A campaign to trace and settle ‘top 100 unclaimed deposits’ in each district of the country has been announced by the Reserve Bank of India. The RBI’s ‘100 Days 100 Pays’ campaign will start from June 1.
“The Reserve Bank of India today announced a ‘100 Days 100 Pays’ campaign for banks to trace and settle the top 100 unclaimed deposits of every bank in every district of the country within 100 days. This measure will complement the ongoing efforts and initiatives by the Reserve Bank to reduce the quantum of unclaimed deposits in the banking system and return such deposits to their rightful owners/ claimants,” a press release by the central bank stated on May 12.
The central bank has also announced setting up a centralised web portal to make it easier to find out unclaimed deposits across multiple banks. As the launch of the RBI’s new campaign nears, let’s understand what unclaimed deposits are and how nominees/heirs can get the money.
What are unclaimed deposits?
According to the Reserve Bank of India, an unclaimed deposits are “balances in savings / current accounts which are not operated for 10 years, or term deposits not claimed within 10 years from date of maturity.” Banks deposit these funds to the Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund, which is maintained by the RBI.
The RBI has been making efforts to reduce the number of unclaimed deposits. Through public awareness campaigns, the central bank has been prompting customers to approach their bank for claiming such deposits.
Depositors can go to their nearest bank branch to find out about their unclaimed deposits, if any. They can also visit the official website of their bank to check the information.
The process to get funds from unclaimed deposits is as follows:
The account holders must visit the branch where their deposit is maintained and submit the claim form, along with the available information about their unclaimed deposit.
They must also submit recent photographs, a valid identity proof, address proof, passbook, term deposit/special term deposit receipts and any other documents required by the bank.
If the documents are in order, the lender will begin the process of releasing funds from the unclaimed deposit.
How a nominee/heir can claim the deposit:
A nominee or heir can claim the deposit after the death of the depositor by visiting the bank branch with the Unclaimed Deposits Claim Form filled and signed. The nominee/heir also needs valid identity proof, a copy of the depositor’s death certificate and passbook/special term deposit/term deposit receipts.
The bank branch will follow the due process for claim settlement after receiving all the documents in order.
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