What’s the Correct Way of Closing a Credit Card Account?

Life becomes comfortable when you own a credit card. You can shop easily, pay bills, etc. with discounts, etc. and even improve your CIBIL score in a short period. However, there are times when you may want to close your account. Maybe you don’t find the use of it anymore, or maybe you think you have “too many” cards and you want to close one. Either way, it’s important that you keep a few things in mind when closing your account.

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To follow the correct credit card cancellation process, take these steps:

• Call up the customer care and find out if there is any outstanding amount in your account. You can’t close the account without clearing it first.
• If the amount is small, then you can clear it in one payment. However, if it’s high and you can’t pay it all in one go, then you can do it over a certain period in multiple payments. However, in this way, an interest amount may also accumulate. So, at the time when you are making the final payment, do inquire about the interest amount and pay it as well to ensure that no outstanding balance remains.
• Now that you have cleared your debt, you can contact the bank once again and request your credit card cancellation. It’s possible that your bank allows this service over the phone or even an app. You will be notified of the estimated time that’s required for the request to be processed.
• Once the fixed period is over, you can contact your bank again to verify if the account has been canceled. If they have, then you can discard the card by cutting its magnetic strip in several pieces. This step concludes the process.

Note that closing a credit card also affects your credit score. So, it’s another thing to look into before you make the final decision.