Closed my old checking account after 11 years and moved my direct deposit, and the switch actually went smooth

Lisa Craig · 2026-09-17T18:40:05.372888+00:00

I had been putting off ditching my old bank for like two years because my paycheck direct deposit was tied to it and I was scared of a gap where bills would bounce. The two options in my head were keep the old account open as a backup and slowly move stuff over, or just rip the bandaid off and switch everything in one weekend. I went with the full switch because keeping both meant watching two sets of fees and I kept forgetting which card was which. Last Saturday I updated my direct deposit info with HR, moved my two auto pays for rent and my phone bill, and left about $400 in the old account just in case something tried to draft. My paycheck hit the new account on Wednesday with no weird holds, and the old bank closed out clean when I called them. The only hiccup was a $12 gym charge that drafted from the old card and overdrew it by three bucks, but they waived the fee when I asked. If you switched banks recently, how long did you keep the old one open before closing it for real?

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Closed my old checking account after 11 years and moved my direct deposit, and the switch actually went smooth | banking and payments community - Discusd