I got my bank account closed abruptly how do I get money out?
This is very possibly a scam. The way the scam works is that the scammers send you a letter and demand you call the telephone number. But the telephone number belongs to the scammers, not the bank. When you call the number, they will 'authenticate' you by asking you a bunch of questions. They will then have enough information to call the bank and pretend to be you, and transfer out all of your money. What you need to do is to find the telephone number for your bank without making use of this letter. For example, look at a previous bank statement, or find the telephone number on the bank's website. Call that number and discuss this letter. If you have already called the number in the letter and if you have the slightest reason to believe it is not valid, stop reading. This is an emergency. Immediately call a legitimate number at the bank. Explain the situation and note that you believe your information has been compromised. Why are you still reading? Do it now. First, make sure you are contacting the bank directly - use an old invoice you have on hand with a phone number direct to the bank and call them.  Do not use the provided number, or you may wind up being pulled into a scam (It is entirely possible that the bank is also confused at this point - so you should not rely on the number provided at all). Second, once you can confirm that your account is being closed, find out when it is being closed so you know when you need to act on it - it's possible you still have access to your account, and do not need to launch into a panic just yet.   Third, get the bank to explain exactly why they are closing your account - make it clear that if they cannot explain, you will be forced to transfer to a new account and close business with them permanently - this is not a threat, this is a matter of fact because... Finally, if you cannot keep your account open, find a different bank and open up a new account.  Frankly, if your current bank is closing your account and only managed to get a letter out to you a month late, you should probably find a new bank.  If instead they simply cannot figure out if your bank account is closed or not, this is also a bad sign and you may want a new bank account anyway.   But please, go through these steps in order, because you need to verify with your bank what is going on.   Keep @Brick 's answer in mind as well, in case you need to get your money out of your account quickly. If you can get to a physical branch, get a cashier's check (or call them and have them send you one by mail).  When they draft the cashier's check they remove the money from your account immediately and the check is drawn against the bank itself.  You could hold onto that check for a little while even after your account closes and you make other arrangements for banking. If you cannot get a cashier's check, then you should try to expeditiously open a new account and do an ACH from old to new.  This might take more days to set up than you have left though. "Coming from someone who has worked a in the account servicing department of an actual bank in the US, other answers are right, this is probably a scam, the phone number on the letter is probably ringing to a fraudulent call center (these are very well managed and sound professional), and you must independently locate and dial the true contact number to US Bank. NOW. Tell them what happened. Reporting is critical. Securing your money is critical. Every piece of information you provided ""the bank"" when you called needs to be changed or worked around. Account numbers, passwords, usernames, card numbers get changed. Tax ID numbers get de-prioritized as an authentication mechanism even if the government won't change them. The true bank probably won't transfer you to the branch. If the front-line call center says they will, ask the person on the phone what the branch can do that they cannot. Information is your friend. They will probably transfer you to a special department that handles these reports. Apparently Union Bank's call center transfers you to the branch then has the branch make this transfer. Maybe their front-line call center team is empowered to handle it like I was. Either way, plug your phone in; if the call takes less than 5 minutes they didn't actually do everything. 5 to 8 minutes per department is more likely, plus hold time. There's a lot of forms they're filling out. What if that office is closed because of time differences? Go online and ask for an ATM limit increase. Start doing cash advances at local banks if your card allows it. Just get that money out of that account before it's in a fraudsters account. Keep receipts, even if the machine declines the transaction. Either way, get cash on hand while you wait for a new debit card and checks for the new account you're going to open. What if this was fraud, you draw your US Bank account down to zero $800 at a time, and you don't close it or change passwords? Is it over? No. Then your account WILL get closed, and you will owe EVERYTHING that the fraudsters rack up (these charges can put your account terrifyingly far in the negative) from this point forward. This is called ""participation in a scam"" in your depository agreement, because you fell victim to it, didn't report, and the info used was voluntarily given. You will also lose any of your money that they spend. What if US Bank really is closing your account? Then they owe you every penny you had in it. (Minus any fees allowed in the depository