There are can be a number of reasons why you might have decided to close your bank account. It depends upon the individual whereas some reasons can be personal and also professional. So as now you have already made your mind to close the bank account you have. I will tell you the complete sets of things that you have to do to close your bank account successfully.
1. Check for Penalties and Dues
The first thing you have to do is check if your bank account has any penalties. Here you might be having penalties pending for non-maintenance of sufficient funds, etc. If you have any then you have to pay off all those penalties before you move forward to close the account. At the same time if you have any kind of dues in your account. The bank will not let you close the account. So the first step is to ensure there are no unpaid penalties and dues.
2. Stop All Automatic Payments
If you have set up automatic payments or have provided standing instructions of payments to your bank. Then you have to stop all of those. Because once your bank account is closed all the automatic payments will start failing. So it is recommended that you stop all the payments from your account. If you want the payments to continue then you can set up the same ones from a different bank account.
3. Get Another Bank Account
It is really hard to be without a bank account. So I recommend you to open a new bank account in another bank. You can take your time for this process. But this time you should select the bank which will be right for you to use for a long period of time. Check all the aspects like the balance requirements, charges, online availability, offline branches, etc. If you feel everything is fine then you can open your account with that bank.
4. Withdraw All Your Money From the Existing Account
If you have any balance in your existing account then the bank will ask you to make the balance zero. So do so that you can withdraw all the money from your bank account. You can either do it offline by visiting the branch or also with the help of the ATM machines. And in case you don’t want the offline process to make the balance zero. Then you can transfer all your balance online to another account of yours.
5. Go to The Bank and Fill the Application Form
There are different application forms for closing the bank account in different banks. So you should go to the bank branch and refer to your bank’s guidelines to close the account. You can also refer to the account closing guidelines by selecting your country and the bank on the Account Closers website. Once you have read the guidelines fill the application form as per the guidelines.
6. Submit the Form and the Things You Received from the Bank
This is the last step you have to follow to get your bank account permanently closed. As of now, you have filled the account closing form. Ensure that all the details have been filled correctly. Sign the application form and submit the form to the bank. You also have to submit the things you had received from the bank. It can be your debit card or credit card that is linked to the account you are closing.
Also, note that the bank can not immediately close your bank account. It will take a few days, usually 2-3 working days. So you have to cooperate with your bank in this matter. And there is no way of closing the account without paying the dues and penalties. So you have to pay for them.
