Published on October 10th, 2018 | by William Charles

Complete List Of Ways To Close Bank Accounts At Each Bank

Just reposting this for those not aware of this resource.Yesterday we posted about the easiest way to close bank accounts, I thought it would properly be helpful to build a reference list with the ways you can close an account with each bank. This will require your contributions, so please put them in the comments below. You might also find the following bank pages helpful:

Picture idea via Amol

I’d also recommend never relying on your account being automatically closed after zeroing a balance. Sometimes even if this has worked for other people it won’t work for you and you might be caught paying inactivity fees.

Contents

1 1st United Bank
2 Alliant
3 All America Bank/Redneck Bank
4 Amalgamated Bank
5 Amboy
6 Andigo Credit Union
7 Associated Bank
8 Astoria Bank
9 Bank of America
- 9.1 Personal
- 9.2 Business
10 BB&T
11 Bank Of The West
12 Bank & Trust
13 BB&T
14 BBVA
15 Blue Hills Bank
16 BMO Harris
17 BMT (Bryn Mawr Trust)
18 Bridgeview Bank
19 Capital One 360
- 19.1 Checking
- 19.2 Savings/Money Market
20 Chase
21 Christian Community Credit Union
22 CIT Bank
23 Citi
- 23.1 Checking:
- 23.2 Savings:
24 Citadel Credit Union
25 Citizens Bank
26 City National Bank (WV)
27 Columbia Bank (NJ)
28 Columbia Bank (WA, OR, ID)
29 Dollar Bank
30 Discover
31 Elements
32 FCB South County Bank
33 Fidelity Bank
34 Fifth Third
35 FirstBank
36 First Citizens Bank
37 First Federal Bank
38 First Merchants Bank
39 First National Bank
40 First National Bank of PA
41 First Niagara
42 First Tennessee
43 Five Star Bank
44 Flushing Bank
45 Fulton Bank
46 Hancock Whitney
47 Home Savings Bank
48 HomeStreet
49 HSBC
50 Huntington
51 Iberia Bank
52 Incredible Bank
53 KeyBank
54 Lakeland Bank
55 LegacyTexas Bank
56 LevelOne Bank
57 Memory Bank
58 Mountain America Credit Union
59 M&T
60 Nationwide
61 Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU)
62 NBKC
63 Northpointe
64 Northshore Credit Union
65 Northwest
66 NYCB Family Of Banks
67 Ocean First
68 Old National Bank
69 PeoplesBank
70 Pinnacle Bank
71 Pinnacle Bank (Texas)
72 PNC
73 Popular Community
74 Provident Bank
75 Quorum FCU
76 Radius Bank
77 Regions Bank
78 Salem Five
79 Santander
80 Seacoast Bank
81 SFGI
82 S&T Bank
83 SunTrust
84 Synovus
85 Talmer Bank
86 Tech CU
87 TD Bank
88 TIAA Direct
89 UFB Direct
90 Unify
91 Union Bank
92 United Bank
93 USAA
94 U.S Bank
95 Webster Bank
96 Wells Fargo
97 Westfield Bank (MA)

1st United Bank

Secured message: 1

Alliant

Secured message: 1,

All America Bank/Redneck Bank

Secured message: 1 (zero balance)

Amalgamated Bank

Letter: 1
Live chat: 1, 2
Phone: 1
Message: 1
Will close if balance is at $0 for thirty days: 1 (not backed up by this datapoint)

Amboy

Secured message: 1

Andigo Credit Union

Secured message: 1,

Associated Bank

Automatically after a few months of zero balance: 1 (somebody else reported they were hit with a charge for this)
In branch: 1
Phone: 1
Secured message: 1 (balance was $0), 2,

Astoria Bank

Phone: 1
Secured message: 1, 2

Bank of America

Personal

Secured message/chat: 1, 2, 3, 4 (didn’t work)
Over the phone: 1, 2, 3
In branch: 1
In app: 1,

Business

Phone: 1

BB&T

Chat: 1,
Secured message: 1, 2, 3 (didn’t work)
Phone: 1, 2, 3 (business account)
In branch: 1 (business account. Other methods didn’t work)

Bank Of The West

Secured message: 1

Bank & Trust

Phone: 1
Secured message: 1,

BB&T

Phone: 1,
Secured message: 1, 2,

BBVA

Secured message: 1, 2,

Blue Hills Bank

Notarized letter or in branch: 1
Close automatically with zero balance after a few months: 1

BMO Harris

In branch: 1
Live chat: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,
Phone: 1, 2, 3
Secured message doesn’t work: 1,