agreement). This closure can happen several days after the date on the warning, so being able to withdraw doesn't mean you're safe. Banks usually ship an official check shipped to the last known address they had for you. Why would a bank within the United States close my account when it's not below the minimum balance? Probably because your non-resident alien registration from when you were in school has expired and federal law prohibits them from doing business with you now. These need renewed at least every three years. Renewing federally is not enough; the bank must be aware of the updated expiration date. How do I find out why my account is being closed? You ask the real US Bank. They might find that it's not being closed. Good news! Follow the scam reporting procedure, open a new account (with US Bank if you want, or elsewhere) and close the old one. If it IS being closed by the bank, they'll tell you why, and they'll tell you what your next options are. Ask what can be done. Other commenters are right that bitcoin activity may have flagged it. That activity might actually be against your depository agreement. Or it set off a detection system. Or many other reasons. The bank who services your account is the only place that knows for sure. If I offer them $500 per year will they likely keep the account opened? Otherwise I got to go to singapore open another account Legitimate financial institutions in the United States don't work this way. If there is a legal problem with your tax status in the US, money to the bank won't solve it. Let's call the folks you've talked to ""FraudBank"" and the real USBank ""RealBank,"" because until RealBank confirms, we have no reason to believe that the letter is real.  FraudBank will ask for money. Don't give it. Don't give them any further information. Gather up as much information from them as possible instead. Where to send it, for example. Then report that to RealBank. RealBank won't have a way to charge $500/year to you only. If they offer a type of account to everyone that costs $500, ask for the ""Truth in Savings Act disclosures."" Banks are legally required to provide these upon request. Then read them. Don't put or keep your money anywhere you don't understand." First, if your account has been closed you should not be able to use your debit card in any format.  As you mentioned that you are able to use that so your back account is active. So this indicates it is a scam In case account is closed, bank confirms your address and will send you a cheque for the amount in your account.  Don't worry. You money will never be lost
I feel the need to separate my freelance accounts from my personal accounts. Yes, you should. Should I start another savings account or a current account? Do you need the money for daily spending? Do you need to re-invest in your business? Use a current account. If you don't need the money for business expenses, put it away in your savings account or even consider term deposits. Don't rule out a hybrid approach either (some in savings account, some in current account). What criteria should I keep in mind while choosing a bank? (I thought of SBI since it has a lot of branches and ATMs). If you are involved in online banking and that is sufficient for most of your needs, bank and ATM locations shouldn't matter all that much. If you are saving a good chunk of money, you want to at least have that keep up with inflation. Research bank term deposit interest rates. The tend to be higher than just having your money sit in a savings account. Again, it depends on how and when you expect to need the money. What do I keep in mind while paying myself? Paying yourself could have tax implications. This depends on how are set up to freelance. Are you a business entity or are you an individual? You should look in to the following in India: The other thing to consider is rewarding yourself for the good work done. Pay yourself a reasonable amount. If you decide to expand and hire people going forward, you will have a better sense of business expenses involved when paying salaries. Tips on managing money in the business account. This is a very generic question. I can only provide a generic response. Know how much you are earning and how much your are putting back in to the business. Be reasonable in how much you pay yourself and do the proper research and paperwork from a taxation point of view. I don't think this is a French thing.  It's like this everywhere.  Banks always want people to open accounts of every type.  A person with a checking account should be easy to sell on a savings account at the same institution. Given that it does not appear that they will have any chance to recover the money they spend to get customers to open these accounts (there are no fees and they have to pay out the interests, even if very small) Oh, they recover it.  Banks make money by having deposits that they can use to lend out.  They do pay interest on deposits, but not as much as they earn on your money.  If they persuade you to have a savings account in addition to your checking account, then you might find it convenient and then move your money out of a different institution into their savings account.  Or you might stop hoarding it under your mattress.  Or whatever.  More money in their accounts means more profit for them. I don't know whether banks make more profit per dollar in savings or checking accounts.  I see banks pushing for both.  I think they simply view more accounts as a good thing because it can lead to more total savings in their institution.  