If you have ever deposited money in a bank and have not done any transaction in the account for years, then your money can be considered as unclaimed deposits. Banks in India have an unclaimed amount of more than Rs 78,000 crore. Now the government is making the process of getting this amount back easier. Let us understand what are unclaimed deposits and how you can get your money back under the current rules.

What is an unclaimed deposit?

If there is no transaction in a bank account for 10 consecutive years, that is, neither money is deposited nor withdrawn, then the amount lying in that account is considered an unclaimed deposit. This rule applies to all types of bank deposits like savings bank accounts, fixed deposits, current accounts, recurring deposits, etc.

What does the bank do with this money?

The bank transfers these unclaimed deposits to the Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This fund was created in 2014 and the unclaimed amounts received from the banks are deposited in it. If the money in your fixed deposit remains unclaimed for 10 years, the bank will deposit it in the DEA fund along with interest.

What is UDRN?

UDRN (Unclaimed Deposit Reference Number) is a unique number generated by banks through Core Banking Solution (CBS). This number is given to those accounts or deposits that are transferred to the Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Its purpose is that no third party gets information about that account and privacy is maintained.

Can unclaimed deposits be withdrawn?

If your money has gone to the DEA fund for any reason, then you can ask for it back from your bank. For this, you have to apply to the bank, and the bank will return the amount after verifying your information and documents. There is no time limit for withdrawing unclaimed deposits. You can claim it from your bank whenever you want.

How to know if your money is unclaimed?

In March 2024, the government launched a portal called UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits – Gateway to Access Information). It is an online portal where any person can search their old and unclaimed bank accounts. Through this portal, you can get information about your unclaimed deposits lying in different banks. How to register on the UDGAM portal?

Go to the UDGAM portal udgam.rbi.org.in, then go to the unclaimed amount section and register yourself.

For this, enter your registered mobile number and name.

After this, set the password and fill in the captcha code.

Tick the check box and then click on Next, after that verify by entering OTP.

By going to RBI's UDGAM portal, you can easily get information on whether there is any unclaimed deposit in your name or the name of any of your relatives. After registering yourself on this portal, you can log in and give your or your relative's information to find out whether any unclaimed amount is lying in the bank. If you get any amount, then you can claim it by going to the concerned bank.

How to check the unclaimed amount?

Go to https://udgam.rbi.org.in/unclaimed-deposits/#/login.

Enter your mobile number, password, captcha code here. After this, an OTP will come on your registered mobile number.

In the next step, it is mandatory to enter the name of the account holder and select the bank.

Now you have to enter the information according to any one of PAN, Voter ID, Driving License Number, Passport Number.

After this, click on the search button, if there is any unclaimed amount, it will be visible to you.

To claim this unclaimed amount, you can contact the concerned bank.

Can unclaimed deposits be claimed from the UDGAM portal?

Let us tell you that the UDGAM portal only provides the facility to search the unclaimed deposits lying in many banks simultaneously and get information about the claim and settlement process of each bank. But this portal is not a medium to retrieve the unclaimed deposit directly. If you want to claim your amount, then you will have to contact the same bank where your old account was.

Process of getting money back

For this, apply by visiting the bank branch or online. Submit your identity card (Aadhaar, PAN, passport, etc.) and account-related documents. The bank will verify your information and request to transfer money from the DEA fund. You will get your money back as soon as the verification is complete.

Disclaimer: This content has been sourced and edited from NDTV India. While we have made modifications for clarity and presentation, the original content belongs to its respective authors and website. We do not claim ownership of the content.