BMT (Bryn Mawr Trust)

Branch visit: 1,

Bridgeview Bank

Phone: 1,

Capital One 360

Checking

Chat: 1, 2, 3,
Phone: 1, 2

Savings/Money Market

Click close account button (found here): 1
Chat: 1, 2,

Chase

Thanks to reader Andrew for the following thresholds:

Under $50: Secure Message (tell them if you want the balance transferred to another account, or if you want a check mailed). 1, 2,
Under $5,000: Through phone call (again, any balance remaining they will mail or can transfer to another account).
Under $100,000: Via written request, including the name as it appears on the account, full account numbers, full social security number, current address and phone numbers and how you want to receive the balance remaining (mail or transfer to another account). Note, that if your balance is over $1,000, the letter must be notarized.

Secured message: 1 (business banking might not work), 2 (this was for savings and they transferred funds to checking to close), 3 (doesn’t work for business), 4,
Phone: 1,

Christian Community Credit Union

Call: 1,
Secured message: 1

CIT Bank

Secured message: 1,

Citi

Checking:

Chat: 1, 2, 3, 4 (downgrade), 5, 6, 7,
Secured message: 1, 2, 3 (downgrade), 4, 5, 6,
Phone: 1, 2, 3, 4,

Downgrade to basic checking:

Phone: 1

Savings:

Chat: 1, 2

Citadel Credit Union

Secured message: 1, 2,

Citizens Bank

Phone: 1
Letter: 1
Secured message: 1, 2 (didn’t show as closed but was closed), 3,

City National Bank (WV)

Fax: 1,

Columbia Bank (NJ)

Phone: 1, 2,
Mail: 1, 2,

Columbia Bank (WA, OR, ID)

In branch: 1,

Dollar Bank

FAX, Mail, or In-Branch: 1

Discover

Secured message: 1, 2, 3,

Elements

Chat: 1,
Secured message: 1,

FCB South County Bank

Closed automatically after zero balance for 10 days: 1

Fidelity Bank

Online if balance is zero: 1

Fifth Third

In-branch only: 1, 2 (business account)
Letter: 1
Phone: 1, 2, 3, 4
Secured Message didn’t work: 1
Secured message did work: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,

FirstBank

Chat: 1

First Citizens Bank

Cannot close by phone, have to go in branch or fax in form: 1

First Federal Bank

Cannot be closed by phone if the account has a balance: 1
By phone: 1

First Merchants Bank

In branch only, will also be auto closed after 4 months of $0 in account: 1

First National Bank

Must close in branch.

First National Bank of PA

SM: 1

First Niagara

Mail: 1
Phone: 1, 2

First Tennessee

Phone: 1
Secured message: 1, 2, 3

Five Star Bank

Automatically closed if requested by phone and balance is zero for 10 business days: 1

Flushing Bank

Phone : 1 (had to call the branch they opened the account with)
Secured message: 1,

Fulton Bank

In branch: 1, 2, 3,
Secured message: 1 (didn’t work), 2 (didn’t work)

Hancock Whitney

Fax: 1
Phone: 1 (zero balance), 2 (secured message wasn’t allowed), 3,

Home Savings Bank

In branch: 1

HomeStreet

E-mail: 1, 2 (written request scanned in)
Mail: 1

HSBC

Chat: 1, 2,
Phone: 1 (some good advice as well), 2, 3,
Secured message: 1, 2

Huntington

Chat: 1, 2 (no longer an option), 3 (it’s an option again, under contact us), 4 (didn’t work)
Branch: 1
Phone: 1 (balance must be $0), 2, 3,
Secured message: 1, 2 (no longer an option)

Iberia Bank

In branch only: 1

Incredible Bank

Call: 1,
Chat: 1,
Secured message: 1,

KeyBank

Secured message: 1, 2, 3
Phone: 1 (was told it couldn’t be done over SM), 2, 3, 4

Lakeland Bank

Closed after zeroing balance: 1,

LegacyTexas Bank

Phone: 1
Closed with zero balance after ~ 2 months: 1
Secured message: 1,

LevelOne Bank

Fax or mail: 1 (also has some useful details)

Memory Bank

Live chat: 1, 2,
By phone: 1,
Secured message: 1, 2,

Mountain America Credit Union

By phone: 1
Chat: 1,
Secured message did not work: 1,

M&T

You have to have a balance of $0 to close via phone.

