RBI to set up a centralized portal, no claimant for Rs 8,000 crore lying in SBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced the creation of a centralized web portal to make it easier for people to access unclaimed deposits. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das gave this information in the press conference of the Monetary Policy meeting on Thursday. Currently, bank customers have to visit the websites of different banks to claim these deposits. The new web portal will help customers to trace their unclaimed deposits in one place.
Recently, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad told in the Lok Sabha that about Rs 35,000 crore lying unclaimed in the accounts of public sector banks has been transferred to the Reserve Bank. This money was lying in 10.24 crore accounts in banks for 10 years or more, which was not claimed by anyone. Most of the unclaimed money was deposited in the State Bank.
8,086 crore rupees were lying unclaimed in SBI. While Punjab National Bank had Rs 5,340 crore, Canara Bank Rs 4,558 crore and Bank of Baroda Rs 3,904 crore.
Banks were advised to consider launching a special drive to trace the customers/legal heirs linked to inoperative accounts. It was also said that banks will have to give information about accounts lying inactive for 10 years or more on the website. The name and address of the account holder will also have to be given in this list.
To claim the unclaimed funds, the claim has to be made by contacting the home branch. KYC documents will have to be given along with filling out the claim form at the branch. If you are a legal heir or nominee, a copy of the death certificate of the account holder will also need to be given to the bank. The Bank will verify the authenticity of the claim before releasing the payment. After making the payment to the customer, the bank will submit a claim to RBI at the end of the month for a refund from the DEA funds.