Mumbai: Unclaimed deposits in banks have surged by 26 per cent year on year, reaching Rs 78,213 crore by the end of March 2024, according to the RBI Annual Report released on Thursday.
At the end of March 2023, the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund held Rs 62,225 crore.
Banks, including cooperative banks, transfer unclaimed deposits from accounts that have been inactive for 10 or more years to the RBI’s Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund.
To assist account holders and streamline existing instructions on inoperative accounts, the Reserve Bank issued comprehensive guidelines earlier this year. These guidelines cover various aspects of classifying accounts and deposits as inoperative or unclaimed.
The RBI has instructed banks to periodically review such accounts, implement measures to prevent fraud, establish a grievance redress mechanism for swift resolution of complaints, and take steps to trace customers of inoperative accounts or unclaimed deposits. This includes contacting their nominees or legal heirs to reactivate accounts, settle claims, or close them.
These guidelines are intended to support ongoing efforts by banks and the Reserve Bank to reduce the amount of unclaimed deposits in the banking system and return the funds to their rightful owners or claimants.
The revised instructions apply to all commercial banks (including Regional Rural Banks) and cooperative banks and took effect on April 1, 2024.
To help depositors search for unclaimed deposits across multiple banks, the Reserve Bank has developed a centralised web portal called UDGAM - Unclaimed Deposits Gateway to Access Information.