way that you would a single account, then no harm should come to your credit score.
But, as we have mentioned, the maintenance of having multiple accounts to manage can often cause people to fall behind on payments. This will damage your credit score, but this isn’t because you have multiple accounts, it is because you are failing to make payments.
So, no, having multiple accounts in itself does not damage your credit rating. But, if you fail to upkeep the maintenance on these accounts, then it could end up hurting your credit.
No, if you have an account with one bank, another bank will not be able to see the details of this account. However, they may be able to find out that this other bank account exists.
Whether they will be able to do this, or not, will depend on the type of account that you are applying for. If you are applying for a credit account, then banks might find out about other accounts when they run a credit check on you.
But, nobody, not even a bank, will be able to access the details of your bank account without your permission. So, unless you give your bank permission, they will not be able to access any of the details surrounding your other accounts.
Summary
In short, yes, you can have two or more bank accounts with different banks at one time. There is nothing preventing you from doing this, and it is actually a popular thing to do.
As long as you upkeep the maintenance on these accounts, then they will not have a negative impact on your credit rating.
