The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on August 17 launched a Centralised Web Portal UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits – Gateway to Access information).
This portal has been developed by RBI for use by members of the public to facilitate and make it easier for them to search their unclaimed deposits across multiple banks in one place,” the release by RBI stated.
The launch of the web portal will aid users to identify their unclaimed deposits/ accounts and enable them to either claim the deposit amount or make their deposit accounts operative at their respective banks, the release read.
The search facility for remaining banks on the portal would be made available in a phased manner by October 15, 2023.
The portal has been developed in collaboration with Reserve Bank Information Technology Pvt Ltd (ReBIT), Indian Financial Technology & Allied Services (IFTAS), and participating banks, the RBI said in a release.
Earlier, RBI Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao had said the portal for reclaiming unclaimed deposits will be ready in 3-4 months.
The Reserve Bank of India announced the development of a centralised web portal for searching unclaimed deposits as part of the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies dated April 6, 2023. Given the increasing trend in the number of unclaimed deposits, RBI has been undertaking public awareness campaigns from time to time to sensitise the public on this matter. Further, through these initiatives, the RBI has been encouraging the public to identify and approach their respective banks for claiming unclaimed deposits.
RBI alerts on Unclaimed deposits, released its statement
- Balances in savings / current accounts which are not operated for 10 years, or term deposits not claimed within 10 years from date of maturity are classified as “Unclaimed Deposits”. These amounts are transferred by banks to “Depositor Education and Awareness” (DEA) Fund maintained by the Reserve Bank of India.
- The depositors are, however, still entitled to claim the deposits at a later date from the bank(s) where such deposits were held along with interest, as applicable. However, despite public awareness campaigns undertaken by banks as well as RBI from time to time, the amount of Unclaimed Deposit is showing an increasing trend.
- The growing volume of Unclaimed Deposits arise mainly due to non-closure of savings / current accounts which depositors do not intend to operate anymore or due to not submitting redemption claims with banks for matured fixed deposits. There are also cases of accounts belonging to deceased depositors, where the nominees/ legal heirs do not come forward to make a claim on the bank(s) concerned.
- To help such depositors or the nominees / legal heirs of deceased depositors identify and claim the deposits, banks already host the list of Unclaimed Deposits on their website with some identifiable details. Members of public are encouraged to identify and approach the bank concerned for claiming such deposits.
