Unclaimed deposits at banks witnessed a significant 28% annual increase, reaching Rs 42,270 crore in March 2023, from Rs 32,934 crore in the fiscal year 2022. The unclaimed deposits are divided, with Rs 36,185 crore held by public sector 6 banks, and 087 rupees. crores with private sector banks from March 2023 onwards.
Banks typically transfer unclaimed deposits of account holders inactive for 10 or more years to the Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund of the RBI. In response to concerns about the growing volume of unclaimed deposits, the RBI has implemented measures to minimize such cases and facilitate the return of deposits to legitimate claimants.
To address the problem, the RBI has directed banks to display lists of unclaimed deposits from accounts that have been inactive for a decade or more on their websites. This is aimed at finding customers or legal heirs in case of deceased account holders, ensuring the return of unclaimed deposits to the rightful claimants. Additionally, banks are advised to formulate a board-approved policy on the classification of unclaimed deposits and establish a grievance redressal mechanism to resolve grievances promptly.
RBI portal
The RBI has introduced a centralized web portal called Unclaimed Deposits Gateway to Access Information (UDGAM) to facilitate the search of unclaimed deposits across multiple banks. In addition, a campaign called “100 Days 100 Payments” was launched by the RBI, encouraging banks to track and settle the top 100 unclaimed deposits from each bank in each district within a 100-day time frame.
At the end of the campaign, 31 major banks, constituting more than 90% of unclaimed deposit balances with the DEA Fund, repaid Rs 1,432.68 crore. The initiative is part of ongoing efforts to address the issue of unclaimed deposits and streamline the returns process.