In person: 1, 2
Mail: 1
Phone: 1, 2, 3
Secured Message: 1, 2, 3, 4 (more info), 5, 6, 7,

Nationwide

Secured message: 1, 2

Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU)

Secured message: 1,

NBKC

Secured message: 1 (after zeroing out)

Northpointe

Phone: 1

Northshore Credit Union

Must close in branch and it’s a long process: 1

Northwest

Must send in a letter or go in branch: 1
Secured message: 1,

NYCB Family Of Banks

In branch: 1

Ocean First

In branch: 1
Mailed letter: 1
Secured message does not work: 1

Old National Bank

Phone: 1 (balance must be $0)
Secured chat: 1, 2,

PeoplesBank

Send secured message: 1

Pinnacle Bank

Chat: 1 (didn’t work: 1), 2 (didn’t work)
Phone: 1,
Closed in branch: 1

Pinnacle Bank (Texas)

In branch: 1
Closed after 30 days of no balance: 1

PNC

Chat: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
Secured message: 1 (via Travel with Grant), 2, 3, 4,

Popular Community

Secured message: 1,

Provident Bank

Secured message: 1,

Quorum FCU

Phone: 1 2,

Radius Bank

Secured message: 1

Regions Bank

Secured message: 1, 2, 3,

Salem Five

Secured message: 1 (after zeroing balance)

Santander

Phone: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,

Seacoast Bank

Phone: 1, 2

SFGI

Reduce balance to $0 and wait 60 days: 1

S&T Bank

Direct message: Didn’t work
Phone: 1

SunTrust

Phone: 1, 2
Secured message: 1, 2, 3

Synovus

Branch visit required: 1

Talmer Bank

In branch or notarized: 1
Notarized in branch: 1

Tech CU

Secured message: 1

TD Bank

Secured message: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
Phone: 1, 2,
Notarized letter: 1

Business

In branch: 1

TIAA Direct

Phone: 1, 2 (lots of useful information)
Secured messsage: 1 (with $0 account balance), 2,

UFB Direct

Secured message: 1

Unify

Secured message: 1, 2,

Union Bank

Mail: 1 ($2 fee was charged)

United Bank

Secured message: 1,

USAA

Automatically closes with $0 statement balance: 1,

U.S Bank

Phone: 1, 2, 3
Mail: 1

Webster Bank

Secured message: 1, 2,

Wells Fargo

Secured message: 1, 2, 3 (business account), 4, 5 (business account), 6 (business account), 7 (business account), 8, 9, 10, 11,
Closed with zero balance: 1 (business)

Westfield Bank (MA)

In branch or notarized signature: 1,

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Leave a Reply

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Brandon

M&T Bank – Sent them a secured message and they responded with they needed a signature from me. You can mail them a signed request, but you will be charged a $4 mail closing fee and a $10 official check fee. You can also close the account in branch for I assume no fees.

Kyle

I filed CFPB complaint over their lack of options to close an account. They didn’t need a signature to open it so why do they need one to close it. All of a sudden they had no problems closing it for me.

I didn’t have luck getting $20 in fees reimbursed after they changed the terms of the account and slipped it in the electronic statement that they were doing that.

Missjenniferd1

This happened with me with m&t a few years back and i raked them over the coals on twitter, and my account was closed within an hour… Not sure how they found my account by my twitter name, but it was handled in short order, lol!

Joe

Citi has allowed me to close a citigold checking by chat in the past.

I tried this past week via chat and was told I had to call in to close a citigold account.

Darv

This is very helpful; I have accounts with Santander and Wells that will need to be closed.

Bank of America closed my account over the phone and sent me a check, successful close.

I closed BMO and Associated Bank in branches.

Hopefully somebody has word on closing a PNC checking. I don’t have a branch in state.

By the way, Bank of America offered me a $100 promotion for opening a checking account today. I poked around and it appears targeted. I don’t know how to submit this info and if there is a better way, please let me know.

William Charles

Thanks for the data points, added them.

Will, BofA no longer has chat, I was unable to find any way to secure message them, about anything, either.

The phone option was not bad. They have the “we’ll call you back” option.

Here are more DP https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credit-card-programs/1814914-bank-america-online-chat.html

Don L

I was able to close BoA Checking account through chat – one extra confirming data point.

Vic

Just closed Bank of America checking over phone. 12 mins on hold and then took >5 mins on phone. Called main line and said “close account.” No pushback from rep.

Balance if I had one would be mailed via cashiers check. Snailmail confirmation of account closure on deck

William F

Just closed my bank of america personal checking in about 6 minutes after dialing via phone

Jeremy

U.S. Bank will not do it over Secured Message. They’d rather do it over the phone or through U.S. Mail.

