Are your bank accounts dormant and forgotten? Millions of accounts across different banks in India have been left abandoned due to their owners either dying or being unaware of their existence.
The Reserve Bank of India has now come to your rescue with its centralised web portal, allowing you to search and claim unclaimed deposits from various banks in just a few clicks!
This article explains what unclaimed deposits are, what the RBI announcement means, and how the portal will help people access their unclaimed deposits.
What are unclaimed deposits?
Inactive accounts that have seen no activity for a period of 10 years or more are considered unclaimed deposits. In such cases, banks take an effort to contact the depositors or their legal heirs in order to make them aware of the account's status. However, if the deposits remain unacknowledged even after such attempts, they are marked as inoperative accounts and their details are posted on the bank's website.
This situation can arise when the depositor has passed away, but their legal heirs are unaware of the existence of the deposit. Unclaimed deposits are an important issue as without proper knowledge of the deposit, the money stays as an unutilized asset.
What does the RBI announcement mean?
RBI Governor Mr. Shaktikanta Das recently announced the creation of a centralised portal that will help the depositors or the beneficiaries to search and get back the unclaimed deposits after due verification.
Within the next few months, a portal will be launched with information about all unclaimed deposits from banks across India. Those who are entitled to these deposits will be able to access the information on the portal. To do this, users will need to provide input which will then be cross-referenced with different banks and a verified mobile number.
To help make the search process quick and accurate, AI tools will be used. For added protection and privacy, the search will be password-protected. This new portal is intended to help make it easier for those who have unclaimed deposits to access information about them and begin the process of claiming them. It is also designed to help protect user data, ensuring that it is not misused.
What are the benefits of the RBI web portal?
The RBI’s announcement of the centralised web portal has come as a boon to the depositors and beneficiaries of unclaimed deposits. This portal will provide a one-stop shop for people to search and find their unclaimed deposits from different banks. With this, it will be easier for people to locate and reclaim their rightful deposits without having to go through the tedious process of searching through multiple bank websites.
This portal will also be helpful for banks as it will help them to locate the rightful owners of the unclaimed deposits and to transfer the funds to them. This will help the banks to save the time and effort that is usually involved in searching for the depositors or their legal heirs.
Moreover, the banks can be sure that the funds are going to the right person as the search will be password protected and the user will have to provide valid KYC documents in order to reclaim their funds.
The RBI’s announcement of the centralised web portal is indeed a welcome step that will go a long way in helping the depositors or the beneficiaries of the unclaimed deposits to locate and reclaim their rightful deposits.
