In September 2025, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced a new scheme for facilitating accelerated payout to ensure faster settlement of inoperative accounts and unclaimed deposits lying with banks.
- As of June 2025, the unclaimed deposits stood at over Rs. 67,000 crore (cr).
Exam Hints:
- What? RBI launches incentive scheme to settle inoperative, unclaimed deposits
- Applicable to: All banks registered under DEA fund scheme
- Period: October 01, 2025 to September 30, 2026
- Payout Structure: 4 categories of payout
- Claims: Claims submitted quarterly, RBI pays within 30 days submission
Key Highlights:
Purpose: The objective is to encourage banks to actively pursue customers/ depositors for re-activation of their inoperative accounts and return of their unclaimed amounts lying with Depositors Education Awareness (DEA) Fund to the rightful claimants in a timely and efficient manner.
- The Scheme aims to reduce both the stock of existing unclaimed deposits and fresh accretion of flows to the DEA Fund.
Scope: The scheme is applicable to all the banks registered under the DEA Fund Scheme.
- All inoperative accounts at banks and unclaimed deposits transferred to DEA Fund which remain unsettled, are covered under the Scheme.
Duration: The scheme is available for one year period, i.e. from October 01, 2025 to September 30, 2026.
Eligibility: Inoperative accounts reactivated and the unclaimed deposits settled by the banks to rightful claimant during the period of the Scheme.
Payout Structure: The incentive payout will be given to banks based on
- The period the account remained inoperative
- The amount of deposits in such accounts.
| Ageing Category# | Payout to bank |
|---|---|
| Up to 4 years* | 5% of amount or Rs. 5,000, whichever is less |
| 4-8 years* | 6% of amount or Rs. 10,000, whichever is less |
| 8-10 years* | 7% of amount or Rs. 15,000, whichever is less |
| 10 years and above^ | 7.5% of amount or Rs. 25,000, whichever is less |
| # The period would be reckoned from the date on which the account became inoperative. *InoperativeAccounts ^ Unclaimed Deposits | |
Submission: Banks must submit their payout claims to the RBI on a quarterly basis within one month after the close of each quarter.
- The claim shall be settled by RBI within 30 days from its submission.
RBI had earlier launched a dedicated portal called ‘UDGAM’ (Unclaimed Deposits-Gateway to Access inforMation) to enhance accessibility and simplify the search process for unclaimed deposits.
Note:
Inoperative Account: A savings as well as current account should be treated as inoperative / dormant if there are no transactions in the account for over a period of two years.
- Unclaimed deposits not operated for 10 years, or term deposits unclaimed for 10 years after maturity are transferred by banks to the DEA Fund maintained by the RBI
About the Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
Governor – Sanjay Malhotra
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Established – 1st April, 1935
