Closing a Bank Account in the Czech Republic

What Are the Ways to Close a Bank Account in the Czech Republic?

Closing a bank account in the Czech Republic is usually considerably easier than opening one. However, in practice, everything is very individual because banks have very different requirements. Some require mandatory personal presence, while others are prepared to complete the procedure under a power of attorney (and in most cases they are willing to accept a power of attorney).

First of all, contact your bank directly and ask what options are available for closing the account. Explain your situation, for example that you are not currently in the country and that traveling to the Czech Republic in person would be difficult. In most cases, the bank will offer you some solution.

It is better to contact the bank in English or Czech, if you speak Czech. You can use the general customer support line, email, or the contact form on the bank's website. Clients are also often assigned a personal account manager, and if you still have their contact details, you can try contacting them directly (although staff turnover at banks is fairly high).

The main ways to close bank accounts in the Czech Republic are:

Personal Visit to the Bank

This is the most reliable way to close an account: personally visit any branch of your bank in the Czech Republic and deal with the matter directly there. In most cases, a bank employee will tell you on the spot what is required or may even help you complete the account closure procedure immediately.

However, as you have probably already understood, this requires traveling to the Czech Republic in person, and not everyone is currently able to do so.

Closing an Account Under a Power of Attorney

For this option, you need to issue a power of attorney to a person located in the Czech Republic, who will personally visit the bank and complete the procedure on your behalf. The power of attorney must be properly certified. We have a separate article on our website explaining how to certify a power of attorney for use in the Czech Republic.

In general, Czech banks allow bank accounts to be closed under a power of attorney without major difficulties. Opening an account under a power of attorney is difficult and practically impossible, but closing one is considerably easier.

However, banks can be quite strict about the wording of the power of attorney for this procedure, so we recommend specifying the relevant details as precisely as possible.

In particular, for a power of attorney to close a bank account in the Czech Republic, we recommend:

• Including the full legal details of the bank you are dealing with (there is always a specific Czech legal entity representing the bank).
• Including the specific account numbers that are to be closed, either in IBAN format or in the domestic Czech account number format.
• If there is a remaining balance on the account, Czech banks can usually transfer it to another bank account anywhere in the world, provided that the destination account has an IBAN. Specify the account to which the balance should be transferred. If the amount is substantial, bank employees handling the matter generally prefer the destination bank details to be stated directly in the power of attorney rather than provided verbally by the authorized representative.

We should also note that many banks in the Czech Republic provide sample powers of attorney for this procedure on their official websites, usually in Czech and sometimes also in English.

Through a Mobile App or Online Banking

Quite often, banks provide a standard option to close an account directly through their mobile app or online banking. In other words, account closure is available as a regular banking function. Not every bank offers this option, but many do.

If you still have access to your mobile banking or online banking, it is worth checking the interface, as the option to close the account may already be available there.

Simply Leaving the Account Unused

This is probably not the best way to deal with the issue, but it does happen in practice. Banks usually charge some monthly fee for maintaining an account. If the balance is small, sooner or later the account may become overdrawn, and after several months with a negative balance the bank may close it on its own.

In theory, the account holder may be asked to repay the outstanding amount. However, if you are outside the country, practical recovery may be complicated, and the amounts involved are usually small and not significant for the bank.

We do not recommend handling the situation this way. However, if you have no other practical option and there are no funds remaining in the account that are important to you, this approach does exist in practice.