Citibank has reached an agreement with New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman to adopt new policies governing its use of ChexSystems, a consumer reporting agency that screens people seeking to open checking or savings accounts.

The change comes amid concerns that screenings by ChexSystems and other consumer reporting agencies, which are used by most of the nation’s banks, adversely affect lower-income applicants, punishing them for relatively small financial errors, and force them to turn to high-cost alternative financial services like check-cashing outlets.

Citibank’s new policies are expected to allow additional consumers nationwide to open bank accounts by March 15.

Citibank is the second bank to commit to overhaul its use of ChexSystems. Capital One came to an agreement with the attorney general over its ChexSystems policies in June 2014.

"No one should be denied access to a bank account because of a bounced check from years ago or because they were a victim of identity theft," Schneiderman said in a statement. "Denials like these force low-income Americans – and New Yorkers in particular – to resort to high-cost alternatives to banks, simply because of a small financial error in the past. I commend Citibank, following Capital One, for stepping up and working with us to help eliminate an unnecessary barrier to opening a checking or savings account. I look forward to working with additional banks willing to do the same."