Forgot Money in an Old Bank Account? Reserve Bank of India Explains How to Recover Unclaimed Deposits

New Delhi: If you or your family members have forgotten about an old bank account, the money may still be recoverable. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has created a system to help people trace and reclaim funds lying in inactive or long-forgotten accounts.

Across India, thousands of bank accounts become inactive every year because people change banks, move cities, or simply forget about old savings or fixed deposits. When a bank account remains unused for 10 years or more, the balance is classified as an unclaimed deposit and is transferred by banks to the RBI’s Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund. However, the rightful owner or even their legal heirs can still claim the money at any time.

RBI’s UDGAM Portal 

To make it easier for people to locate such funds, the RBI launched the UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits – Gateway to Access Information) portal, a centralized online platform where users can search for dormant deposits across multiple banks in one place.

The portal allows users to check whether they have unclaimed deposits by entering basic details such as:

• Name of the account holder
• Name of the bank
• PAN, Voter ID, Passport or Driving Licence number
• Date of birth

Currently, around 30 major banks are linked to the portal, covering roughly 90% of the unclaimed deposits transferred to the DEA Fund.

Check your unclaimed deposits here: https://udgam.rbi.org.in⁠

How to Claim the Money

If the portal shows that you have an unclaimed deposit, the amount cannot be withdrawn directly from the RBI website. Instead, you must contact the bank where the account was originally held.

The general process includes:

• Visit any branch of the bank where the account was opened (not necessarily the home branch).
• Submit a claim request for the unclaimed deposit.
• Provide KYC documents such as Aadhaar, Passport, Voter ID or Driving Licence.
• The bank will verify the details and process the claim.

Once the claim is verified, the bank will return the money to the depositor or their legal heir, along with applicable interest in some cases.

No Deadline to Claim Your Money

Importantly, there is no fixed time limit for claiming deposits transferred to the DEA Fund. However, the RBI encourages depositors to recover such funds as soon as they become aware of them.

Awareness drives and special camps
To help people reclaim forgotten savings, banks and authorities have also launched awareness campaigns and special camps under initiatives such as “Your Money, Your Right.” These drives aim to inform depositors and assist them in recovering dormant funds.

Special outreach programmes and camps on unclaimed deposits are scheduled between October and December 2025, where bank officials will help customers verify and claim dormant accounts.

RBI’s message to depositors

The central bank is urging people to regularly check old or inactive accounts and ensure their contact details and nominations are updated. As the RBI reminds depositors: “RBI kehta hai - Jankaar baniye, satark rahiye”.

Checking for unclaimed deposits could help you or your family recover money that may have been sitting unnoticed in the banking system for years.

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