How to close your UBank account.

UBank is an online bank and a division of National Australia Bank Limited (NAB). As an account holder you might find yourself wanting to close your UBank accounts because you’re looking for greater flexibility when it comes to money transfers or their accounts just don’t meet your needs anymore.

This guide will outline the process of closing your UBank account, and let you know the services Wise has on offer that can help make your transition to a new banking service easier.

Learn more about the
Wise Multi-Currency account

Before you close your Ubank account

Before closing your UBank account you’ll need to sort out anything that relies on the account being open. Here’s a few things you might need to do.

• Empty the account by withdrawing the balance in cash or sending it to another account. If you need to send the balance to an overseas bank it’s a good idea to look at doing a Wise money transfer, as UBank does not allow money transfers to banks outside of Australia.¹
• Update the details for any linked services such as loan repayments, investments, credit cards and recurring direct debit payments.
• 🚨 Download the financial records for your UBank account. It’s generally much easier to get them before you close your account, as you’ll still have access to your online banking.

How to close a USpend or USave account

To close a USpend or USave account with UBank² you’ll need to give them a call on 13 30 80 or +61 2 8756 0855 from overseas.⁵

Ubank call line is open from 8am to 8pm (AEST) Monday to Friday — 8am to 6pm Saturday and Sunday.

Make sure you have your IDs and account details handy to help make the process of identifying yourself and the account easier.

How to close a joint account with UBank?

While there are no specific procedures Ubank mentions for joint accounts, keep in mind that depending on how the account was set up, you may need the consent of both parties to close it.

Can I do this online or from overseas?

UBank specifies that you need to call them to close your account², so if you’re overseas you should try their international number. Keep in mind that their call hours follow Australian Eastern Standard Time.

What happens to UBank dormant accounts?

If your USave or USpend account remains unused for a period of 3 years UBank will mark it as dormant.³ Once the account is dormant you’ll be unable to make any withdrawals until it’s reactivated, which you can do by making a deposit.

After 7 years of inactivity Australian regulations may require UBank to shut your account permanently.³

You can avoid the account going dormant by depositing a minimum of A$0.01. A simple Wise transfer can help with this.

Are there any costs to close this account with UBank?

No direct fees for closing a bank account are mentioned on the Ubank fee schedule. However, be aware that there may be indirect fees for things like withdrawing your balance or sending money to another bank account.

What else do I need to know?

Something to keep in mind when transferring your UBank balance to another bank account is that there are daily withdrawal limits⁴ which may impact how long it takes you to empty the account.

In general the daily withdrawal limit is $20,000 AUD. If the account is a nominated linked bank account that was verified over 10 days ago and is in your name, the limit is $100,000 AUD online.

For amounts above $20,000 AUD sent to another institution, you’ll have to do this over the phone.

You can find out more by contacting UBank here.⁵

• Call 13 30 80 from within Australia
• Call +61 2 8756 0855 from overseas
• Message through the Secure Mail function of your Online Banking
• Live chat on the UBank website.
• Reach out on facebook.com/ubank or twitter.com/ubank

Alternative banks and financial services.

Before taking the plunge and closing your UBank accounts, you’ll want to make sure you have a solid plan for where you’re going to send your money.

You could go with a traditional bank again, like NAB, CommBank, Westpac, ANZ — or try a hassle-free modern solution such as Wise.

Wise has a Multi-currency account that is capable of storing over 50 international currencies with no monthly account fees. The account enables you to have individual account details for a number of different countries, including Australia. You can use these to easily transfer your UBank balance to Wise.

You can also have a debit card to spend at home and avoid foreign transaction fees while abroad.

Open your Wise account in minutes

If you need to send your money to an overseas account you can do a simple Wise money transfer straight from your UBank account, or store it in your Multi currency account until you're ready to convert the AUD.

When making a foreign currency exchange with Wise there are no hidden fees and you’ll be given the real exchange rate.

If you want to see how much it would cost you to send money overseas with Wise, try out the pricing calculator

Wrapping up

Closing your UBank account may seem like a big step at first, but once you delve into the process, it’s not so bad. Like UBank, Wise is an online service that is safe and secure, with the added bonus of having a range of foreign currency services.

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