Why unclaimed deposits keep growing — and how to track what’s yours

In recent years, Indian banks have seen a high level of unclaimed deposits. These are funds languishing in accounts untouched for more than a decade or two. They could be of people who changed jobs, moved cities, or simply forgot an old account or fixed deposit. Sometimes the original account holders are no longer alive, and their family members are unaware of the money languishing unclaimed.

What happens to these deposits

If a deposit remains idle for a period of ten years, banks transfer the amount to the Reserve Bank of India's Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund. But it does not imply that the money gets lost. It can be reclaimed by the owner or its legal heirs by producing suitable documents. The RBI has also made the process more transparent and user-friendly by taking sev