Closing CIBC account from abroad: everything you need to know

CIBC®¹ is a very popular bank in Canada - so if you’ve ever lived there for work or study, you might have decided to get a CIBC account to make managing your money easier when you’re north of the border.

If you’ve now moved back to the US, it’s time to close your CIBC account. However, this could be harder than you think. This guide walks you through how to close your CIBC account, and some of the issues you’re likely to run into if you’re not a Canadian resident any more.

Can you close a CIBC account from the US?

Unfortunately we don’t have good news here. At the time of writing it’s not usually possible to close your CIBC account fully unless you visit a branch in person.

You can transfer money from one CIBC account to another by phone, which may allow you to close an account if you have more than one with CIBC - but this won’t help if you’re planning on leaving the bank entirely.

So, can you just leave your CIBC account open? Unfortunately, doing nothing isn’t a great option here either. If you have any balance left in the account it will be eaten up by charges, and ultimately forfeited to the Canadian government.

Account dormant fees kick in if you don’t transact for 2 years. After this, there’s a fee of 20 CAD in years 2, 3 and 4, rising to 30 CAD in years 5, 6, 7, and 8, and ultimately 40 CAD in year 9. By year 10, if there’s any money left this is given to the Bank of Canada².

Can you close a CIBC account online?

As we’ve seen, closing your CIBC account after leaving the country is pretty tricky to do. There’s no online option as such, although it’s well worth logging into your account and asking a member of staff for advice using secure messages - this may give you some ideas about how best to manage the issue.

Closing your CIBC account from abroad: step by step

At the time of writing, CIBC does not state any option to close an account with them remotely. You can log into your account and ask for advice or you can call CIBC for help which is provided for US customers in English, French, Mandarin and Cantonese³.

However, the standard way to close a CIBC account is in person, at a branch - not easy if you’ve already left the country.

If you have the option, withdraw your balance from CIBC and close the account before you move out of Canada.

If you run out of time or can’t close the account for some reason, you’ll need to get in touch to ask for support - and remember, fees start to apply to the account after 2 years, even if you have a product which does not usually have a maintenance fee. Spend or withdraw your money as soon as you can.

What’s the best way to send money internationally?

Banks are certainly one option for sending money internationally, as are services like PayPal. But the problem with banks is they can often be slow, expensive and inconvenient. Luckily, there’s a better alternative out there.

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How much does it cost to close a CIBC account?

As we've mentioned, there are fees to pay if you do not close your account with CIBC and leave it dormant. In this case, accounts are treated as dormant if there are no transactions for 2 years.

After this point you then pay a fee of 20 CAD - 40 CAD per year, until either you close the account, start to use it again, or the money runs out. If there are funds left in the account after 10 years you forfeit them to the Canadian government.

If you’re successful in closing your CIBC account you’ll pay a fee. There’s a 19.5 CAD fee to transfer your funds from a standard bank account to another account with a different institution. If you have some types of CIBC account, such as some savings products, this fee rises to 100 CAD⁴.

How long does closing a CIBC account take?

The main issue with closing your CIBC account is likely to be that you'll be asked to visit a bank in person to get your account shut down.

If you’re able to visit a CIBC branch the account closure process should be fairly quick as long as your account is in good standing and there are no debts or overdrafts linked to it.

Tips and challenges for closing your CIBC account

Closing your CIBC account might be a challenge if you no longer live in Canada and don’t plan on heading back there any time soon. Here are a few things to think about:

Closing an account with CIBC once you’ve left the country isn’t as easy as you might think. In fact you may need to take a trip to Canada just to get everything sorted out. Use this guide to consider your options, and make sure you’re aware of the various fees which apply to dormant accounts and upon closure, so there are no surprises.

Sources:

1. CIBC
2. CIBC account fees
3. CIBC contact us
4. CIBC fees