New Delhi: If you have money in an inactive bank account that you want to get back, getting it back is no longer impossible. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is conducting a nationwide outreach program between October and December 2025.
This program is specifically designed to help people recover money from inactive accounts.
According to RBI, an inactive bank account is a savings or current account in which the customer has not made any transaction (financial or non-financial, such as deposit, withdrawal, funds transfer or KYC update) for two years or more.
During this period, certain services are restricted while the funds remain in the account. These services remain restricted until the account is reactivated by updating KYC details and making transactions. If the account remains inactive for 10 years, the amount (including accrued interest) is transferred to the RBI’s Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund.
Established in May 2014, the DEA Fund collects unclaimed money from accounts of commercial and cooperative banks that have not been used or claimed for more than a decade.
Can you claim your DEA Fund balance?
Yes, customers or their legal heirs can claim the DEA Fund balance at any time. There is no time limit for claiming a refund from the DEA Fund.
How to claim the amount deposited in the DEA fund?
Visit any bank branch. Submit a form along with KYC documents for proof of identity and account ownership (such as Aadhaar, driving license, voter ID). You will receive the amount once the verification is complete.
To provide detailed information about this process, the RBI is organizing camps from October to December. You can get complete information by attending these special camps.
How to find out if you have any unclaimed money?
If you want to know if you have any unclaimed money, you can contact your bank or use the RBI’s UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposit Gateway to Access Information) portal to search for unclaimed money. To find out if you have any unclaimed money, you can follow these steps:
- Visit udgam.rbi.org.in
- Register by entering your mobile number, name, password and complete the OTP verification.
- Log in using your registered mobile number, password and CAPTCHA.
- Go to the ‘Personal’ tab.
- Enter personal details including account holder name and bank(s).
- Submit Identity Proof (PAN/Voter ID/Passport/Driving License Number/Date of Birth).
If a match is found, the portal will show you the details along with the bank name and Unclaimed Deposit Reference Number (UDRN).
Currently, 30 banks are connected to the UDGAM portal. These banks cover more than 90 percent of undisclosed deposits in the DEA fund. The remaining banks are yet to be onboarded. Major banks such as SBI, HDFC, ICICI, etc. are enrolled on the RBI’s UDGAM portal.
RBI’s plan to reduce unclaimed deposits
As of June 2025, unclaimed deposits in the banking system exceeded ₹67,000 crore. The RBI has also announced a new incentive program to reduce unclaimed deposits across the country. This scheme, called the Scheme for Facilitating Prompt Payment of Inoperative Accounts and Unclaimed Deposits, came into effect on October 1, 2025, and will run until September 30, 2026.
Under this scheme, banks will receive payments based on the age and balance of the inactive account. For accounts inactive for up to four years, banks will receive 5 percent of the deposit amount or ₹5,000, whichever is less. For accounts inactive for up to ten years, banks will receive 7.5 percent of the deposit amount or ₹25,000, whichever is less.
The RBI has asked banks to encourage customers to settle inactive accounts. Banks can submit claims for the incentives on a quarterly basis in a prescribed format. Claims must be signed by a senior official appointed by the bank’s top management.
Additionally, claims must be filed by email or post within one month of the end of each quarter. According to the RBI, incentives will be paid within 30 days of submission, after necessary audits or inspections.
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