Imagine having money in a bank account or fixed deposit and then forgetting about it. Now imagine this happening to millions of people across the country. The result is an enormous amount of unclaimed money lying with banks, waiting for its rightful owners, nominees, or legal heirs to claim it.
Over the years, people change jobs, move to different cities, lose old documents, or simply forget about accounts that were opened long ago , in some cases our family members is not available , In many families, fixed deposits and savings accounts remain unknown to other family members after the account holder’s demise. Consequently, these balances remain untouched for years.
According to RBI guidelines, deposits that remain unclaimed for ten years or more are transferred by banks to the Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund. However, the money does not belong to the bank or the RBI. The rightful owner or nominee can still claim it at any time after completing the required verification process.
The challenge for many people has always been locating such forgotten deposits. To address this issue, the Reserve Bank of India launched the UDGAM Portal, a centralized platform that enables individuals to search for unclaimed deposits across participating banks.
Official Portal : https://udgam.rbi.org.in
The process is simple , a customer needs to register on the portal using a mobile number, enter the account holder’s details, and search for any unclaimed deposits linked to the concerned bank. If a match is found, the customer can approach the bank with identity proof, KYC documents, and supporting records to initiate the claim process.
For nominees and legal heirs, banks may require additional documents such as a death certificate, succession certificate, or legal heir certificate depending on the nature and amount of the claim.
The growing volume of unclaimed deposits highlights an important financial lesson: every individual should maintain updated nominee details, inform family members about investments, and periodically review old bank accounts and fixed deposits.
A few minutes spent searching today may help recover money that rightfully belongs to you or your family. In an age where financial awareness is becoming increasingly important, checking for unclaimed deposits is a simple yet valuable exercise that every bank customer should undertake.
After all, your or yours family member forgotten money is still your money.
” Unclaimed deposits are defined as those lying in accounts not operated for a period of 10 or more years. Section 26 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 requires banks to submit information to the RBI about these accounts within 30 days after each calendar year ends. Unclaimed deposits can be claimed by their legal owners after satisfying certain conditions prescribed by the RBI.
