Unlocking Dormant Wealth: RBI's Bold Incentive Scheme for Unclaimed Deposits

The Reserve Bank of India has launched a year-long initiative designed to motivate banks to lower the volume of unclaimed deposits, marking a significant push from the financial institution. Announced on Tuesday, the 'Scheme for Facilitating Accelerated Payout' targets inoperative accounts, offering banks differential incentives based on account inactivity periods and deposit amounts.

An official statement from the RBI underscores the program's objectives: to reduce existing unclaimed deposits and curtail future additions to the Depositors Education Awareness (DEA) Fund. Banks are encouraged to actively seek out customers to reactivate dormant accounts and return unclaimed sums to rightful owners efficiently.

As of June, unclaimed deposits exceeded Rs 67,000 crore, making this scheme timely. To enhance recovery efforts, the RBI previously introduced 'UDGAM,' a portal simplifying the search process for unclaimed deposits. The new incentive plan runs from October 1 to September 30, offering banks up to 7.5% of reclaimed amounts for accounts inactive over ten years, fostering proactive engagement from financial institutions.

(With inputs from agencies.)