Second Chance Checking Accounts in Washington

SoFi’s Checking and Savings account is designed to help you keep more of your money. There are no monthly maintenance fees, no overdraft fees, and no minimums to worry about.

Set up direct deposit, and you can unlock a sign-up bonus of up to $400, plus earn a competitive 3.30% APY on your savings. Checking accounts earn 0.50% APY as well.

You’ll also have access to over 55,000 fee-free ATMs and the ability to get paid up to two days early with direct deposit.

Current gives you a simple way to open a checking account without ChexSystems or credit checks. You can start building credit by using your debit card for everyday purchases, with no loans, hard inquiries, or interest involved.

There’s no minimum balance to maintain, no hidden fees, and access to thousands of fee-free ATMs across the U.S.

Current’s Premium account also includes early direct deposit and Savings Pods that earn up to 4.00% APY, helping your money grow without sacrificing flexibility.

Chime makes it easy to open a checking account, even if your banking history isn’t perfect. There are no monthly fees, no foreign transaction charges, and no minimum balance required.

You can also boost your credit with the Chime Credit Builder Visa®. It’s a secured card with no credit check, no annual fee, and no interest charges.

Chime gives you access to over 47,000 fee-free ATMs, early direct deposit, and cash deposit options at more than 8,500 Walgreens locations.

It’s built to help you re-establish your financial health and work back toward a standard account.

The monthly fee is $10.95, or $8.95 if you set up direct deposit of your full payroll, pension, or Social Security check of at least $500 a month.

There’s no minimum balance, and you get 10 free withdrawals each month at non-credit-union ATMs. After 12 straight months with fewer than 12 returned-item fees, you can move up to another ACU checking account.

Membership is open to anyone who lives, works, worships, or attends school in the Pacific Northwest, plus a $25 savings account to join. ACU is based in the South Sound, with branches in DuPont, Graham, Lacey, Lakewood, Spanaway, Tacoma, Tumwater, University Place, and Yelm.

It takes $50 to open and has a $10 monthly service fee, which the bank notes cannot be waived.

The account doesn’t earn interest, but it comes with the full set of everyday features: a Visa debit card, free online and mobile banking with Bill Pay, free mobile check deposit, and unlimited check writing.

You open it in person at a branch, where staff can walk you through getting started.

Bank of the Pacific serves Washington and Oregon, with Washington branches in Aberdeen, Anacortes, Bellingham, Burlington, Long Beach, Lynden, Ocean Shores, Olympia, and Raymond, among others.

A member service representative reviews your history with you in a one-on-one appointment and walks through how to use the account, so you’re set up to succeed.

There are no monthly maintenance fees and no minimum balance. You get a free Visa debit card, online and mobile banking, remote check deposit, and access to shared branches and roughly 30,000 fee-free ATMs.

Express is a community development credit union, and it pairs the account with free one-on-one financial counseling through GreenPath.

One thing to know: overdraft transfer protection isn’t available on Classic Checking, so plan around your available balance. Express Credit Union is based in Seattle and serves members across Washington.

It’s a non-traditional account designed to help you get back on your feet and show a solid track record while you rebuild.

The account has a $6.75 monthly service charge. It comes with a debit card with tap-to-pay and card controls, plus free online, mobile, and telephone banking.

You also get up to 10 free withdrawals each month at ATMs outside the Harborstone and co-op networks, then $2 per withdrawal after that.

Harborstone serves communities across the Puget Sound region, with branches in Bonney Lake, Federal Way, Gig Harbor, Kent, Lacey, Lakewood, Puyallup, Seattle, Spanaway, and Tacoma.

The account requires a $25 opening deposit and includes a $10 monthly service fee.

There’s no ongoing minimum balance requirement, and you’ll get access to online banking, bill pay, mobile banking, eStatements, telephone banking, and a Visa debit card.

Membership is open to anyone who lives, works, or worships in Washington state, with a $5 savings deposit required to join.

MountainCrest Credit Union has branches in Arlington and Everett.

Access Checking is a Bank On certified account with no monthly service fee, no minimum balance requirement, and a $20 opening deposit.

