Who owns the unclaimed Rs 78,213 crore deposited in Indian banks? This money is not yours!

Even today there are deposits of thousands of crores of rupees in various banks of the country which have no claim of ownership. In this situation, the question arises that who is the owner of that money? And how can the money be transferred or withdrawn from their accounts by those who are actually entitled to that money?

According to the RBI report, unclaimed deposits in banks have seen a 26 percent increase over last year to reach Rs 78,213 crore by the end of March 2024. By the end of March 2023, the amount deposited in the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund was Rs 62,225 crore. Let us tell you that unclaimed deposits lying in bank accounts for 10 or more years are transferred to the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund of RBI.

What is Depositor Education and Awareness Fund?

The Reserve Bank of India established the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund (DEAF) in the year 2014. In fact, such amounts have always been a cause of concern for banks with no claimants. Here people have forgotten to deposit money. There are also cases of people who did not tell anyone in the family and left this world prematurely.

With the establishment of this fund, this problem of both public and private sector banks has been solved. They have no compulsion to keep money. They are depositing the unclaimed amount in this fund as per the guidelines set by the Central Bank and initiating the process of refund whenever the need arises i.e. when the claimant comes forward.

How to claim?

1. All banks are required to disclose inactive accounts with names and addresses and list of unclaimed accounts.
2. Visit each bank's website to find out whether your name is on any list or not.
3. If you find your or a relative's name, visit the nearest bank branch and fill, sign and submit the claim form.
4. Submit the required documents to complete the KYC process.
5. If the account holder has died and there is no registered nominee or if the nominee has also died then the amount can be claimed by the beneficiary by furnishing a succession certificate or probate and a notarized death certificate.
6. Some banks may also require no objection certificates from all family members if the amount is large.
7. The amount including interest if any will be transferred to the claimant after verification of all the documents by the bank.
8. There is no time limit for claiming but banks are required to settle such claim requests within 15 days of filing with all supporting documents.