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If you need to find when you opened a bank account, there are several methods you can use to find out quickly and easily. Learn more about how to check when you opened a bank account so you can access the information you need.
Key Points
• Contacting customer support via phone, email, or chat is a reliable way to verify when your bank account was opened.
• Accessing online or mobile banking allows you to review your account history, including statements that may date back several years to the account’s inception.
• Searching your email inbox for welcome messages from your financial institution can help pinpoint the approximate date you opened your new account.
• Understanding your account history is useful for tracking personal milestones, tax filing, budgeting, and ensuring compliance with financial institution regulations.
• If an account becomes dormant, you may be able to reclaim funds that have been transferred to the state treasury.
Reasons You Might Need to Check Your Account Details
There are a few reasons why you might need to know exactly when you opened a bank account, whether it’s a checking or savings account. Here are some instances in which you might need to know this information.
• Keeping track of an account for tax purposes. This is especially true if you are reporting interest income when filing your taxes.
• Understanding the age and details of your financial history.
• Complying with bank regulations. Financial institutions have to make sure they are following government guidelines to look for bank fraud and money laundering. As part of their efforts, you might need to verify details about your bank account, such as when you opened it.
• You’re concerned that your account may be declared dormant and that your funds might be transferred to your state’s treasury, thereby becoming unclaimed money.
• The date you opened an account reflects an important financial milestone. For instance, you might want to identify when you received your first paycheck, began a side hustle, or started saving for the down payment on a house in a savings account.
Of course, there may be other reasons why you might need to check your account details — including when you opened your account — but these are some common ones.
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How to Find Out When You Opened a Bank Account
If you need to find out when you opened a bank account, there are several methods that can help you find the date, including:
Reviewing Your Electronic Statements and Early History
One potential method for checking when you opened a bank account is to access your electronic statements either in your financial institution’s mobile banking app or on its website.
Typically, with online and mobile banking, you can access several years’ worth of bank statements in this way. Reviewing your bank statements and the early history of your account may reveal precisely when you opened it.
Inspecting Your Welcome Emails and Digital Onboarding Records
Another way you may be able to determine when you opened a bank account is to search your emails for ones that might use such keywords as “welcome,” “bank account,” and the name of the financial institution. Or perhaps you archived materials that you were sent relating to the bank account; those could indicate when you opened the account.
Contacting Customer Support Directly for Opening Records
If you need to check when you opened your bank account, contacting customer support directly can be a smart move. Through chat, email, or a phone call, you can likely get the date you are seeking.
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Managing Account Status: How to Check If a Bank Account Is Active
If you want to check if a bank account is active, you have a few options. Here’s how to tell if an account is active:
• Log in to your bank’s app or website. If you can see the dashboard (an online banking feature), recent transactions, and the balance on deposit, then the account is likely active.
• Contact customer service, and ask the status of your account.
• Make a small transaction as a test. For instance, you might try to transfer a small amount of money out of the account or make a mobile deposit of a check. If the transaction is completed, the account can be considered active.
• If you bank at a brick-and-mortar financial institution, you could visit a branch and ask a teller to check the account’s status for you.
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What to Do if Your Bank Account Becomes Dormant
A dormant bank account is one that has no activity (except possibly interest accruing) for a period of time, such as three to five years. In cases where you haven’t conducted any transactions or logged onto your account and it’s become dormant, you can try these steps:
• Contact your financial institution’s customer service team and seek advice about whether it’s possible to reactivate your account.
• You may be able to make a small transaction (deposit or withdrawal) to reactivate the account if it’s inactive for a shorter period of time but hasn’t been declared dormant.
• If the account has been inactive for a number of years (typically between two and five, depending on your state’s guidelines), it’s likely that the funds have been turned over to the state treasury, where they are usually held indefinitely. This is a process called escheatment, and in many instances, the bank will try to contact the account holder before transferring the money to the state. If the money has been transferred out of the account, try visiting unclaimed.org or missingmoney.com to see if you can file a claim and recover your money.
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Seamless Account Tracking with Modern Banking Platforms
Whether you want to check the date you opened an account or keep tabs on your financial activity, some of today’s banking platforms and tools can provide you with an array of useful information and convenience features. For example, you can typically connect your bank account to your digital wallet by adding your debit card to the wallet.
Additionally, with some digital tools and apps, you can connect across more than 12,000 financial institutions to get an in-the-moment snapshot of your net worth and money management. Real-time syncing, automated alerts, and spending insights can give you an unprecedented level of knowledge and control.
The Takeaway
If you’re wondering how to check when you opened a bank account, the solution can involve contacting the bank’s customer service, reviewing electronic bank statements, and checking account welcome emails. This may help you get the information you need for various tax and administrative purposes, and could help keep the account from going dormant.
While thinking about your accounts, it can be a money-wise move to make sure you are banking with an institution that provides you with tools and benefits to help you manage and grow your funds.
Interested in opening an online bank account? When you sign up for a SoFi Checking and Savings account with eligible direct deposit, you’ll get a competitive annual percentage yield (APY), pay zero account fees, and enjoy an array of rewards, such as access to the Allpoint Network of 55,000+ fee-free ATMs globally. Qualifying accounts can even access their paycheck up to two days early.
FAQ
What is the difference between an inactive and a dormant bank account?
An inactive account is generally one that has not had any transactions for a period of time (perhaps six to 12 months) but still can be accessed or reactivated via, say, a deposit or withdrawal. A dormant account, however, is typically one in which no activity has occurred for two to five years, and the account assets are undergoing or have undergone escheatment, or transfer to the state treasury as unclaimed funds.
Does the age of your bank account affect your credit score directly?
Typically, bank accounts and their age do not directly influence your credit score as bank accounts are not credit accounts. However, if a bank account has issues, such as unpaid overdraft fees or negative balances that are sent to a collection agency, then that information may be reported to credit bureaus and your score could be negatively impacted.
Can you find an account opening date using an old debit card expiration?
An old debit card expiration date usually cannot be used to find an account opening date. Debit cards typically expire every few years, meaning they get replaced regularly, so you likely can’t figure out when the account was opened from the expiration date. Instead, check with customer service at your bank or review early account statements to get the information you need.
How long do institutions keep original application records on file?
Financial institutions are required to keep original bank account application records on file for at least five years under the Bank Secrecy Act. Banks may choose to keep the information for even longer.
Will a bank notify you before freezing a non-transactional account?
While a bank may notify you before the process of transferring funds out of a dormant account (some states require notification), it does not have to notify you before freezing an account. In some cases, accounts are frozen due to suspicious activity, and contacting the account holder could give them a heads-up, allowing a criminal to withdraw the funds from the account.
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