RBI has asked banks to trace the customers or their nominees or legal heirs of accounts with inoperative accounts and unclaimed deposits and either reactivate the account or settle the claim.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued new guidelines regarding closed or inactive accounts and unclaimed deposits in banks across the country. If you also have such an account, which was once opened, but is not used now, then there is news for you. RBI has asked banks to trace the customers or their nominees or legal heirs of accounts with inoperative accounts and unclaimed deposits and either reactivate the account or settle the claim. The bank has also said that such accounts should be reviewed at regular intervals, because there is a risk of fraud in such accounts. These new rules will come into effect from April 1, 2024.
How will customers benefit?
Reserve Bank has issued a new rule on non-operative or closed bank accounts, let us know how this can benefit the customers.
- According to RBI guidelines, banks will always have to keep paying interest on inactive savings accounts.
- Minimum balance penalty will not be imposed on inactive bank accounts.
- Even if there is zero balance in government scheme accounts, they will not be considered inactive.
RBI gave instructions to banks
- Owners of inactive accounts should be found by sending e-mail, SMS.
- KYC should be easy, the account should be reopened as soon as KYC is done in the inactive account.
- The bank should not charge the customer for re-opening the account.
- The bank will have to activate the accounts within three days of receiving the application.
- Alert should be sent to the customers that if the transaction is not done then the account will be deactivated.
- After re-activation of inactive accounts, they should be monitored for 6 months.
- Banks will put a system for searching unclaimed deposits on their website.
- Banks will not be able to withdraw money from inactive savings accounts.
- Information about inactive accounts and unclaimed deposits will have to be kept safe.
Let us tell you that there is a rule that in any bank, in any deposit account in which no operation has been done for 10 years or more, or there is unclaimed deposit lying in the account for this period of 10 years or more, then this deposit The bank should send it to the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund, which is run by RBI.
