Awakening
Unclaimed Bank Deposits: The Money Families Don't Know Exists
Article
How tens of thousands of crores sit unclaimed in Indian banks, and how to keep your family's money out of that pile.
Published: 3 Apr 2026 · Updated: 15 Oct 2026
Key points
- Banks move deposits with no activity for ten years to the RBI's DEA Fund; heirs can still claim the money through the bank.
- RBI's UDGAM portal lets you search for unclaimed deposits across banks.
- Under RBI's 2025 rules, heirs can claim up to ₹15 lakh at a commercial bank (₹5 lakh at a co-operative bank) without a succession certificate.
- A bank must settle a deceased customer's claim within 15 days of getting complete papers.
- One list of every account, FD and locker, with up-to-date nominees, is what keeps your family's money out of the fund.
The RBI's Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund held ₹74,580 crore of unclaimed deposits on 31 March 2025, up from ₹60,610 crore a year earlier, according to the government's reply in the Lok Sabha in March 2026. These are savings and current accounts with no activity for ten years, and fixed deposits nobody claimed for ten years after they matured. Many belong to people who have died, whose families never came forward.
The problem is not that families do not exist. It is that they do not know these accounts exist. A father opens an FD at a branch near his office. He does not mention it at home. He dies. The family closes his known accounts but never discovers the FD. It sits there, eventually transferred to the RBI's Depositor Education and Awareness Fund.
Even when a family knows about an account, claiming it without a nominee takes paperwork. RBI's 2025 rules for deceased customers' claims, which banks had to adopt by 31 March 2026, make it simpler: up to ₹15 lakh at a commercial bank (₹5 lakh at a co-operative bank), heirs can claim with a claim form, death certificate, KYC, an indemnity bond and either disclaimer letters or a legal-heir certificate, without a succession certificate. The bank must settle within 15 days of getting complete papers. Money already moved to the DEA Fund can still be claimed through the bank, and RBI's UDGAM portal lets you search for it.
The solution is straightforward but requires action while you are alive. Document every bank account, FD, RD, and locker in one place. Ensure nominees are updated (here is how at SBI). Write a will that specifically mentions financial assets. Share the location of this information with your trusted family member.
Sort My Legacy's Financial Inventory covers 12 asset categories, including bank accounts, fixed deposits and lockers. Accounts, deposits, investments, policies and lockers each have a place for the nominee. Your family gets a complete picture, not scattered passbooks in forgotten drawers.
Sources
General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Laws and rules change, so check with a qualified lawyer or CA before you act.
