Your bank closes or closes your bank account

An essential bank account

In everyday life, the bank account is essential for personal management needs: transfer of wages, allowances, payment of rent, withdrawals from credits, state bodies (public treasury) ... Household expenses are also facilitated by the means of payment made available, such as bank card , transfer or checkbook .

We will close your account!

But sometimes you may have the unpleasant surprise of receiving an email or hearing your account manager tell you that your account is going to be closed. Did you think that this kind of bad news was reserved for bad customers, people who are permanently negative? ... Not at all! Even having an account always in positive, with savings accounts, without incident, your account is simply considered uninteresting by your banker.

Why does my bank want to close my account?

The reasons can be multiple and your bank is not obliged to justify itself . It's the same for you, if you want to close your checking account, you don't have to explain the reasons. From the point of view of your banker, the reasons for this account closure are simple: your account and the movements it supports are not profitable . That is to say, they do not earn him enough:

• your account is largely in credit, but you have not subscribed enough banking products or services that bring it back, such as a credit card, account insurance, a savings account ...
• your account is in credit, but inactive, that is to say that the money is sleeping and does not bring in anything
• you have one or more disagreements with your account manager or with the bank. As a result, the trust being broken, the bank prefers to cut the relationship short
• your income (salaries, pensions, etc.) is not large enough and you generate too many small transactions that are costly for the bank ...
• you use your normal current account when in fact you are in a micro-enterprise and your bank would like you to open a professional account, paying (please note in this regard that nothing requires you, as a micro-entrepreneur, to open a professional account ...).
• you're used to renegotiating everything bank charges, credit rates, and that lowers your banker's margin.

Does my banker have the right to close my bank account?

The answer is YES (article of law L 312-1 C Convention des Monnaies et Finances). The banker must however respect the procedure:

• notify the customer in writing that the account is closed, generally by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt
• allow a reasonable period of 2 months so that the client can take steps to open an account elsewhere.

What if I receive a notice to close my account?

1 / You would like to keep your account

Contact your banker as soon as possible. Try to find out the problem that is driving this fence. If you can settle the disagreement easily and it doesn't bother you your banker may change his mind. This is rarely the case, because that would be tantamount to saying that he admits his mistake! Stay courteous.
You can also try to alert the mediator appointed by your bank, but be careful of the delays. Indeed, there is little chance that it will call you back before the closing date of the account: and you risk finding yourself without a bank account.

2 / You take the opportunity to change bank.

Immediately start the process to open a new bank account elsewhere . Protect yourself by trying an online bank ( ING , Hello Bank ! , BforBank , Bridgepayday , monabanq ...) which will always be less expensive than a traditional bank, with completely identical basic services and most of the time a free bank card, often top of the range (Visa Premier or Gold Mastercard are no longer a luxury reserved for the better-off!). In this case, choose instead a brand that is part of a different group than the one that closed your account .
In addition, since February 6, 2017, the law on banking mobility (also far called "Macron"), greatly facilitates the transfer from your bank account to another establishment: from now on it will be the receiving bank (your new bank) which will engage free of charge for changing your bank address (note, this only concerns current bank accounts for individuals, not savings accounts, life insurance, etc.). No need to warn all the organizations that charge your account (EDF, Internet Service Provider, Water, gas, etc.), which was long, tedious, and sometimes a source of errors: the entire migration is now taken into account. charged by your new bank.

In any case, if you find the time before closing too short, you can try to negotiate a fortnight more . Your banker does not have to comply with your request, but he may also be afraid of being attacked. Indeed, your banker must delay the closing of your account if it causes excessive discomfort.

See as well :

Steps to follow to change bank safely.
To go further, see our Comparison of online banks
Open an online account with Hello bank!
Open an online account with ING
Comparison of free bank cards.
FAQ on account closure at the initiative of the banker.
Online banking comparisons