It includes everyday banking features like a Visa debit card, digital banking, mobile deposit, and bill pay.

Members who keep Access Checking in good standing for 12 months can usually ask to switch to one of OnPoint’s regular checking accounts.

In Washington, membership is available to people who live, work, worship, or attend school in Clark, Cowlitz, Lewis, or Skamania County. Immediate family members may also be eligible.

Branches are located in Ridgefield and Vancouver.

It’s built to get you back on track and, over time, into a regular personal checking account.

Like PrimeSource’s other accounts, it comes with the everyday tools you’d expect, including a Visa debit card, online and mobile banking with mobile deposit, bill pay, and access to shared branches and the co-op ATM network.

The credit union notes that some restrictions and fees apply to this account, so it’s worth asking a branch for the current details before you open one.

PrimeSource is based in Spokane, with branches in Spokane and Spokane Valley.

It’s a practical way to get back to everyday banking while you work toward a clean record.

It takes $25 to open and has a $10 monthly service fee, but that fee is easy to chip away at. You can complete 15 debit card transactions in a month to knock off $5, and receive at least $250 in direct deposits to knock off the other $5. Do both and the fee disappears entirely.

The account comes with mobile and online banking, mobile check deposit, Zelle, budgeting tools, and access to more than 40,000 fee-free ATMs and nearly 5,800 shared branches nationwide.

Membership is easy to get, since anyone can qualify by joining the Salal Foundation. Salal has branches in Bellevue, Seattle, and Tukwila.

As the credit union puts it, if past problems have uprooted your plans, this gives you the space to grow again.

Best of all, there’s no monthly service fee. The account includes a free Visa debit card that can be printed on the spot, mobile check deposit, free bill pay, digital direct deposit, and Credit Sense, a built-in tool to track your credit score and report as you rebuild.

Membership is open to anyone who lives, works, worships, or attends school in Washington, and it takes just $5 in a savings account to join. Seattle Credit Union has branches in Burien, Lynnwood, Seattle, Tacoma, Tukwila, and Yakima.

As the credit union puts it, nobody’s perfect, and this account is a way back in.

You may qualify even with a credit score below 600 if you don’t meet the standard checking criteria.

A debit card may be issued under SnoCope’s normal guidelines, and like their other checking accounts, there’s no minimum balance and no monthly service fee when you enroll in eStatements.

You also get the mobile app, bill pay, and access to more than 30,000 CO-OP network ATMs.

Each Second Chance account is individually reviewed and approved by management, so certain restrictions apply and not everyone will qualify. SnoCope is based in Everett, Washington.

It’s a straightforward way to get back into good standing, and after six months in good shape, you may be able to move up to one of Timberland’s other checking accounts.

The account has a $9.95 monthly maintenance fee and no minimum balance to open. It doesn’t earn interest, but it comes fully loaded with the everyday essentials: a free debit card, free online and mobile banking, mobile check deposit, online bill pay, eStatements, and free check writing.

Timberland is a community bank based in Hoquiam with 24 locations across western Washington, including Aberdeen, Gig Harbor, Lacey, Olympia, Puyallup, Silverdale, Tacoma, and Tumwater.

The account requires a $25 opening deposit and carries a $4 monthly fee. You’ll get mobile banking, online banking, person-to-person payments, and no overdraft fees.

After maintaining a positive account history, you may be eligible to upgrade to a standard checking account.

WaFd Bank has branches throughout Washington, including Bellevue, Everett, Kent, Kirkland, Redmond, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Vancouver, and Wenatchee.

Like many accounts of this kind, it’s opened in person at a branch, where staff can walk you through getting started.

It takes $25 to open and carries a $10 monthly service fee.

The account comes with a free initial debit card with UChoose Rewards, free Yakima Federal ATM access, and free online banking that includes eStatements, the mobile app, mobile deposit, bill pay, and a card control app.

Yakima Federal serves south-central Washington, with branches in Ellensburg, Kennewick, Pasco, Prosser, Richland, Sunnyside, and Yakima.