Being aware of your financials is one of the most important things you should do in life, there is nothing worse than losing money because of sheer carelessness and thus it is important to keep track of your bank accounts. But, what happens when your accounts have some rules that you do not expect and are in danger of being eliminated through no fault of your own? Well, that is exactly what will happen to some Wells Fargo clients that have not properly read their contracts.
Opening a bank account can be quite easy, in fact, most of them offer some kind of perk when you decide to transfer your money into a new bank, which can make I very tempting. The thing is, there are only so many bank accounts that one person needs, and opening and closing accounts every couple of years just for the perks and having to change all your automated payments from one bank to another is annoying, which means that customers tend to profit from the offer and if they do not need the cash, treat the new account as just a place to park a few hundred dollars for a rainy day.
While in theory that is not a bad idea, banks do not tend to agree and have policies in place to ensure that the accounts that are in their books are not inactive, and to ensure that they ask customers to make a few movements a year to prove that they still use the account. This is meant to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs associated with unused accounts.
In what cases will Wells Fargo declare your account inactive and close it?
First things first, do not panic, Wells Fargo will not automatically close accounts. Before taking any measures, the bank will contact you and give you a chance to reactivate your account or move your money into another bank and close the account. This is why we can never stress enough how important it is to have your information updated in all places you do business with, as if these notifications do not reach you in time, you might have a bigger mess than you would like to deal with.
The accounts that will be looked at and closed if they do not have any activity will be those that have been inactive for 16 months or more, so no registered activity since January 2024. This means no deposits, withdrawals, or card transactions. Automatic payments are not enough to keep accounts going, as you might have just set it up and forgotten about it, so make sure that you keep a list of all your accounts and at least access them once a year to make some kind of deliberate movement with the money that is in it.
The transaction that you make does not need to be worth any significant amount of money, it just needs to be purposeful to remind your bank that you have not forgotten about the account. some specific recommendations that Wells Fargo gives their clients who are in danger of having their accounts frozen are to:
- Make regular deposits, such as payroll checks or automatic transfers (money in does count as activity, but money out does not).
- Use the debit card associated with the account to make purchases, even for small amounts.
- Transfer funds between your own accounts within Wells Fargo or other institutions.
If your account gets frozen and then cancelled, you can still get your funds back, but you will need to contact the US Treasury Department to do so, as they are the ones that are entrusted with the money once banks decide to close their unused accounts, and the process to get your money back is lengthy and tiring.