TCW

I tried to get an address to send a letter and was told mail is not an option. Have to call instead. (My wife hates calling in, and the account is in her name. More precisely, I opened accounts for both of us to get two bonuses; closed mine via phone but wanted to do hers via letter to save her the trouble of calling).

John

That is why I always request an address when I open a new bank account, just in case it’s necessary.

US Bank
P.O. Box 1800
St. Paul, MN 55101-0800

But I closed mine over phone.

Willy Brandt

This is not true, I closed my account via secure message 3 months ago. The guy said they don’t normally do it, but since I had a zero balance it wouldn’t be a problem

The Man

You can close PNC accounts via chat for those who sign up for their bonuses.

I did this in Jan. 2016 after my $400 bonus posted.

Jay

Doesnt the account need to be open 6 months before closing to avoid a ETF? Or did you wait 6 months to close?

William Charles

Added, thanks.

James

I’ve closed citi and BoA accounts in person at a branch. Cashed out at the teller and spoke with a banker for 5 minutes and got the paper work as a proof of closure. Seems easier than secure message or through the phone and less chance for any possible fee disputes.

William Charles

Added data point, most people find it easier to close over phone/chat/secured message so they don’t need to go in branch.

Drew R

PNC allowed me to close my checking account via live chat.

Shaun

I closed a PNC Virtual Wallet account via live chat and it took about 8 minutes. Very easy.

Paul

Bofa- chat
Chase- secure msg
Citi- phone, if I remember correctly, when attempting to close through chat, they told me I had to call

William Charles

Added data points, thanks.

Victor

My experience closing, how I got the funds and how easy it was. Note that before closing, I always first confirm with the bank that there will be no early termination fee (if I have had the account open longer than the min).
Chase – secure message, ACH’d the remaining balance (easy)
CapitalOne 360 – called, ACH’d the remaining balance (easy)
Nationwide – secure message, ACH’d the remaining balance (easy)
Amboy – secure message, ACH’d the remaining balance (easy)
SunTrust – sent 2 secure messages, mailed me a check for outstanding balance (okay)
Discover – sent 3 secure messages, keep getting reply that there is an error in their processing (hard)
FirstCitizens – it was a nightmare, avoid these folks if possible, had my funds locked up for 2+ months, eventually got a check (hard)
Homestreet – you have to mail a letter to the branch (hard)
Everbank – called, they offered me another 6 months at 1.6%, so I kept it open

William Charles

Thanks for the amazing data points, Victor. Added them all

Dillon Welch

I was able to close my BofA Business Checking account over the phone.

Drew

Confirmed, I just did as well.

HORACE

US BANK???

Rubic

Yesterday I just closed my Citi Savings account via SM. Last month I downgraded my Citigold to Basic checking with a phone call — Citi wouldn’t proceed with the downgrade via SM or chat.

William Charles

Added those data points, thanks.

After I got the bonus from Huntington bank and Fifth Third bank, I transferred all the money in there and never used it again. Interestingly, six months passed, they closed my accounts. I don’t have to bother myself to close them.

William Charles

Problem is some financial institutions have an inactivity fee, so I wouldn’t do that for all of them.

Bill

Depending on the institution, reducing your balance to $0 may incur additional charges. If those additional charges are not paid, that could result in negative information posted to Chex, thereby stopping you from opening other accounts.
I seem to remember that while Huntington offered a bonus on their Asterisk Free checking, Fifth Third required a minimum balance in the account to avoid fees.

You guys are right. But my Fifth Third bank account monthly fee got waived because I am a college student. I was just stating that some financial institutions will close your account if it is inactive for a period time which may be useful to add into the list since you don’t have to waste the time to do it.

Andrew

Plus better to close faster so you can churn them again.

jay

my experience:

Citizens bank: Phone
TD Bank: secure message and/or phone
First Niagara: Mail
Huntington: Chat
Citadel CU: Secure message
Nationwide: Secure message
US Bank: Phone
Capital One checking: Phone
Capital One Saving: Online/self
Santander: Phone
M&T: In Person and/or Mail

William Charles

Thanks, amazing data points added them all. Are capital one for capital one for capital one 360?

jay

For 360

Paul

UFB Direct – Repeatedly deposit money orders and then transfer the balance out. They’ll close it for you. 😉

Gary

Same goes for plenty of banks, but don’t do that if you ever want to have a relationship with them again. Many people don’t like getting blacklisted.