That's how they make money. WFC shareholder here. I bought up a ton more during last summer's scandal. The reason people don't switch banks is because it's a huge pain in the ass. Take myself for example. I have a savings, checking, credit card, and brokerage through them. If I were to change, Id have to pull all my money out, put it into a new bank, and resetup all my autopayments. Im not even sure how my brokerage account would work. Would I have to sell everything to move it? And face a huge tax liability? Im not sure. It's really just not worth it to me.  And the more money you have with a bank, the less likely you are to do it.   When I was younger, I switched banks 3 times. I had money in two different banks, and switched them to a credit union. Then the credit union pissed me off, so I pulled all my money out and switched to Wells Fargo. But that was when I was still a teenager so my accounts werent very complicated yet. "**Q: ""Why aren't you giving your grandmother children before she dies?""**  A: Stop being selfish, it's my life and I decide what I want to do, whenever I want to.  **Q: ""I bought a house at 23. Why are you still renting?""**  A: I want to be very wealthy, and not have my own house owned by a bank for 3/4ths of my life. Worry about your own life.  **Q: ""Who is going to take care of your parents when we they get old?""**  A: I'm going to be doing that, and my parent's retirement will help. I'm going to be able to do that because I decided to be financially intelligent rather than indulge in selfish personal pride and temporary happiness.  **Q: ""If you don't have X by age Y, then there's something wrong with you""**  A: Fuck you, I'm rich. Have fun with your wife and kids while you slave away hoping for a raise someday and pray for the weekends to come.  -----------------------------------------------------------------------  I've used all of these except the parents getting old situation. Stop letting other people dictate what's important in your life. If your parents are mad that you won't have kids or get married, fuck them. You got a nice loft, an AMG Mercedes, a Lexus, saving for a Lamborghini, and enough money in the bank to make people feel inferior just by looking at your account balance. Not to mention that's it's completely possible to have casual, safe sex with many women nowadays.   But hey man, make your family happy and appease society. Lol, hope it works out for you." DO contact the bank immediately. Many of them may be able to help you but have time limits, if you wait too long they can't cancel it. They might not, but it's always worth trying. In addition, set alerts on your son's account, if over $X amount of money is spent it will alert you. For example if he spends more than $100, you'll get an email and you can verify with him. I keep several savings accounts. I use an online-only bank that makes it very easy to open a new account in about 2 minutes. I keep the following accounts: Emergency Fund with 2 months of expenses. I pretend this money doesn't even exist. But if something happened that I needed money right away, I can get it. 6 6-month term CDs, with one maturing every month, each with 1 month's worth of expenses. This way, every month, I'll have a CD that matures with the money I would need that month if I lose my job or some other emergency that prevents me from working. You won't make as much interest on the 6-month term, but you'll have cash every month if you need it. Goal-specific accounts: I keep an account that I make a 'car payment' into every month so I'll have a down-payment saved when I'm ready to buy a car, and I'm used to making a payment, so it's not an additional expense if I need a loan. I also keep a vacation account so when it's time to take the family to Disneyland, I know how much I can budget for the trip. General savings: The 'everything else' account. When I just NEED to buy a new LCD TV on Black Friday, that's where I go without touching my emergency funds. I would use the withdrawal date to record, as it represents you no longer have these funds in your account whether you have written a check and/or transferred money you should count the funds as no longer being in your account. If you are the main account holder I would try contacting your bank directly, some of them have very accommodating services for this kind of thing. You might even consider going in person if you have a local branch, this might just make communicating easier. They will probably go over your recent transactions with you to identify the fraudulent ones. You might do this first by yourself if you have an online account. Once you identify the fraudulent purchases they will probably take a week or two to investigate/process and reimburse you. But do NOT just close the account and forget about it- first off closing an account that is close to $2,000 in debt probably isn't even possible. Second, if you forgot about it for a long time and just let you credit take a hit you could end up really paying for it(in the form of higher interest payments) later in life when you try to get anything financed like car or house or even student loans for college. And make no mistake that can amount to *maaany* thousands of dollars more than you would otherwise pay over the course of a loan. So don't damage your credit if you can avoid it. Long story short, banks have special departments to handle this kind of thing, so work with your bank. See how that goes, if you run into hangups you may need to bring your parents into the loop. Good luck!