The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced a centralised online platform called UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits – Gateway to Access inforMation) on Thursday. This portal aims to simplify the process for individuals to locate their unclaimed deposits from various banks through a single platform. According to a statement by the central bank, the web portal will assist users in identifying and contacting their banks to either claim their unclaimed deposits or reactivate their deposit accounts.
The Reserve Bank Information Technology Pvt Ltd (ReBIT), Indian Financial Technology & Allied Services (IFTAS), and collaborating banks have collaboratively established the portal. At the moment, users can retrieve information about their unclaimed deposits from seven banks on the platform. These banks comprise the State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Central Bank of India, Dhanlaxmi Bank Ltd, South Indian Bank Ltd, DBS Bank India Ltd, and Citibank N A.
The RBI mentioned that the search feature for additional banks will be gradually introduced on the portal by October 15, 2023.
In its monetary policy statement declared on April 6, the RBI indicated the development of a centralised web portal. The central bank emphasised its commitment to safeguarding depositors’ interests and outlined measures to prevent new deposits from becoming unclaimed and to ensure that existing unclaimed deposits are returned to their rightful owners or beneficiaries through proper procedures.
In April, RBI Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao stated that the portal for reclaiming unclaimed deposits would be operational within 3-4 months.
Deposits that remain unclaimed for a period of 10 years in a bank are moved to the Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) fund, managed by the central bank. Recent data reveals that as of February 2023, public sector banks (PSBs) had transferred a total of Rs 35,012 crore in unclaimed deposits to the RBI. These deposits were associated with accounts that had remained inactive for 10 years or more, and the number of unclaimed accounts reached 102.4 million.